One thing leads to another..... choosing happiness.

Funny how one thing can lead to another.......I was checking out FB this morning and came upon a video post from my friend, Lynn Jankowski. It shows a comedian who is talking to some middle school students about bullying, and how one solution would be to teach compassion and love. 

 Click to see video.

During his presentation, he used a quote from Helen Keller which I found inspiring. So I 'googled' the quote and came across a blog posted back in 2012 by Kahuna-pule Kimo called, 'If I had No Vision'. (See the blog here) - which was also inspiring. 

Below is an excerpt from this post. 

"An interviewer once made the comment to the blind Helen Keller, “Ms. Keller, it must be hard being blind.”  Her response was a revelation: “It would be if I had no Vision because we really see with our hearts.”

The key to Ms. Keller’s wisdom was having accepted that her eyes did not work as they should and not wasting time railing against the sight that she lacked, but instead to determinedly grow in happiness with what she had.  What she shows us is that happiness is a choice.  Happiness is based upon acceptance of where we are - even when there is further to go, of how we are - even when there is further to grow and of who we are - even when there is more to know.  Did you choose to be happy today?"

Thanks to Kahuna-pule Kimo, I am going to look for more things to appreciate today. 

Just labels...

A few years back, I was once told that my mind was my greatest asset - but also my worst enemy. How true was that statement! While having a shower this morning (and it would seem that I do a lot of thinking at that time of day), I found myself thinking about my new status as someone receiving a pension. Then I got to thinking - am I a pensioner or not? 

My first thoughts were, 'I'm not 65, nor receiving Old-Age Pension, so therefore I'm not technically a pensioner'. Then I could hear my brother saying... 'You're receiving Canada Pension and your Teachers' Pension - therefore, you are a pensioner!'

These conflicting thoughts kept buzzing in my mind and then I remembered something else that was once said to me - these are all just labels - don't be defined by labels. 

Think of all the times we label ourselves. At various times, I have assigned labels to myself such as: stupid, inadequate, unkind, thoughtless, overweight, as well as many others. I know that most of these words describe isolated incidences, but when we continue to use them, we begin to transition them to describing our very selves. 

Consider now what our Inner Being (call it Source, your Soul, God, Energy of the Universe, All That Is - these, themselves, are all just labels, too) thinks about us, from the aspect of unconditional love..... we would know ourselves as worthy, lovable, kind, thoughtful, considerate, and vibrant. 

We have a choice when we find ourselves assigning labels - to ourselves, to others, or others labeling us. We can choose to focus on the negative labels, which generates negative feelings; or we can focus upon the positive, which will generate feelings of self-worth, self-love (in the best sense of the term), and a feeling of general well-being. 

After all, success is not defined by labels, nor by the amount of money in the bank, nor by our belongings. In my opinion, success is defined by the amount of joy we have in our lives. And we can choose thoughts that lean towards joy at any time. 

Today, I'm going to deliberately look for things that make me feel good when I see them, and listen for things that make me feel good when I hear them. This will bring me nearer to joy - which is our natural state - and from that aspect, there will be no need for labels. 

What are Telomeres and why are they important?

Is the Fountain of Youth literally around the corner? Could we really live to 125 years and beyond?

Fact. Did you know that scientists have been able to turn old mice in to young mice, AND immortalise human cells? ABC NEW - Age Reversed in Mice, Scientists say...

Dr. Bill Andrews Phd, a World Leading Biologist in Telomere Research is visiting New Zealand to share his amazing 'Life Extension' discoveries.

His discoveries are being touted as the world’s biggest medical breakthrough to date, that will lead to cures for many age related and non age-related diseases.

One of the most highly respected scientists in the USA, described as ‘The Man Who Would Stop Time’ by Popular Science Magazine he has been featured on the Today Show, BBC, NBC and HBO documentaries. 

For thousands of years people have told tales of a fountain of youth, a mystical water that has the ability to restore a person to their younger days. And life extension is something scientists around the world have been working on for decades. And it seems, with great success.

Dr. Bill Andrews, who at 61 is an Ultra Marathon runner, has focused the last 20 years on finding ways to extend the human lifespan and health-span through telomere maintenance.

Scientists have known about Telomeres since the 1930s and that they shorten with age since the 1970s. Yet none have been able to actually figure out a way to stop the shortening – that is, until now.

Dr. Andrews discovered an enzyme called Telomerase, that actually stopped the Telomere shortening. 

Dr. Andrews explains, “Just like the caps on your shoelaces, the older the telomeres get, the more worn out and shorter they become, until they are rendered useless. Telomerase Enzyme Deficiency Syndrome (T.E.D.S) is one of the biggest, yet most unknown killers of humans today. By putting a halt to the shortening of our telomeres - or even better, lengthening them - the cures for a long list of telomere shortening related diseases is one step closer. Plus, you could extend your healthy life indefinitely.” 

To many, aging is just something that happens, an unavoidable part of life that brings with it all the un-niceties. But there is growing noise amongst the scientific community that perhaps aging doesn’t have to be so unpleasant. Perhaps, it doesn’t even have to happen at all. The term ‘growing old gracefully’ may for once, have some truth to it.

