Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Gray and Green and White all over

I attended a networking function last night. I try to go to a couple every week to meet new connections who could be future clients or intro me to future clients. This event had a mix of professionals from various industries. Everything from realtors to attorneys to alternative healing practitioners.

I really enjoy learning about alternative therapies and ways to use energy, herbs, nutrition, etc. as a way to stay healthy and heal instead of or as a supplement to traditional Western medicine. However, I left the event a little freaked out after talking with 2 separate practitioners.

Here's what happened. In both cases, after intros and chatting briefly about what we do, both people leaned in a little to me and said something to the effect of, "I hope you don't mind me saying this. I normally don't say things like this to people I've just met, but it's apparent to me that you are really struggling right now. It would help you to find a way to relax and release some of your negative energy." - or something like that.

It's been a very difficult, stressful year or two - both personally and professionally. However, I pride myself on being able to put my best face forward in a crowd and I truly enjoy being in situations where I'm meeting new people and learning about them. It helps me to stay positive and energetic! I didn't really mind when the 1st guy told me that I seemed to be oozing negativity, but when another woman told me something similar later in the evening, I started to really wonder. They both said that most people won't pick up on it but they could sense it. The woman read my aura and said I have a very large very dark gray (at least it's not black!) outer aura with green and white closest to me. Green signifies healing energy and white is spiritual. At least I have those going for me! I honestly wasn't surprised, due to everything that's been going on. It made me wonder, though. Can other people see or sense my distress?

I felt pretty crappy after that and realized that what these well-meaning people did was the equivalent of asking someone if they feel okay because they look like hell. It makes you feel worse! So I started envisioning my green and white auras expanding and erasing the gray. I also began to think about all the proactive things I can do to continue to heal and improve my situation.

Would it help me to have my chi adjusted or go for a massage? Most definitely. But I also know that I can begin to make good things happen right here, right now, today. So, now I'm gonna go do that! I hope you have a great day too!

Sunday, September 28, 2008

A health & beauty tip!

Remember years ago when aloe vera was THE cure-all for everything? Well, I've recently had trouble with some sort of allergic reaction to something I was using on my face. It was getting progressively worse - lots of itchy bumps that would go away and then come back on an hour by hour basis. It was really aggravating!

I went to the dermatologist who gave me a topical steroid that kind of worked - but not really. She said I could come back for a patch test where she would put 33 patches on my back and I could not get them wet (i.e. take a shower) for several days. Ewww! Plus it was going to cost me $1,000 outta pocket. I decided to wait before biting that bullet.

I recently stopped using all moisturizers and was wearing makeup only when absolutely necessary. One morning after a fitful, itchy night of sleep I was rummaging around in the medicine closet and found a long-forgotten bottle of aloe vera gel. I figured I'd give it a try. Eureka! After only a few days the itchy red bumps were going away and now after a little over a week my skin looks better than it has in years!

Everything old is new again.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Where do you go?

The past few weeks have been less than fantastic - at least on the financial and political fronts. It appears as though the U.S. Federal Government is not inching us, but kicking and throwing us headlong toward socialism. I understand that the failure of AIG, Freddie Mac & Fannie Mae would have been devastating to the U.S. and International Economies. However, now the government is REALLY IN OUR BUSINESS. I don't like it. Not one bit.

This, combined with the erosion of private property rights is not a good sign.

I feel the walls closing in. What to do? Well, we could elect people at all levels of government who are more responsible and who will adhere to the U.S. Constitution. That's getting more and more difficult as the media just becomes a louder and larger cheering section for candidates with leftist viewpoints. It makes it hard to get a true understanding of who stands for what and what they will REALLY do once in office. True, there are many more sources for news and reporting via the Internet, but which sources are really reporting objectively? Very few, from what I can see. It's easy to find reporting from a 'right' or 'left' point of view, but rare to read something that doesn't reek of some sort of opinion somewhere in the article.

So, if the U.S. is truly running off the cliff and we're witnessing the death of capitalism and freedom, where do we go? As far as I can tell (I've traveled internationally to some degree), this is still the best country in the world. If this is as good as it gets, what now? What are the options?

A) Fight for liberty
B) Develop an escape plan - get 'off the grid' somehow. Whether that means living in the wilderness, heading to another country with a pile of cash, or figuring out how to 'shrug' (as in "Atlas Shrugged")
C) Go with the flow and live life as best you can

As for me, I'm most inclined to choose Option A. Go down fighting for what's right and let the government pry my gun outta my cold dead hands. Figuratively speaking. At least I hope so!

But I've also often wondered about Option C. What makes people 'keep going' when they live under restrictive governments? Even as a little kid, when I learned about people living in the Soviet Union and behind the Iron Curtain, I thought, "Do they ever laugh or smile?" I suppose not many of them did if they were exiles in Siberia. As I got older and learned about the 'art' of procreation, I wondered why people would continue to choose to have children. Did they just not care? Were they hopeful that they could create a generation who would eventually rise up for freedom and a better way of life? If I were living a miserable, cold gray life and had to stand in line to buy government bread and toilet paper, I'd figure out a way to check out for good. Perhaps that's why so many are/were vodka addicts.

