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November 7th, 2013 I know. Not a household word, but one we all need to know. Tonight at work I was browsing the Koko Stronger Blog and today’s entry was about telomeres being the fountain of youth we all search for. The easiest way to explain it (according to the blog) is to picture a shoelace with the plastic end on it as a strand of our DNA. The plastic thing represents the telomere on the end of our shoelace. Over time that telomere grows shorter. Once it’s gone the DNA starts unraveling like a shoelace with no plastic thing left on it. Ooh. That can’t be good. I don’t like the sound of my DNA unraveling and I don’t want to picture me with fraying DNA spouting in all directions. I guess it is kind of important to learn about our telomeres and how to keep them intact, so today I want to share this very important information with you.
Read Telomeres and the Fountain of Yourh and get started on lengthening yours today.
And so, as another day goes by, remember: take good care of your body, otherwise where will you live? And…I have written.
My fellow Cape Kokonuts – BRING FOOD!
November 6th, 2013 Yesterday I wrote about embracing discomfort. I wasn’t having a comfortable day. It seems, awhile ago, I have been asked by God to traipse new territory. Along the way He has asked me to step up and do something I know I must do, but have been avoiding. It seemed yesterday was the day.
Needless to say, my mood was a little low, but, I’m kind of proud to say, not as bad as I imagined it would be when I had to stand in front of God and “give it over”. I’m like a little kid who took something and is standing there hiding it behind her back, while the father is standing there with his hand out. Just as I was thinking about having to do this thing “for God”, an email dinged my phone. It was from my dear friend Shirley – who had no idea I was having this kind of day. In it it said:
Linda,I went back to a part of my journal, Not a Fan, that I missed when we were away, and although it was early in the day, the evening reflection went as follows:
“Anyone who looks at themselves honestly knows they have nothing to offer God. It’s what God offers us that changes things.”
Complete this sentence as if Jesus were speaking to you:
“Shirley (your name), I am offering you…
Write your response.
(At this point I couldn’t write fast enough as God fed me the words that I think I’m supposed to
share with you)
…strength for every day to serve Me with all your heart – regardless of what I ask you to do –
where…when…how… Just do it!
My response was: Ok God – Jesus walks in and with me – exciting to see where you lead/take me!!! I’ll do my best…
There was nothing profound, but spoken from the depths of my heart and I’m trying to trust and obey…
My friend felt compelled to share her own private thoughts of the day with me. (Shirley is a Christian writer who shares her faith through two wonderful books – info below.)
I was struck by two parts of the message: “It’s what God offers us that changes things” and “regardless of what I ask you to do – where…when…how – just do it!” How funny of me to think that if I offer God things, He’ll love me more or be more pleased with me. This is God we’re talking about. What could I possibly have that He needs? The second part of the message answered that. It’s my heart and my faith that God wants. Not the actual thing I’m hiding behind my back to “give over”. It’s what the thing means to me that God is pressing me to hand to Him.
I did it. Slowly, but I did it. I opened my heart and “gave it over”. I shed a few tears and went on with my day. Yes, my heart was a little heavy, but my exercise and yoga have conditioned me to embrace the discomfort.
Upon awaking this morning, I’m good. My treasure is gone, but I’m good. I’m still learning to gracefully let go of things never meant for me.
And so, as another day goes by, I love my friend Shirley, who is always watching out for me and praying for me, and…I have written.
Here is Shirley’s info. Be sure to check out her beautiful books.
Shirley Pieters Vogel
Author of award winning wHispers (when He is so precious even rocks sing) is a story about God’s marvelous love and faithfulness – especially in tough times.
Her new book Faith, Favorites, and Fotos of Cape Cod is now available.
Both books available in soft cover and e-book at Winepress , Amazon and bookstores.
