Nice Read

By Terry Orr 

Sharing an email (thank you Bruce)

Before middle age – Do not fear!

After middle age – Do not regret!

Enjoy Your Life While You Can

As long as it is physically possible, visit places you wish to visit.

When there is an opportunity, get together with old classmates, old colleagues & old friends

When it is time to spend, just spend, treat yourself well as you’re getting older

Whatever you feel like eating, just eat! It is most important to be happy.

Treat sickness with optimism. Whether your are poor or rich

Do not be afraid or worried whey you are sick

Let the doctors handle your body, God handle your life, but be in charge of your own moods

Our kids will make their own fortune

Your old friends – seize every opportunities to meet up with your friends. Such opportunities will become rate as time goes by.

Everyday you MUST smile and laugh

Life ends; when you stop Dreaming

Hope ends; when you stop Believing

Love ends; when you stop Caring

And Friendship ends; when you stop Sharing.

Things to Ponder

This and That to Share

By Terry Orr

Good Monday Morning,

Here are some odds and ends to share and hopefully get you Monday on the right track.

A DEA Agent stopped at a ranch in Texas and talked to an old rancher. He told the rancher, "I need to inspect your ranch for illegally grown drugs." The rancher said, "okay, but don't go into that field over there...", as he pointed out the location. The DEA Agent verbally exploded and said, "look mister, I have the authority of the federal government with me!" Reaching into his rear back pocket, the arrogant officer removed his badge and proudly displayed it to the rancher. "See this badge?! This badge means I can go wherever I want... On any land! No questions asked, no answers given! Do you understand old man?!"

The rancher kindly nodded, apologized, and went about his chores. Moments later the rancher heard loud screams, he looked up and saw the DEA agent running for his life, being chased by the ranchers big Santa Gertrudis Bull. With every step the bull was gaining ground on the officer, and it was likely that he'd sure enough get gored before he reached safety. The officer was clearly terrified. The old rancher threw down his tools, ran as fast as he could to the fence, and yelled at the top of his lungs.

"YOUR BADGE! SHOW HIM YOUR BADGE!"

Weekend Humor

Sharing the love with others....and humor...enjoy

1.Where there's a will, I want to be in it. 

2.  The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on my list. 

3.Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak. 

4.If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong. 

5.  We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public. 

6.  War does not determine who is right - only who is left. 

7.  Knowledge knows a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

8.  They begin the evening news with 'Good Evening,' then proceed to tell you why it isn't. 

9.  To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research. 

10.  Buses stop in bus stations. Trains stop in train stations. On my desk is a work station. 

11.  I thought I wanted a career. Turns out I just wanted paychecks. 

12.  In filling out an application, where it says, 'In case of emergency, notify:' I put 'DOCTOR.' 

13.I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you. 

14.Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy. 

15.Behind every successful man is his woman. Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman. 

16.  A clear conscience is the sign of a fuzzy memory.

17.  You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.

18.Money can't buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to live with.

19.  There's a fine line between cuddling and holding someone down so they can't get away.

20.  I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not so sure.

21.You're never too old to learn something stupid.

22.  To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.

23.  Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

24.  Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

25.Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.

26.  Where there's a will, there are relatives.

       And mine is.........

       I'm supposed to respect my elders, but it's getting harder and harder for me to find one now.

National Dance Day

(Google Image) 

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean,

Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens,

Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance,

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.

Dance....I hope you dance.

By Diane Forrest

(Google Image) 

Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 says To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.  I am a Baptist, and I don't know what they were thinking when they read this verse, because dancing is frowned upon in my church.  I remember one year our minister of music arranged a ballet performance depicting a Biblical story, and it was a scandalous event at the time.

(Google Image) 

I never took dance when I was growing up, my father told me I was just not coordinated to try to dance.  I would go out with friends in college, and I would always be on the sidelines, scared to dance because someone might laugh at me, or worse, I would fall down.  None of the weddings I went to ever had dancing, they were always held in the church's reception room with cake and punch.  The first wedding I went to that included dancing was my stepson's.  My husband, who was in his wheelchair, asked me to dance.  He wanted me to sit in his lap as he twirled his chair around.  I was too afraid of hurting him, or putting too much weight on his chair, so I said no.  That was the last time he was out.  A week later he was placed on bed rest to heal a decubitus ulcer that had formed on his bottom, and he never recovered from that.  I wish I had said yes.

