Desiderata

Desiderata

by Max Ehrmann   1927

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter;

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals;

and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.

Especially, do not feign affection.

Neither be critical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars;

you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be,

and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy.

Just for you,

Riverwatch

Soldiers and Patriots

Catchy phrases!  I love them.

So when my brother John described a slothful Christian we know as a summer soldier, sunshine patriot , right off the bat I swiped that phrase. 

Summer soldier.  Sunshine patriot.  

Kool.

Naturally I would bumble.  "Are you talking about the Seahawks and the Patriots????"  (That was when we were still thinking the Patriots were gonna lose for sure.)   

  "What???  This has nothing to do with sports."

So I looked it up on the internet before commenting further.

Thomas Paine opened "The American Crisis" with these words: "These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.   

 Paine also wrote "those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it"--they must be winter soldiers and snowfall patriots in order to attain freedom.

Winter soldiers and snowfall patriots!   

Now that's another catchy phrase!

At this Christian Season of Lent, as I have thought what to give up for Christ for 40 days, I am reluctant to give something to Him and then take it back, that is if I had anything to give Him.   I realize I have nothing to give, not really.

I own nothing, not really.                                                                                                                         I am nothing, not on my own.                                                                                                      My sins, missteps, stupidities, and flaws are covered.                                                                      My griefs are borne. 

Even when I go to partake at the open table, I go to be served by Him for He has invited me to the feast.  He has done it all.  I go as His guest to a place where I am welcome.  Even at the feast, I go, not to serve Him, but to be served by Him.

Perhaps I can practice for 40 days being a winter soldier and a snowfall patriot for Christ.
You know, dragging out of bed, showing up at church even on Daylight Savings Change Day.  

Winter soldier.  Snowfall patriot.

Kool.

This is the day which the Lord God has made.
Rejoice and be glad in it.

Loving your visit,

Riverwatch

Every Single Day

Every Single Day

Every single day is a rare occasion.

Hope you enjoy yours.


Thank you for your visit,

Riverwatch, RN

Why all the depression?

Is the food you eat killing you?

Globally, one person dies by suicide roughly every 40 seconds.

Around the world, over one million people commit suicide each year - an increase of 60 percent over the last four and a half decades.

Incredibly, farmers have one of the highest rates of self-inflicted death.

Although factors such as poor yield, financial stress, erratic weather and animal disease certainly contribute to a high suicide rate in farmers, 
researchers are beginning to suspect another cause: exposure to pesticides.

20-year study establishes a connection between

 depression   and conventional farming chemicals

Researchers at the National Institute of Health completed a historic study earlier this fall which confirmed that seven pesticides -- some of which are widely used -- contribute to clinical depression in farmers. Over the last two decades, the team interviewed almost 84,000 farmers and their spouses.

The findings were startling. Dr. Freya Kamel, lead researcher for the study, said that two specific types of pesticide were responsible for the massive uptick in depression -- organochlorine insecticides and fumigants. Each increases the risk of depression by an astounding 90 and 80 percent, respectively

. One of the more common varieties is called malathion and is used by approximately 67 percent of the farmers surveyed. 

It also just happens to be banned in Europe.

This isn't the only study that links pesticides to depression.

"A group of researchers published studies on the neurological effects of pesticide exposure in 2002 and 2008. Lorrann Stallones, one of those researchers and a psychology professor at Colorado State University, says she and her colleagues found that farmers who had significant contact with pesticides developed physical symptoms like fatigue, numbness, headaches and blurred vision, as well as psychological symptoms like anxiety, irritability, difficulty concentrating and depression. Those maladies are known to be caused by pesticides interfering with an enzyme that breaks down the neurotransmitter that affects mood and stress responses."

In the end, both studies beg the question: If farmers who utilize conventional pesticides as part of their profession are experiencing the damaging consequences of the chemicals, what is the effect on the general public who ingest the substances through their food?

http://thewatchers.adorraeli.com/2015/02/06/landmark-study-links-pesticides-to-high-depression-rates/




Thanks for your attention,
I appreciate you,
Riverwatch

Longing

Longing

If you want people to build a ship, teach them to long for 

the endless immensity of the sea.

