My beautiful mother and I at a special occasion. How the expression of gratitude can pull you through the downsides of life...
First off, please accept my sincere apologies for the delay in getting this newsletter out the door. As some of you already know, my mother was sent to the emergency room after a bad fall. She has been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and vascular dementia (no cure). She’s totally bedridden and will live out her remaining days in a nursing home. My brother and I are devastated and overwhelmed.
While my brother and I have been on a roller coaster ride of emotions this past month (from angry outbursts at one another to laughing fits of hysteria over found memories from our childhood and tearful outbursts brought on by the realization that we’ve already lost the mother we once knew), we’ve bonded over the shared responsibility of caring for our mother and it’s been a beautiful experience. My brother has endured the greatest burden of caring for our mother, as he lives in Las Vegas with her. There was a time when I didn’t even think my brother was capable of taking care of himself, let alone an aging parent. But he has been amazing. It’s strange to me that the most beautiful experiences in life can come from a deeply painful place.
Watching our mother’s rapid decline in health has further renewed and strengthened my commitment to living the healthiest life possible and sharing this knowledge with others. In this day in age, we have so much open communication and access to non-big business sponsored information (read: don’t believe what food companies push off as healthy) that there really is no excuse for not eating and living a healthy life. If you are still shopping in the middle aisles of a grocery market, please join me in my quest to say goodbye to supermarket shopping and hello to locally-sourced, organic food from farmer’s markets and community sponsored agriculture (CSAs).
Starting next month, I will start seeing a limited number of clients for my six-month health coaching program, which will guide you to find the food and lifestyle choices that best support you and your family’s health. I will also help you to make gradual, lifelong changes that enable you to reach your current and future health goals. Reserve your spot now by clicking here.
Sometimes when I talk about preventative health with friends, I’m met with the age-old excuse of “well if one thing doesn’t give me cancer, something else will.” Have you seen someone deal with cancer? It’s horrific! So if you could prevent cancer from occurring in the first place, wouldn’t you want this for yourself and for your loved ones? I wish I would have known ten years ago what I know now…maybe I could have saved my father’s life (he passed away from lung cancer and diabetes).
The thing is – cancer is preventable.
Sure there are some people who are much more susceptible to cancer than others and will need to work much harder than most to prevent the onset of cancer, but again – it’s preventable. So is cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disease, depression, etc. But you have to commit to a different lifestyle – a lifestyle that reduces exposure to environmental toxins, effectively manages stress, eats a clean diet, engages in intermittent fasting, and exercises on a regular bases. Sound like a lot to do in one day? Well, let’s put it this way – the alternative is pre-mature aging and chronic illness. I’ve spent enough time in hospitals and oncology wards to know that it’s not the way to go. And I hope and pray that you feel the same!
Oh, how I digress! Back to keister’s and gratitude. So as I mentioned, recently my brother and I have been at each other’s throats and we’ve laughed so hard at times that someone might have even peed her pants a little bit (hee hee! don’t tell anyone ;). Losing a parent is something we’ve all faced or will face. So how do you get through it?
The same way you get through any of life’s downsides. Be grateful for the good times and remember them often.
When you stop to think about it, life can be downright painful. Failed relationships, the death of a loved one, senseless terrorist attacks, a crappy economy – I mean, what’s the friggin point sometimes, right!? But when I look at my brother now and how much of an impact he’s had on my mother’s life, I’m only reminded of the kindness of humanity. At the end of day we are all in this together: we cherish our good times and bond through the difficult times.
Getting to a more personal level, if there’s one thing I’m a stickler for in a relationship, it’s making a big deal of life’s little successes. These moments will carry you through the difficult times. It’s easy to take your partner for granted, but this will eventually take a toll on your relationship. How much easier is it to express gratitude to your partner every day and foster a relationship based in mutual respect, honesty and love.
One exercise I like to give clients is to have them keep a gratitude journal. Gratitude is a pretty powerful emotion – it’s been called the heart’s memory. And it’s what keeps us going in times of despair. By showing your gratitude, appreciation and love for the people and things around you on a daily basis, more of your thoughts and words become positive, and you'll start attracting more positive people and circumstances. It’s easy to get lost and caught up in the day-to-day boredom of normal life. So when you stop to appreciate the things that make life special, jot them down and you will soon rewire your brain to focus on the positives.
In closing, please keep my mother in your thoughts! I have fond memories of this dear, sweet lady that will be cherished for the remainder of my life.