(Google Image) 

This is National Dance Day.  Today, more than ever dancing is all around.  There are televison shows such as "So you think you can Dance?" and "Dancing with the Stars", there are movies about dancing such as Footloose, and even video games like Wii dancing.  Dancing is great exercise, it allows you to shake your booty, and gets the blood flowing.  It strengthens your muscles and your heart.  So today,

Work like you don't need the money.

Love like you've never been hurt.

Dance like no-one's watching.

Sing like no-one's listening.

Live like there's no tomorrow.

(Google Image) 

STRESS- the word itself conjures up ...

Stress Awareness Day - 4.16.2011

Notes and tips by Vivian Takafuji, CMT, MQT, PhD

STRESS- the word itself conjures up not-so-pleasant images and thoughts for each of us as we read it, especially at this time of year during tax time…it's not likely a word that we need to be more aware of that it's there in our busy lives.

What probably does need further 'awareness' in this modern age is how we process the stressors in our lives and not let them overwhelm us and influence our thinking and emotions. Let's be realistic - we cannot eliminate all the stress in our lives but we can find ways to reduce our negative responses to them.

A certain amount of stress is actually necessary: our bodies need a degree of physiological stress and movement on our bones and joints for optimal conditioning, especially as we age. We need certain environmental stresses to keep our immune systems challenged and healthy. And yes, a certain amount of financial stress is necessary for our survival and to keep us propelling forward in our goals and endeavors.

If we work to change our mindset about how we view our stressors, maybe we can find ways to ultimately use them to transform our lives. What we need to learn and practice are some ideas on how exactly to make that happen; however, what 'works' will be different for all of us and needs to be adjusted for each situation as it presents, so keep trying! Here are some tips that have worked in the past for this writer:

1. Pause and prioritize. Take a moment’s pause in the heat of it all – can anything wait until another time? One main item getting crossed off the list in a day instead of all ten might be enough to keep progressing in-time for your goals.
2. Breathe from your abdomen. The "count to ten" adage really does have some merit- take the time for some deep breaths, focusing on the exhale, blowing out your mouth with pursed lips, trying to making them twice as long as your inhalation. You'll notice after a couple of breaths your physiology calming and the extreme emotions beginning to stabilize.
3. Exercise. Our bodies are designed to move, being sedentary at our desks for 8 hours is contradictory to our very nature and design. However, intense cardiovascular exercise may not be necessary for everyone to adjust stress levels (and might be more detrimental than helpful to some) - just getting up to remove yourself from the stressful environment, person, etc can oftentimes be enough to help. Ideally, a walk outside with nature can be immensely therapeutic.
4. Meditate. A large factor in our responses to stress is the build-up of mental "clutter" and the negative emotions- worry, anxiety, depression, etc. that we attach to the stress. By learning how to clear the mind, new possibilities are free to enter and who knows, long-awaited solutions may just come to us. A gentle movement therapy such as a Qigong or Tai Chi class is a great way to incorporate mind-body techniques.
5. Get a massage. The benefits of a good therapeutic massage are endless. From this massage therapist's point of view, many shifts in the physical, emotional, and even spiritual aspects of the body are possible and very likely. For many, just knowing an appointment for a massage is on the calendar is an important psychological reinforcement to do something "good" for yourself and enough to break-up your stressful week. (To schedule your massage, visit www.viviantakafuji.com)
6. Smile and laugh. Even if you need to force it, a smile can immediately shift your biochemistry and release the "feel-good" endorphins that are the natural painkillers in your body. Even better, if you can find a way to laugh- listen to a joke, watch a funny sitcom, etc, verbally expressing your state of mind can be stress-relieving.
7. Find a support group. It doesn't need to be a formal group, even friends and family can be enough to lean on in tough times. Reaching out for help is never a weakness or cope-out! In turn, being a support for someone else can be therapeutic by taking ourselves out of our own stress-filled worlds and feeling good about helping another person.

We're not going to be able to make our life 'stress-free', but we can certainly try to make it 'stress-less'. The tough reality about stress is that it's always going to exist. Even If we can find a way to relieve our stress today, tomorrow will surely bring about an entirely new set of stressors. The best we can do is find ways to manage it in the present moment by continually practicing these tips (and other similar ideas). With positive reinforcement, we can work to improve our stress-levels, just like any other skill.

"When we change the way that we look at things, the things we look at change"-- Dr. Wayne Dyer