| MY WIFE THINKS I'M CRAZY BUT IT WORKS
Did you know that during the Middle Ages, it was believed that all illnesses, from plague and smallpox to epilepsy and gout, stemmed from an overabundance of blood? The typical treatment was bloodletting, or the nicking of veins or arteries to cause blood flow.
Strangely, we still practice something similar to bloodletting today – blood donations.
“Lettuce Turnip the Beet®” – Elektra
We all want our kids to eat more vegetables, but most kids consume far less than they should. It can be a constant struggle – “Finish your veggies then you can have dessert.” Ever say this? Bad idea. Research shows that children learn to prefer the reward food over the “have to eat” food. This is why it’s so important to offer tasty vegetables often and model healthy eating.
There are ways to get your kids to eat their greens…and enjoy them. Our kids will down a salad before you have a chance to put dressing on it (homemade dressing, of course). In fact, check out this video of Brixton eating some collard greens fresh from the garden.
“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” – Milton Berle
I’ve always been fascinated with Thomas Edison. When I was a kid, my family and I would visit the Edison & Ford Winter Estates, where we would explore all his inventions, a huge 13 acre garden and my favorite part, his lab. An interesting story that I recall from one of the visits is that Edison’s lab had burnt down in 1914, destroying years’ worth of his work. Most people could have easily described this as the worst thing to happen to Edison, but he chose to see it as an energizing opportunity that forced him to re-examine much of his work. Edison reportedly said at the time “Thank goodness all our mistakes were burnt up. Now we can start again fresh.”
My focus for 2014 is to build and improve relationships with friends and family. Studies have linked strong social connectedness with measures as varied and dramatic as motor skill retention, cancer survival, general immune function, memory function preservation, and overall longevity. In contrast, social isolation has been connected with a higher risk for Alzheimer’s disease and heart disease. So, I decided to kick-off the New Year a little differently…
“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment” – Possibly The Buddha
The votes are in. This February for My21DayX I’ll be meditating every day for 21 days. When I first found out that this was the next experiment, I thought, how boring. But as I began to research it, my anticipation skyrocketed.
If you join me, by the end of the 21 days, your life may be completely different – with hopes of being more relaxed, more optimistic and have developed a healthful habit (among a bunch of other possible positive outcomes).