PERFORMERS

 Elvis made us dislocate our bones. 

Dylan helped us discover poetry. 

Abba made us fall in love with blondes and brunettes. 

Beatles inspired us to imagine and live in an octopus’s garden. 

Cohen gave us a baritone complex.

 Marley taught us to stand up and fight. 

Boney M lit us a rocket to Venus. 

Osibisa brought us the sounds of Africa.

 Eagles flew us to a hotel in California. 

Dire Straits put us with some sultans high up on swings. 

Jimi Hendrix spoke to us with his guitar. 

Beegees did us in with very deep love.

 Carpenters led us to the top of the world. 

Queen brought us the legend of Mercury.

 Rainbow invited us to the Temple of the King. 

Kenny Rogers told us about cowards.

 Doors opened us to a certain Mr Morrison. 

Deep Purple set us on fire with smoke on the water. 

Smokie got us Alice. 

Don McLean fed us Pie. 

Cliff Richards congratulated us. 

Dolly Parton distracted us. 

Santana hypnotised us. 

Tull broadsworded us. 

Floyd pinked us. 

Michael thrilled us. 

Kiss kissed us. 

And Jim Reeves, Harry Belafonte, Tom Jones and others left us with memories that will never leave. 

For the lot of us who grew our ears in the late 70s, the ride to adulthood was one mind blowing trip on the back of the humble cassette tape. 

Long Live the Music of our Time!!!

Sarcopenia

 What is the biological phenomenon (sarcopenia) that appears in humans when they are old?*

 

 Sarcopenia is the loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength as a result of aging.

  It's a terrible situation.

 Let's explore sarcopenia!

  1. To develop the habit of being able to stand...just don't sit!  ...and don't lie down if you can sit!

  2. If an elderly person falls ill and is admitted to the hospital, do not ask him for more rest, or to lie down and relax and not get out of bed!

  Lying down for a week loses at least 5% of muscle mass!

  And the old man can't recover his muscles!

 

 Usually, many seniors who hire assistants lose muscle faster!

  3. Sarcopenia is more terrifying than osteoporosis!

  With osteoporosis, you just need to be careful not to fall, while sarcopenia not only affects the quality of life but also causes high blood sugar due to insufficient muscle mass!

  4. The fastest loss of muscle atrophy is in the muscles of the legs!

  Because when a person is sitting or lying down, the legs do not move and the strength of the muscles of the legs is affected ... This is especially important!

  You should watch out for sarcopenia!

  Going up and down stairs...running and cycling are all great exercises and can increase muscle mass!

 For a better quality of life for all in old age...

  Move...don't waste your muscles!!

 Aging starts from the feet up!

       

  Keep your legs active and strong!!

   As we grow older and older on a daily basis, our feet should always stay active and strong.

   If you don't move your legs for just 2 weeks, your real leg strength will decrease by 10 years.

  Therefore, *regular exercise such as walking, is very important*.

  The feet are a kind of columns that bear the entire weight of the human body.

  Walk every day.

  Interestingly, 50% of a person's bones and 50% of muscles are in the legs.

  *are you walking*

  The largest and strongest joints and bones of the human body are also found in the legs.

  70% of human activity and energy burning in human life is done by bipeds.

  * The foot is the center of body movement *.

  Both legs together contain 50% of the human body's nerves, 50% of the blood vessels and 50% of the blood flowing through them.

 Aging starts from the feet up

   * Legs exercise is never too late even after the age of seventy and eighty *

  Walk at least 30-40 minutes a day to make sure your legs receive enough exercise and to ensure your leg muscles stay healthy.

  Share this important information with all your friends and family members over the age of 40, as everyone gets older every day.

Dependence -- Unhealthy or Healthy

 Dependence -- Unhealthy or Healthy

 

"Nothing can be more demoralizing

than a clinging and abject dependence

upon another human being.