As one of the principal discoverers of both the RNA and protein components of human telomerase, Dr. Andrews was awarded 2nd place as “United States Inventor of the Year” in 1997. He is also a named inventor on 45 US issued patents on telomerase and author of numerous scientific research studies published in peer reviewed scientific journals.

Fact is people alive today will be able to extend their lives by 25 to 50 years. Not only that, they will be able to stay looking younger and avoid debilitating age related diseases.

(Source:  Event Finder NZ.)

Great First Day in our New Abode....

What a way to spend a day..... 

Slept in and vegged for most of the morning, with occasional work around the apartment to get it more organized. 

Then we took a 2 minute trip to the lake and swam for about 45 minutes after we had hiked on a local trail. Followed up with grocery shopping and back home - all within a one sq. kilometre range of our home. 

I'm going to love living here....

Spine Beach, Elliot Lake

Another success story...

What happens when someone follow our program closely?  Take a look at another success story from one of our team: Marlena L. 60 lbs safely released in just 16 weeks!!

She is such a happy camper.....and a really nice person as well. I'm so glad she came into my life.  

Oh how I am so appreciative of having a system that really works and gives people the overall health and well-being for which they are searching. Such a joy helping other get what they want.

Warning: There are some long-term side-effects:  loss of body fat (especially the dangerous visceral fat), lean muscle tissue gain, more energy, less tiredness, and a feeling of youthfulness from the inside.

So easy to do. Marlena is just one of the latest success stories.... and she is now receiving rebates for others to do the same. Truly, a win-win situation!

Busy Days - Downtime Days - an important balance....

So, Saturday was a really busy day, starting off in Bolsover at a friend's cottage. I left there for the 400 Market at Innisfil Beach Road, then back up to Orillia to officiate a wedding, then down to Whitby for my sister-in-law's choral concert. Thanks goodness that my car is good on gas. 

Was thinking of dropping over to Wilberforce today to visit my friend, Pat, at her cottage. However, in the interests of finding balance, I decided to stay put and relax for the day. Did go for my first swim in Canal Lake, Bolsover. Wonderful and refreshing!! Canal Lake - Map 

I'm seriously thinking about changing the lock on that cottage as a way of claiming ownership!!

About the choral concert, which was amazing - such difficult rhythms...... my sister-in-law, Sadie, only joined a few months ago, but is having so much fun. Their concerts are all fundraisers for local causes. There were about 50 women singing, and the blending of voices was really, really good. Songs performed ranged from The River is Wide, to You Can't Hurry Love. 

They have various groups over Ontario. Check out: Shout Sister if you are interested in knowing more.

Can't believe that this is my last week of paid work!  I will have to ensure that I get the balance right once I'm retired. Our dear friend, Pat, has a great philosophy when at her cottage:   Work in the morning; Goof Off in the afternoon!!    

I may adopt that as my new mantra!!

When friends and colleagues get together - magic happens!

It's a little surreal when so many familiar faces from different areas of your life, and from different time frames, come together in the same place and at the same time to celebrate with you. The first time I experienced this was at our wedding, in 2006. It feels somewhat strange to be the one common denominator. 

Kathy and Ann (who joined us from Kingston and  Toronto)

I felt it again on Thursday night when 50 + people gathered together to celebrate my retirement, shared with my dear friend and colleague, Lisa, who will also be moving on from the teaching profession in just two weeks time. 

The organizing committee did a great job and the party was a tremendous success in that everyone had fun along with great food. Apart from seeing so many friends/colleagues - both 'old' and new, the hi-light for me was the song which some of the staff wrote and performed. It was hilarious!!  They had taken one of the songs from 'Les Miserables' and adapted it for the purpose, including the waving of a Union Jack!!! Great stuff!

Someone once said to me, 'If you could see yourself as other people see you, you'd be really happy'. I got to have that opportunity on Thursday night with some really wonderful things that were shared - both privately, and through the speeches. Very humbling!

One of the most significant conversations I had was with a parent of one of my ex-students. She is also a teacher. I had taught her son 9 years earlier in my first class at my current school. She told me of the most important life-lesson that her son had learned from me - that of total acceptance of people for whom they are. Her son dropped in to the party at the beginning and at the end, and it was a heart-warming experience for me to see this wonderful young man again. He was always such a great pleasure to teach, and I always had very fond memories of him. It made me feel exceptionally proud to see him again. He is a credit to his parents. Hearing what his mom told me helped me to realize that we rarely know the impact we have on the people in our lives. 

We may sometimes go through times of self-doubt. Are we doing the best we can? Could I have done this better? Did I treat that person with the respect that was their due? Self-reflection can be a positive thing; it can lead to personal growth. However, it can sometimes degenerate into a burden of self-blame if we are not careful to keep the balance. 

The movie, 'It's a Wonderful Life', finishes with the beautiful message that no-one is a failure who has friends. 

The amazing friends who celebrated with me on Thursday night, gave me the gift of feeling very successful. 

My deepest appreciation goes out to each and every one of them.