Have you ever seen a flower on the verge of blooming? Packed tightly into its bud, but waiting to experience the world in all of its vastness and beautifulness. You and I are just like that flower on the edge of blooming, of coming into and fully realizing our potential, but before we can discover it, we need to look inward and balance ourselves. Most often, the intentions we set are around health, finances, career, and relationships but there’s an overlooked part of our lives that once we discover it, changes everything.
Wellness
A New Year Bursting With Joy
In less than a week, I will be taking the stage as a comedian for the first time. My friends and family will probably tell you that it’s always been in me, but I never saw it. I was too busy playing things safe. Now others would tell you that jumping out of a plane, taking a 3-month solo trip to another country, writing a very vulnerable memoir, and delivering two TEDx talks isn’t exactly playing it safe – but to me, it was.
The Unexpected Gifts of Dementia
“Stephie, I can’t do this anymore,” my mother’s resigned voice sobbed into the phone. With tears in my eyes, I choked out a lame “I know, mom.”
My mother was in the late stages of her dementia. She was often agitated, unpredictable, emotionally labile, and profoundly confused. Her caregiver had just called me to beg for my assistance. Minutes prior, my mother had tried to elope (again) out the back door of her home of over 20 years. The caregiver had tried to block her escape, and, in her fearful state of mind, my mother wielded a wooden dowel like a baseball bat, threatening to club her caregiver if she did not get out of her way. The caregiver dialed me and handed the phone to my mother. My familiar voice did the trick: she came out of her rage and panic.
Beginnings – Journeys within Journeys
There is something exciting about beginnings, like entering into a new relationship, starting a different job, moving to an unfamiliar town, getting the key to a freshly purchased house, or where we are finding ourselves right now—the beginning of a new year. What is it about beginnings that excite us so much? I think we all heard the expression “life is a journey.” We recognize that it is an adventure full of twists and turns, ups and downs, ebbs and flows, change, transformation, and growth that all contribute to our evolution as individuals, and ultimately, as humankind collectively. For some, the marking of the beginning of this journey is when we are born into this world in a physical body, and it ends when that physical body dies. Others embrace a more expanded view that includes the belief that we are each a spiritual being in a corporeal form on a temporary passage that is part of an infinite and eternal journey.
Top Supplements Vegans Need To Be Taking Now
The benefits of eating more plants are undeniable, so much that more than half of the U.S. population is eating more plant-based foods due to perceived health benefits. Multiple studies have shown that eating a vegan diet can increase lifespan and lower the risk of many chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and some types of cancer. This way of eating not only benefits human health but also supports animal welfare and the environment as it is much more sustainable than animal agriculture.