Antoine de Saint Exupery

pixshark.com

  

               

                            Where two oceans meet 


Longing,
and grateful for your visit,
Riverwatch

Totally Insane With Joy

http://hollymueller.blogspot.com

by writer, David Dudley, about his dog:

...he entered his dotage in roaring good health...”, writes Dudley. “He was what gerontologists would call a successful ager.

“And then, seemingly overnight, he wasn't...He started limping after a vigorous bouncing-a-soccer-ball-off-his-nose session. Then he needed help climbing into the car or crawling under the bed, his favorite sleeping spot.

“Our epic rambles through the woods became short hikes, then brief spins around the block. Sometimes he'd stop midwalk, frozen like a Parkinson's sufferer. The stairs grew perilous.

“He became a wandering insomniac, barking at ghosts, claws clacking aimlessly through the darkened house. He'd vanished into the shadowlands of canine cognitive dysfunction, and he would not be coming out.”

****

 'Everything you do for a dog to help them age well, you should do with them.'

“So eat the best food you can afford. Go for a walk, even if it's raining. Take a lot of naps. Keep your teeth clean and your breath fresh, so that the people you lick will not flinch.

“And when someone you love walks in through the door, even if it happens five times a day, go totally insane with joy.”

                                                                             David Dudley

Hello!

So very glad to see you visit my post!

Hope you are feeling well.

Riverwatch

Efficiency in Thinking

My son and I were discussing a post on somebody's Facebook.....a post that went on and on and on and on...........and on and on.

" I tried to read this, Mom, but Ken just went on and on and on and on.....and I am too tired to plow through all these words.  Do you want to read it and tell me what you think of this post?"

I read.....and read.....and read.  After all, Ken is my son's childhood friend and spent hours in the company of our family.   Ken came out of the closet after he moved to New York City.
He is brilliant and highly educated, and has money.  

Did I mention Ken has money?

Ken looks with longing at my son's family of three kids and a wife who insists on raising chickens in the middle of the city, free range chickens that roost in the trees.  
Ken doesn't see the clutter, the struggle, the financial challenge.  
Instead he sees only the love.

Looking up at my son I say, "Oh, this is a sad post.  Ken is so lonely."








"I know that, but I can't plow through all his lonely ramblings.  I am too tired.  I just want to live my life, love my kids and die."

I am a little shocked.  "Well, what then?  After you die, what then?  What do you think is the purpose of life?"

He looks at me in the same way he looked at Ken's Facebook post.  Defeated by the abundance of words.

"Mom, people have been asking that question as long as man has existed and nobody knows the answer.  I'm not wasting my time thinking about it."

"So, you think life has no purpose, no meaning?"

"Oh, it has meaning and purpose but I have become efficient in thinking.  I no longer waste energy thinking about the unknowable.  Just live my life and enjoy the goodness of life."

"Are you depressed?"

"Nope.  I'm happy.  As long as you keep your thinking efficient, you won't get depressed."

"I think you should reply to Ken's post with 'r u ok?' "

"Naw, that's too wordy anymore.  Maybe just 'K'.  and let it go."





Today's world.......          efficient......
                                                                              vocabulary dwindling.









Thanks for dropping by,
Riverwatch

Knowing.

Knowing

by

Riverwatch

If I could chose between flying and Knowing

I would chose Knowing

though I long to fly.

If I could chose between loving and Knowing

I would chose Knowing

though I were to die from lack of love.

If I could chose between gold and Knowing

I would chose Knowing

though gold beckons and Knowing pierces.

Knowing is the flowing of the universe

and never empties,

while all else round it swirls.

Truth is understanding, that changes through the age,

but Knowing is the flowing of the universe

and never empties.

Knowing. The piercing flowing.

Knowing is forever.

Great God of the universe, I fear You.

I am in awe.

Who are You? What are You? Why are You?

