'Tis the Season

Out of common courtesy and to remain multiculturally respectful to my friends and family I would like to wish a Happy and Safe Holidays to everyone that is reading this Christmas edition post.  As you take a break from the hopefully festive festivities I would like to give my two cents on why this particular holiday should not be the first time you reflect and appreciate your good tidings, but also why we all should be rushing to get our Old Years resolutions in order to make this upcoming year better than the last.

No matter what your religious or personal belief system, I think we all can agree reflecting on our lives is a valued practice that can allow us to celebrate our past accomplishments of the year and correct course on journeys and practices heading ourselves in the wrong direction.  This article is not here to serve as a guide towards judging yourself on what you have done right and wrong in the past, or what corrections you should make in your future.  If you are looking for that guidebook please look towards the book of your faith or the elder with whom you seek wisdom.  Experiences are something that cannot be taught and therefore must be lived in order to grow from its fruitful lessons.   

Anecdotal evidence isn't rigorous evidence at all, but it helps us understand a certain perspective or rule so we may integrate or understand how it is applicable into our own lives.  That said, I'll share this year’s tale of a friend of mine who had a passport and the finances to travel abroad outside of the North American continent.  When I initially spoke with her she planned to go to Costa Rica in the future and sought a partner to join her on this journey. This particular day as we were conversing, she spoke  of wanting to travel abroad again, but stated her futile pursuit of a partner had left her journey-less and in the same rut she began.  At this moment, without scrutiny I offered her the option of having a travel partner and a trip that would most likely be a memorable one.  

Without hammering on the details and gossipy aspects of this story I would only like to state that this conversation happened 3 weeks prior to our trip in June/July and now  the aforementioned lonely passport (virgin to all foreign immigration officers’ inquisitions) has now had the pleasure of entering 8 countries so far this year.  The old saying is “do something today instead of putting it off for tomorrow”, but our silly minds that have seen the sun rise day after day constantly believe tomorrow is a better and possibly brighter day to take on some of these tasks in our lives.  This blog was born of the idea that instead of making resolutions for some far off tomorrow that may exist, why not build urgency into the things that we deem important enough to be contemplated and enthusiastic about?  As the year is ending and a new one approaches, why won't we take the time to think of the rights and wrongs of the years and enact policy changes in our old lives before the new year begins?  

When opportunity presents itself, we must leap from our seated and stagnant positions to acquire what may lead to a bountiful future.  There will be failures and there will be triumphs, but once again there will be another holiday season, birthday, life changing event, birth, death, wedding, illness or personal conflict in which we will have the opportunity to once again reflect on all that has happened and reset our course to hopefully a more promising one. 

There are only 6 days left in 2013 for all of us to change something to better our lives, to lead us to a place where we deem happiness to exist, to revel in our old accomplishments and do what we must to make tomorrow a better and easier day.  But in all of this, don't ever forget that when a friend or family member is looking and searching and you know the way, to simply extend a hand and help them move forward in their dreams and goals.  Though anecdotal, I can honestly say making someone else's dreams come true and supporting a friend was one of my biggest 2013 accomplishments and hopefully before the year is out, I can conquer this dream of reminding everyone out there to help others as they help themselves.

Till then.

Youthful Medications

Today, as my first post we shall look at the interesting paths that many people take in their lives to live a happy and fulfilling life based on their beliefs of what makes their lives worth living.  To do this let us first remind ourselves of what it was like living over the decades of life and then fast forward to the present in which we fear for our future selves.

The first decade of life can easily be defined as the most informative years of our lives, in which we define who we are, what we represent and our personal tendencies unbeknownst to ourselves in those years can be seen by our family and friends.  In the first 3 years of life one will go from socially externally expression our inner emotions and feelings to interacting with the outside world and grasping onto it's ideologies and ways.  Cultural norms will become our own and the world we live in will seem vast full of energy and potential.  This leads us to learning how to speak, say hello, count a few numbers, feel fear and happiness and to overall shine in our own way.  After these few years we will grow, mature, engaged, learn in formal and informal settings before coming upon our very first decade.  Not once will we look back and be thankful for the lack of congenital disease that we may have been born with or acquired, no once will we think about all the near misses we had when falling, or being pushed where we left the situation with minimal if any scars and we won't ever think of how life would have been should we have had cerebral palsy.

Now the second decade of life is truly the bread and butter of development when it comes to our social interactions and lifestyle.  Everyone of us can look back on this time and think about how poorly we dressed, the lack of education and insight we possessed and the importance of our friends during this time period.  If hindsight is 20/20 then in this formative years it is certainly 20/10 as we experimented physically through athletics, emotionally with relationships or possibly medicinally with the plethora of wonder drugs that became available to us on the school yards and friend's houses.  Some of us, including myself, remained in a bubble for most of this decade as we read, studied and attempted to advance ourselves in life for the ultimate goal of getting into a "good" high school and then going to a "great" college to eventually land the "best" job or to consider going through more schooling to only enter a "prestigious" professional career.   

Now I can continue on to the third or fourth decade, but given that I'm living my third one at this time, I would feel pompous to know how this decade or the next will present themselves.  If you yourself know the answer there is no need to rush the one thing that money cannot buy, and that is viable time.  Time the one precious thing that people will waste for more items, stuff, TV programming, wealth, partners, and many other things just for a short lived high or unmemorable moment.  This all brings me to the concept of youthful pills, medications and injections that many patient's find desirable.  Before my colleagues decide to jump at my throat I will quickly state that antibiotic, retro-viral, oncological, and disease modifying medications are not what I'm eliciting towards.  This post is borne from the new report recently published in the media of the promise of a medication that may reverse the effects of aging on muscles (See BBC Article).  The promises of the study claim that maybe in the future we maybe able to give muscles their youthful properties with more mitochondria (power house of the cell body) and less waste materials.

So, what is the real answer to youthful medication, increased time in one's life, fruitful living and happiness?  Well that is the easiest answer of them all and if you remember to the days of your first decade in life you probably spent a lot of time doing these things.  At least I hope your parents were fortunate enough to allow you the ability to be outside playing and inside reading and creating things with your imagination as your only limit.  First and foremost, exercise is the most vital and life prolonging, pain relieving, depression preventing and time beneficial activity anyone can do.  On a bike you can see the worlds greatest sights and terrain, on foot you can explore the ground beneath your feet to the wildlife that is most likely within miles from your home, and in the water you can take time to swim and think about the issues in your life without any outside electronic interference unless you enjoy using waterproof headphones.  As for dieting you can prevent and possibly cure diabetes, osteoarthritis, hypertension, certain cancers, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, pain syndromes and of course strokes.  These two things should have been promoted in your youth with apple wedges for snacks and play grounds to run in.  Financial security will prevent undue stress and headaches, which I would say is vital to being able to enjoy a healthy diet and enjoyable exercises, but to not spend your time wisely pursuing a healthy diet and an exercise regiment is truly wasting your time, the one thing you will never get back.

Till Then.