And speaking of standing in line...have you stood in line at the post office recently? (WARNING - RANT AHEAD) Or, have you ever talked with anyone who has dealt with a VA Hospital? This is government provided healthcare people! It boggles my mind that people want the government to 'give' us healthcare. We'll pay through our collective noses for it and have limited choice, longer waiting times, more bureaucracy, and very very bad headaches that won't go away. Why don't people see that!?!?? Idiots. (Rant done.)

It obviously wasn't any great shakes living under Communist rule. I mean, look at how many people died trying to escape East Berlin. How ironic would it be if people began running across the border from the U.S. into Mexico? Or into Canada? That actually gives me an idea. All the people who want government healthcare can go to Canada. All the pot smokers have a choice of going north OR south! Good cheeb comes from Canada and Mexico. Or so I've heard.

What's your escape plan? Where will you go when the bottom really falls out? Unless some major turnaround experts begin taking the reins in D.C. and at the state & local levels, we're sliding down a slippery mountain (not a mere slope).

Stay tuned for next week's blog. I'll have some more ideas about how we can make Option A a reality.





Friday, September 5, 2008

Hurtling toward the final day

No matter what you think about how healthy you are or your belief in God or religion, we're all now one breath closer to our last. Some people might think that thought is morbid, but it's what unifies us as living beings. No matter what your beliefs, your nationality, political persuasion, or even whether you smoke 4 packs a day or drink wheatgrass on a regular basis...we're all going to die. It's just a matter of when and how painful or surprising it will be.

I've been thinking about death more than usual recently. It doesn't make me sad the way it used to. Maybe it's because I've finally come to understand that it's a normal part of life. People have been dying since...well, since the beginning of time. Or, at least since people first roamed the earth. I want to think like I did when I was in my teens: "Everybody's doin' it! It can't be THAT bad." Of course, people (mostly women) have been having babies since the beginning of time too, but I haven't talked myself into doing that yet. I suppose like most people, I'm mostly worried about pain leading up to death. Everyone wants to die in their sleep after they've lived a long, fulfilling life. Sometimes, for a variety of reasons, it just doesn't turn out that way. The fulfilling life part or the death part. The other 'choices' include disease, war, mayhem, in-home accidents, car wrecks, terrorist attacks, dog attacks, spider bites, curious rednecks, murder, tornadoes, drowning, and other various forms that eventually lead to the final heartbeat.

I love life and when I get REALLY philosophical and introspective I get the urge to run out of the house and just keep going until I've seen everything, been everywhere and experienced everything life has to offer! I'll swim with dolphins, explore wild jungles, meet wise medicine men, ski the best slopes, see all the modern AND ancient wonders of the world, roam the great cities, see historically significant locales, and eat a lot of really interesting food like those world travelers on The Food Network and The Travel Channel. But then reality sets in and I remember that I've let my passport expire so I'd need to wait at least a few weeks before that was renewed and mailed back to me. And then there's the small matter of money to do all that. How do you fit all of that into one 'normal' lifespan? And what is a normal lifespan anyway? My advice is to NOT ask an insurance actuary. You'll get stuck in the corner as they bore you to death (seriously!) telling you all about the formulas for creating mortality tables and how life spans continue to increase as modern medicine progresses.

It can't progress quickly enough in some cases. My best friend's husband may very well not live through the next 7 days. He's been battling a very rare and mysterious disease for the past 2 years and has now been diagnosed with an extremely aggressive form of leukemia. He's 41 years old. It's not fair. He's one of those larger than life people who excels at everything he does. Before he was sick, he was always the life of the party and a constant bundle of energy. Why is he sick? Why does my friend have to nurse him at this stage of their lives and witness his suffering? It's taking an enormous toll on her too, of course. It's painful and frustrating knowing there is absolutely nothing I can do to help or comfort either of them.

My grandmother will turn 90 in a few months. Recently, it's become apparent to all of us that she has dementia. She's also beginning to have aches and pains and get sick. She was never sick before. She was one of those amazing 'active seniors' who was always on the go, independent, healthier than I was, and sharp as a tack. All of those qualities are disappearing. I miss them. I hope she's not in pain. Not even for one second as she eases into her final days.

And who knows if her final days are truly days or if she'll muddle through and we'll prop her up in front of a cake when she turns 100? 105? When she is 105, will she be aware of it? Does she want that?