Who can withstand the power of the Knowing?

I fear the power.

I fear becoming.

Most of all, Great God of the universe,

I fear change.

Who am I? What am I? Why am I?

What will I become,

 or am I ever changing?

Brush me gently, lest I die.

Skipping right along.

January 18, Sunday

"Happy Birthday, Riverwatch."


So my brother Richard called.
I missed his birthday New Year's Eve, but he remembered mine, today.
Our brother Johnny helped him remember.  They are both old....but younger than I.....and Rich was visiting John, so they called me up on the phone to be properly horrified at how old I am.

After Richard had his dose of horror, I decided it is time to interview him for my blog.  He is 65.
He reads my blog, hit and miss, and says he likes it "ok" but has trouble remembering anything I write about.
Hum.
So, since he is an aging super-active Mormon, and I am not Mormon, I decided to ask him what the Mormon term "endure to the end" means to him.  (I know what it means in Presbyterian terms, since pastor has said "The end does not mean what you think it means!  It is the end of Jerusulem, not the end of the whole world!")  I think my brother thinks "the end" is about his own life.  So....I had to ask.

Well....Richard doesn't like that word endure, because it conjures up all those uphill hikes in West Virginia on hot days..... thirsty...... tired......... hungry.......sweaty.

He prefers "faithful to the end".

Ever the reporter, I say, "Faithful to what?"
"To that which I hold near and dear."
"And what would that be?"
"My wife, of course!  and my covenants.  My covenants to God."

Ok.  I feel dismal.

"Kool", I say with fake enthusiasm.
"Yes", he says.  I am a Mac man, not a Windows ."

Well, a reporter doesn't have to understand everything!
Just record it.  In case YOU understand it.

Let's change the subject.

"So, do you like being 65?  How different do you feel?"

"I'm on Medicare", he says by way of explanation.

I probe further, revealing to him he is being interviewed for my blog.  "But have you noticed any changes in your thinking or your caring?  Do you find you care less about  things as an old person."

"Yes and no.  I care MORE about some things and LESS about some things."

"Oh?"

"I don't much care about the now things of today, since I am no longer trying to earn a living or raise kids.  The little things of today just don't bother me.  Not even my health.  I am not afraid of death. You know Anjanae, though.  She's a nurse and she reminds me that taking care of my health is about avoiding suffering, not about avoiding death.  But I just don't care as much as I used to care.   However I care MORE about trends now.  Now I see trends and frankly I am more political than I used to be."
                                                                             
                                                                  

Thanks for dropping by,

                                                                                           

Riverwatch       skipping right along

Peace

I like what my pastor said recently.
He wasn't talking about me, I don't think, but what he said "fit".
"Sometimes you need to speak of where you have been, so you can appreciate where you are in order to get where you are going."


Another way of saying it is in the words of my psychologist from decades ago, "If you speak aloud of your hate, it will shrink into anger and if you speak honestly of that anger it will shrink into hurt and you will understand yourself better and be able to deal with the hurt.  The bottom line is always hurt."



It has been a good year of growth for me.       

         

I have spoken and now I am reconciled to the kindness that is there.


Someone said recently, "My goal is to see you reconciled."
I knew not what that meant, but now I feel it.
It is peace.

I have taken down certain posts and I ask your forgiveness if I have ever hurt you.








Merry Christmas,
                            Peace on Earth,
                                                    and Good Will To Mankind.

Riverwatch

Just how badly do you want that pill?

re-post for the newcomers to this blog of a popular post I first posted  in October of 2012

Just how badly do you want that pill?

I am not a fan of pharmaceuticals.

I'm a nurse, I thought about becoming a pharmacist, and I really wanted to be a teacher.  These three interests have come together to make me a very informed consumer when it comes to medications, and an outspoken critic of bad and missing information given to consumers of meds......many of whom are seniors.