Personalized copies from Shirley at whispers@shirleyvogel.com
November 5th, 2013 Lately I’ve been into Tabata cardio elliptical workouts. In the one I’ve been doing the end is really hard. After 6 sets of Tabatas (go as fast as you can for twenty seconds then as slow as you can for ten seconds, at varied inclines and resistances) you have to keep the incline at ten and crank up the resistance to twelve and push hard with your arms for also most two minutes. The trainer, Paul Romeo, talks about embracing the discomfort at the end. He says it’s where our survival instincts kick in and our brain is trained to deal with discomfort. For him, this is especially helpful when preparing for a race. It’s learning to see it through to the end without giving up.
What people don’t realize is how much our exercise trains our brains to see difficult things through in life, too. Both yoga and exercise are mind body connections. Without any form of exercise your brain is being deprived of training that could help you be more resilient in life, which in turn could help relieve stress. I often hear people saying they are thin and look good enough and don’t need to exercise. I also hear heavy people say they don’t care how they look. When are we going to realize exercise isn’t about how we look? It’s not about getting skinny. It’s about being strong in both mind and body so we can withstand the storms of life without hurting ourselves.
And so, as another day goes by, once more I climb on that machine to learn to embrace discomfort, and…I have written.
November 4th, 2013 My husband and I are watching the Patriots beating the Steelers 24-10 at halftime. This has been such a comfortable game compared to the last few weeks when we sat here watching Tom throw and ball after ball get dropped. Games were lost and won with much anxiety and frustration. Not so today. Today Tom has all his receivers back from injury and has hit his mark traveling 77 yards down the field in 1:45. This is the old Patriot way.
I turned to my husband and said, “It looks like the Patriots have regained control. They’re not throwing and running helter-skelter. This game feels like the old Patriots marching down the field, calculated and executing accurately.” He agreed.
I feel that way too. I finally feel back in control of my life. I go to bed and wake up peaceful for the first time in three years. Like the Pats, I’m calculating and executing, with confidence, the things I’d like to have in my life instead of just taking shots in the dark and seeing where they land when it gets light.
Tom got his receivers back and God let me have my brain back. We can both pick and choose our targets with confidence, instead of hap-hazard anxiety. Tom focuses on the win, I focus on God, and we both score. Tom can now choose between Gronk, Amendola, and Edelman. I find myself choosing to keep this and that in my life, while discarding things that no longer fit.
And so, as another day goes by, Pats won 55-31, and…I have written.
November 2nd, 2013 This morning I had to work at the Orleans fit club so I set the DVR to record the Red Sox celebration parade. I planned to work out after working, then come home and climb into my chair and watch it for the full four hours. It was a busy morning at the club, so I didn’t have much time to realize the parade was actually happening then, in real time, until this popped up on my phone:
My Boston daughter and her friend were right at the gate in front of the Hynes Convention Center. I sent her a quick “very cool!” and went on with my morning.
Upon arriving home, the parade was long over, I showered and snuggled into my chair and hit the play button. I wasn’t there. I wasn’t even watching it live. But I realized I was watching much more than just a baseball team celebrating a win. As I listened to each player approach the microphone at Fenway it soon became apparent to me this was a team that wasn’t out there celebrating their own victory. It was a team giving back to a healing city. This victory wasn’t for them. It was for the people. Two million people were cheering along the parade route.
Oh my…it just dawned on me my daughter is there in that crowd – and my mind – like so many others – went back to that day in April with a crowd just like that. I was glad I was watching a recording and my daughter was back home safe, because if I had watched it live, I would’ve been nervous with fear the whole time and wouldn’t be able to take it all in.
The pain and suffering of that day still lingers. Even to me, way down here on the Cape, watching a recording. The vibration still shakes the heart. Then the duck boats stopped on the finish line in front of the library. The players got out and put the trophy on the finish line and draped a Boston Strong T shirt over it. Then they sang God Bless America. It was right there the fear left my heart and in it’s place I felt the love and bonding that took place in that city today.