That's just it. Nobody knows the specifics of when or how they will pass into the next part of the journey. I've heard the debates about knowing you have 6 months to live vs. getting hit by a bus as you cross the street tomorrow at 9:14 AM. Which is better? Which is better for those you leave behind? My answer is neither and all of the above. There is no way to make the grieving easier. I suppose the only thing to do is to make dying easier by contemplating it early and often and looking at it as a release of any suffering and pain. If you have religious/spiritual beliefs, those can be amazingly comforting, as you realize that just because your soul no longer inhabits your physical body, there is another form of life and experience in the after. Amazing! I look forward to experiencing that some day.

It still makes the whole process difficult to reconcile at times. I don't like knowing that my friend and grandmother are quite possibly very close to death. Of course, who's to say that I'm not hurtling toward it myself at this moment? It's like a big confusing race to a finish line that is on a different spot on the track for all of us. On any given day I might be on the inside track (pizza & chocolate cheesecake combined with taking deep breaths of radioactive air as I stumble through a dark alley) or maybe I'm in it for the triathlon. Either way, I'm renewing my passport as soon as possible.




Friday, August 29, 2008

This historic day

So Sen. John McCain announced today that his running mate will be Alaskan Governor, Sarah Palin. I don't know much about her other than what little I've read and seen during her introductory speech in Dayton, OH. So far, it seems like a bold, but clever move on McCain's part. What else would we expect from McCain after all these years?

In a way, I'm excited because now the election is VERY interesting! So many opportunities to watch people squirm as they try to be politically correct. And doesn't it seem that the more politically correct we are, the meaner we become? How is that possible? Maybe it's just that I'm more aware as I become older. Or maybe it's the fact that news is 24/7 and any crackpot (including me! woo-hoo!) can write anything on a blog or MySpace and it gets blasted around the world in nanoseconds.

The first question that popped into my mind (the 1st question after, 'Who is Sarah Palin??' anyway...) was, "I wonder if she's related to Michael Palin of Monty Python fame?" A very important question! This is probably why I never went into serious journalism.

I LOVE politics and observing all the craziness. I am definitely not a Democrat nor am I a Republican. I'm somewhere in the middle. Perhaps Libertarian, but I don't really fit in with all of their stuff either.

Regardless, it makes me angry and sad that the truly strongest, most intelligent, and overall best candidates to lead the free world as President (or VP) of the U.S. would never run because:
1) the press is completely insatiable in trying to find anything that can become a scandal (and add a '-gate' at the end of it. I swear if I hear about one more "Scandal-gate" I'm going to demand that press credentials begin to be revoked on the grounds of lack of creativity! How did the press ever report any scandalous news prior to Watergate? Sheesh!!) Who wants to have a cavity search and subject all of their relatives and close friends to that kind of scrutiny? And if there isn't ANYTHING scandalous that can be found...well that's just downright weird. Everyone has a skeleton (or at least a small bone or two) in the closet. Except for me, of course. I'm angelic.
2) The pay sucks - any good leader worth his or her salt is currently the CEO of a major corporation and collecting a nice paycheck with perks. True, the Prez gets AirForce One and a cool Secret Service code name, along with the ability to veto Congress and other fun stuff. I suppose just having the ability to press "the button" if there's a really bad day makes up for the low pay grade. The fact that I just wrote that sentence probably disqualifies me for the job.
3) It's lonely at the top. Nobody calls you by your given name anymore. It's "Mr. President" and everything is very formal. You can't just go take a walk or sneak down to the convenience store because you're having a 3 AM craving for M&Ms. THAT is what I want my Commander In Chief to be able to have access to in the middle of the night. Foreign policy experts and advisors are available 24/7, but sometimes it's just as critical that you have access to a really gooey, cheesy pizza in the middle of the night.
4) Yes, you meet with heads of state, but so many of them are looney toon dictators trying to pretend they are something else, speak with funny accents and present you with gifts that most likely come from their nation's version of Stuckey's. "Mr. President, I am pleased to present to you this gift of a walnut bowl made by the hands of the proud people of my country. May it bring you much wisdom (and please continue to send us money and don't bomb us!)." I mean, you wouldn't hang out with them and be friends other than the fact that global diplomacy kind of demands it. Don't get me wrong...I love all different types of people and am fascinated to learn about and from people who are from other countries. However, if I don't 'click' with someone or have a reason to do business together, there is no social or political pressure that they stay for dinner and overnight in my version of the Lincoln Bedroom. Nor do I have to itemize the funky hostess gifts and ultimately donate them to my library.

So, congratulations and best wishes to Sarah Palin for being the first woman to be chosen as the VP candidate by the Republican Party. This is truly an historical day for women. I think your presence in this race has made people across the political spectrum sit up and take notice a little more. I hope you fare well under the pressure and prove to be the great leader and candidate that your resume' presents. If you and Sen. McCain (or for that matter, if Obama/Biden) win the election, just please stay out of my home, my wallet, and my business. Protect our country. Abide by the U.S. Constitution. Now THAT would be the true American dream.