When I was 21, already an RN with a career, I suddenly developed thrombophlebitis in both legs.  I was sent off duty to bedrest & my excellent physician ordered the medication Butazolidin Alka for me. Within two days I was having weird attacks of chills.  Being a nurse I screamed for help immediately.  My excellent doctor came to my home and immediately stopped the new brand-name medication, drew a vial of blood from my arm and left.  It turned out I had a life-threatening side-effect of Butazoldin Alka: hemolytic anemia.  My red blood cells were rupturing.

I was one of the lucky ones.  Withdrawing the medication saved my life (though I required treatment for the anemia).  Some other consumers across the nation were not so lucky.  For some people the hemolysis of red blood cells did not stop even when the medication was withdrawn, and death ensued.

Eventually, Butazolidin Alka was taken off the market.  Remember, when I took it, it was on the market.  Thank you, Drug Company, for all those "comprehensive" test studies before you sold it to me!!!  Can't tell you how great it was being one of your unsuspecting uninformed human guinea pigs.....and paying you money for the "privilege".

The testing of medications before being "FDA approved" involves small numbers of patients.  Once the "approved" medication is released to the general public, the real testing begins.

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, complications from prescription medication use is the 4th Leading Cause of Death in the USA.

In  2006 a report by Dr. Gary Lull revealed nearly 800,000 Americans die every year as the result of medicine made by pharmaceutical companies.
That same year, 2006, the pharmaceutical industry was listed as the  #1 most profitable industry in Fortune 500 !!!!!!!!

We teach our kids to "Just Say No To Drugs".

That is excellent advice to us, too.

It is possible to say "No, thank you," to a physician.  Especially to things like statins.  Our grandparents never took a statin and probably ate hogs for breakfast.....and most of our grandparents did not drop  dead from high cholesterol.  Yes, eventually they died, but no pharmaceutical company got rich on their fears.

Take a walk.

Consider leaving the statins alone.

Remember Baycol ( a statin by Bayor)?  In the four years it was on the market (1997 -  2001) it caused 100,000 deaths.

My excellent physician and I have an agreement:  I only accept prescriptions for generic meds.   Brand name drugs lose their patent after 12 years and become relatively cheaper generics.  By that time, hundreds of thousands of guinea-pig-people have consumed the brand name medication.....and we get a better picture of which meds need withdrawn from the market due to causing deaths, liver failure, kidney failure, deafness, blindness, psychotic break-downs, suicides.....on and on and on.  And which are safe.  And which get BLACK BOX WARNINGS.

Fen-Phen was taken off the market after 24 years,

Vioxx was taken off after 6 years.....

....heck, even Heroin used to be approved by the FDA....opps all the patients got addicted!  Let's take back our approval!........oh, let's arrest those people who peddle the stuff now that we don't approve it!

"FDA Approved" means very little.

I am not saying never take meds prescribed by an excellent physician.

I am just saying, be informed and look out for yourself.
Don't be afraid to ask for more education and explanation....or even ask for time to think about it while you bone up on it yourself before deciding yes or no.

By the way, it does not help to get a second opinion from a doc about this (unless the doc is a close and loving relative to you) .  In my experience, physicians are under the charm of the big drug companies.

Get your second opinion from your pharmacist.  Pharmacists know more about meds than docs do and are under no illusions about the FDA and the drug companies.
Docs know more about you.  Pharmacists know more about drugs.
Ask the pharmacist if there is a generic medication similar to the brand-name med ordered by your doctor.  Call your doctor's nurse and ask to have a generic med substitued and the nurse can fax the new order to the pharmacy.

Just how badly do I want that pill?

"What will happen to me if I do NOT take this pill?"
"Is there something I can do to help my health other than take this pill?"
"Is there a cheaper version or cheap relative of this pill if I must have this kind of medication?"
"If I must take it, would a lower dose be effective?"

Be captain of your ship.

"Brand name" is great in clothes, risky in medications.
Sure, if I am already dying and an experiment is needed, go ahead with the experiment of a brand new "cadillac" medication on me.
Other than that, give me the cheaper safer version about which much is already known.

Riverwatch, RN

PS       I always take my blood pressure pill....always.