And so, as another day goes by, thank you Red Sox for not keeping the victory for yourselves, you won it because all season long you were playing for the people of your great city, instead of glorifying yourselves, you played to heal others, and…I have written.
For my readers: my daughter sent these videos so you could feel and hear the love that rang in the air in Boston today:
November 1st, 2013 It’s fun Friday A2Z blog hop day and this week’s letter is O. O is for order. I love order in my life. I love order in my home, my workplace, and my yard. I love order in my family and in my relationships. I love three days of newspapers stacked in order. I love my desk at the fit club clean and ordered just so. Let’s just say I love all my ducks in a row.
I spend a lot of time and energy getting those ducks in line. Then one has to take off. I go running after that duck and the rest scatter over the pond. I expend a lot of time and energy until they drive me crazy. Then I turn to God. “God, help me regain control over these ducks. I just can’t do it by myself.”
God says, “You always come to me when the ducks are helter-skelter. I listen to you, then together we go about setting them right again. You thank me. In a short time we repeat this cycle. Wouldn’t it be better to come to me before the first duck scatters? Then you wouldn’t have to expend all that energy rounding them up.”
Hmmm. Point well-taken.
At the fit club I clean clean surfaces and check machines that are in fine shape. Daily. The ducks stay in a row. Members always are assured a safe machine and a clean bathroom. So it should be with talking to God. Go over each member of the family with Him each day. Go over friends and finances that are doing just fine, in addition to the ones on our prayer lists that aren’t. The ducks stay in a row. Order is achieved. Less energy is expended chasing ducks and can be used for more productive things.
And so, as another day goes by, order is maintained longer by practicing preventative maintenance through prayer about all the things in our lives that are just fine, and…I have written.
October 28th, 2013 The other day I mentioned I faithfully follow certain blogs because they always deliver. I talked about one I unsubscribed to because it failed to deliver. Today I will tell you about one that I hung onto from day one. It used to be called Just Here and Now and the author is a Bikram yoga enthusiast so that is how I became familiar with it. She would only talk about yoga, meditation, etc. and didn’t want anyone to really know who she was. This past year she stopped hiding her identity and renamed her blog Lisa Jakub and decided to reveal her true self (which I will not tell you about because she does a better job than I could.)
The reason I’m writing about her today is because, once again, she did a way better job explaining “real love” as opposed to that which we see in the movies. (If you read her bio and find out who she really is, you’ll understand why I deem her an expert at movie anything).
Today Lisa has a new article at Hello Giggles, entitled Relationship Advice: Please Stop Watching Movies It is about real love off the big screen. The kind that occurs in your living room after the credits have rolled – where the “zsa zsa zu” lives. Just as I finished reading the article, I turned my head there was my husband engrossed in the Red Sox World Series game, and at the same time he turned to look at me and said, “Hey doll, can I get you anything?” Yup. Zsa zsa zu, right there in the chair next to me.
And so, as another day goes by, I hope you enjoy Lisa’s page and her article , and…I have written.
October 27th, 2013 We all take a moment to stand back and take stock of whatever it is we do to assess the difference we make in the lives of others by doing it. The other day I got an anxious email from a faithful reader “being selfish” and demanding that I don’t stop writing this blog. She was nervous because in my post Success..or Not?…Or Maybe I had mentioned that I no longer obsess over posting everyday and if a day or two goes by without writing it is because I have learned that there is more to writing than just putting the words on paper. I explained that ideas need to be nourished and crafted with some thinking time in between typing time. Also not obsessing over things is part of my total project of “letting go”.
After reassuring her that I had no intention of stopping because I have way too much left to say, I settled into the daily task of attending to emails. From time to time I subscribe to various blogs that I feel will move me forward spiritually and provide the fodder for thoughts and ideas I can bring to you. There was one blog I subscribed to, that today, I actually went to the “unsubscribe” link and let it go. As I did that, I wondered just what made me not want to read that particular blog anymore. What I found was interesting and helped me answer the question of my own effectiveness.