First off, please accept my sincere apologies for the delay in getting this newsletter out the door. As some of you already know, my mother was sent to the emergency room after a bad fall. She has been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and vascular dementia (no cure). She’s totally bedridden and will live out her remaining days in a nursing home. My brother and I are devastated and overwhelmed.
While my brother and I have been on a roller coaster ride of emotions this past month (from angry outbursts at one another to laughing fits of hysteria over found memories from our childhood and tearful outbursts brought on by the realization that we’ve already lost the mother we once knew), we’ve bonded over the shared responsibility of caring for our mother and it’s been a beautiful experience. My brother has endured the greatest burden of caring for our mother, as he lives in Las Vegas with her. There was a time when I didn’t even think my brother was capable of taking care of himself, let alone an aging parent. But he has been amazing. It’s strange to me that the most beautiful experiences in life can come from a deeply painful place.
Watching our mother’s rapid decline in health has further renewed and strengthened my commitment to living the healthiest life possible and sharing this knowledge with others. In this day in age, we have so much open communication and access to non-big business sponsored information (read: don’t believe what food companies push off as healthy) that there really is no excuse for not eating and living a healthy life. If you are still shopping in the middle aisles of a grocery market, please join me in my quest to say goodbye to supermarket shopping and hello to locally-sourced, organic food from farmer’s markets and community sponsored agriculture (CSAs).
Starting next month, I will start seeing a limited number of clients for my six-month health coaching program, which will guide you to find the food and lifestyle choices that best support you and your family’s health. I will also help you to make gradual, lifelong changes that enable you to reach your current and future health goals. Reserve your spot now by clicking here.
Sometimes when I talk about preventative health with friends, I’m met with the age-old excuse of “well if one thing doesn’t give me cancer, something else will.” Have you seen someone deal with cancer? It’s horrific! So if you could prevent cancer from occurring in the first place, wouldn’t you want this for yourself and for your loved ones? I wish I would have known ten years ago what I know now…maybe I could have saved my father’s life (he passed away from lung cancer and diabetes).
The thing is – cancer is preventable.
Sure there are some people who are much more susceptible to cancer than others and will need to work much harder than most to prevent the onset of cancer, but again – it’s preventable. So is cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disease, depression, etc. But you have to commit to a different lifestyle – a lifestyle that reduces exposure to environmental toxins, effectively manages stress, eats a clean diet, engages in intermittent fasting, and exercises on a regular bases. Sound like a lot to do in one day? Well, let’s put it this way – the alternative is pre-mature aging and chronic illness. I’ve spent enough time in hospitals and oncology wards to know that it’s not the way to go. And I hope and pray that you feel the same!
Oh, how I digress! Back to keister’s and gratitude. So as I mentioned, recently my brother and I have been at each other’s throats and we’ve laughed so hard at times that someone might have even peed her pants a little bit (hee hee! don’t tell anyone ;). Losing a parent is something we’ve all faced or will face. So how do you get through it?
The same way you get through any of life’s downsides. Be grateful for the good times and remember them often.
When you stop to think about it, life can be downright painful. Failed relationships, the death of a loved one, senseless terrorist attacks, a crappy economy – I mean, what’s the friggin point sometimes, right!? But when I look at my brother now and how much of an impact he’s had on my mother’s life, I’m only reminded of the kindness of humanity. At the end of day we are all in this together: we cherish our good times and bond through the difficult times.
Getting to a more personal level, if there’s one thing I’m a stickler for in a relationship, it’s making a big deal of life’s little successes. These moments will carry you through the difficult times. It’s easy to take your partner for granted, but this will eventually take a toll on your relationship. How much easier is it to express gratitude to your partner every day and foster a relationship based in mutual respect, honesty and love.
One exercise I like to give clients is to have them keep a gratitude journal. Gratitude is a pretty powerful emotion – it’s been called the heart’s memory. And it’s what keeps us going in times of despair. By showing your gratitude, appreciation and love for the people and things around you on a daily basis, more of your thoughts and words become positive, and you'll start attracting more positive people and circumstances. It’s easy to get lost and caught up in the day-to-day boredom of normal life. So when you stop to appreciate the things that make life special, jot them down and you will soon rewire your brain to focus on the positives.
In closing, please keep my mother in your thoughts! I have fond memories of this dear, sweet lady that will be cherished for the remainder of my life.
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