That blog always had interesting titles. (I’m a lover of titles.) I would eagerly click on the post, settle back with my tea, and get set to be enlightened, only to find the author barely wrote four sentences about the topic and was advertising signing up for a webinar to hear the rest. Even though the webinars are free, it’s not how I expected to get the information I was seeking. It’s too much trouble for me to schedule and sign in to listen. Plus I’m not a good listener. I’m a visual learner and I was prepared to sit and absorb this authors take on stress and wellness at my leisure. When I saw it was an advertisement for yet another webinar, (at least three out every four posts have been) I just hit the unsubscribe button.
That act caused me to question my own effectiveness by examining what it was that has kept me subscribed to lots of other blogs for over two years now. Basically, I trusted the authors to keep their promise. Their titles pulled me in and I always left with what I came for – short coffee or tea break where I had a chance to be given some new thought or idea that would in some way shape my thinking or reframe a struggle and make my life just a bit better – delivered in a clear, compact type of post I had come to expect from them.
Then came the question: Do I do that for my readers? I hope so. I’m encouraged by the email from that one reader begging me not to stop writing. I won’t. If anything she inspired me to continue to strive to deliver relevant, helpful content in a manner you, my reader, have come to expect.
It’s good to stop in the midst of our hustle and bustle to get things done and just be sure we’re hitting our mark of why we do them. We can be efficient without being effective and by not stopping to “take stock” effectiveness can elude us.
And so, as another day goes by, a job done is very different from a job well-done, and…I have written.
October 25th, 2013 
Welcome to the fun Friday A-Z blog hop. This weeks letter is N and “Needs” came to mind when thinking about being able to find and follow one’s passion. While driving, I remembered Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs I studied way back when in college. (I’m amazed I still remember these things – back then I swore I’d forget them as soon as the test was over.) Here’s a quick review:
At the top of the pyramid sits Self-Actualization – the hardest to reach and the best place to be. This is the spot where you have found and are able to follow your passion. All the other needs in the hierarchy have to be met before you reach this one. Sometimes you get stuck on or between one of the levels and your passion moves to the back burner.
We have all been there. Wanting to fulfill our passion, but being consumed by fear and anxiety because one of the needs on a lower level is not met. If you lose your job, are in the middle of a divorce, etc. it’s hard to give your full attention to that which makes your spirit soar – you get caught in just trying to survive.
And that is human nature. But always keep that tip of the pyramid in the back of your mind, like a candle in the night. It will guide you through your storm and give you purpose. One day you will get there.
What is really important to you? What do you want to get out of your life? The way you live your life should reflect that. Your passion will see you through.
And so, as another day goes by, identify your passion, see it clearly, let it guide and light your path, and…I have written.
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October 24th, 2013 Today I learned something about exercise that I shared with some of the fit club members tonight. I was working and a member came in about 6:30 and said, “Oh I’m so tired but I came anyway. I so didn’t feel like coming.” I told her that’s how I will feel when my shift ends and I have to get on that elliptical for just fifteen minutes. I told her how easy it would be to just lock the door and get home for the Red Sox game, and skip it. I won’t though because I learned something about exercise today that will keep me from doing that.
This morning the doctor that did Angelina Jolie’s double mastectomy was on the Queen Latifah show. She was talking about how to prevent breast cancer and exercise was a biggie. She said there are many days when she doesn’t feel like exercising, but exercise isn’t a feeling. You just get up and go do it.
I really liked that:
Exercise isn’t a feeling!
I shared that with a few people today and together we changed our perspective when it comes to those Oh I just don’t feel it times. Many mornings I don’t feel like brushing, flossing, and irrigating my teeth either. But I do it – because brushing my teeth isn’t a feeling. It just has to be done. Same goes for exercise.
And so, as another day goes by, you know what I always say: If you don’t take care of your body, where will you live? And…I have written.
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