This often amounts to the demand

for a degree of protection and love

that no one could possibly satisfy.

So, our hoped-for protectors finally flee,

and once more we are left alone –

either to grow up or to disintegrate."

 

We discovered the best source

of emotional stability to be God Himself.

We found that dependence upon His perfect justice,

forgiveness, and love was healthy,

and that it would work where nothing else would.

 

If we really depended upon God,

we couldn't very well play God to our fellows,

nor would we feel the urge to rely

wholly on human protection and care.

1. LETTER, 1966

2. TWELVE AND TWELVE, P. 116

 

**********************************************

‎ Love and Tolerance

Daniel J Schwarzhoff‎ - Recovered Alcoholics

 

"Love and Tolerance is our code" and Step Ten

is where it's at in order to keep alive sobriety,

but also, patient forgiveness that changes our world.

By not hating, not resenting, not getting sore,

not feeling threatened or hurt –

we bring love through our personal portals to earth.

Our spot here, where we live,

is either a piece of heaven or else it is a living hell,

depending on how we react to all the cruelties

that people toss in our direction.

We will not always be able to duck them.

We don't grow through them if we do avoid these.

And so, face them we must.

What's vital is how we react when they land on us.

That's all there is to the difference

between being happy joyous and free

or else restless, irritable and discontent.

The choice is ours.

Properly translated, "Love thy neighbor," proposes,

"Do not hate your neighbor".

No wonder the co-authors were sure that

unless we practice Step Ten daily that

we would be headed for trouble.

They called it resting on laurels.

 

***********************************************

Although the act

of nurturing another's spiritual growth

has the effect of nurturing one's own,

a major characteristic of genuine love

is that the distinction

between oneself and the other

is always maintained and preserved.

--M. Scott Peck. M.D.

 

Those we love must be free

to love us in return, or leave us.

The honest evidence of our love is our commitment

to encouraging another's full development.

We are interdependent personalities

who need one another's presence

in order to fulfill our destiny.

And yet, we are also separate individuals.

We must come to terms with our struggles alone.

DEALING WITH DISHARMONY

 DEALING WITH DISHARMONY

 

Around the Year with Emmet Fox

 

May 1

 

“It hath been said,

Whosoever shall put away his wife,

let him give her a writing of divorcement:

But I say unto you,

That whosoever shalt put away his wife,

saving for the cause of fornication,

causeth her to commit adultery:

and whosoever shall marry her

 that is divorced

committeth adultery”

Matthew 5:31-32

 

We are told that in those days, divorces were granted

by the rabbinical law on the most trifling grounds.

Married people who were not getting on together

as well as they would have liked,

were prone to run away from that problem

by obtaining an easy dissolution.

Now we understand that no permanent happiness

can be obtained in this way.

As long as you are running away from your problem,

you will continue to meet it in a new guise

at every turn in the road.

Just as in running from one business position to another,

without first having brought about a change in consciousness,

we find ourselves but repeating the old conditions

in a slightly different form, so, as a rule,

people who divorce freely are apt

to finish up as dissatisfied as they began.

The general rule in Truth is,

fight out your problem where you are, with prayer.

The general rule is still good for all conditions in life:

Do not try to divorce or amputate the disharmony,

but let it dissolve away of itself under God's guidance.

HEALING HEART AND MIND

 HEALING HEART AND MIND

 

Admitted to God, to ourselves,

and to another human being

the exact nature of our wrongs

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 55

 

Since it is true

that God comes to me through people,

I can see that by keeping people at a distance

I also keep God at a distance.

God is nearer to me than I think

and I can experience Him

by loving people and allowing people to love me.

But I can neither love nor be loved

if I allow my secrets to get in the way.

It’s the side of myself that I refuse to look at

that rules me.

I must be willing to look at the dark side

in order to heal my mind and heart

because that is the road to freedom.

I must walk into darkness to find the light

and walk into fear to find peace.

By revealing my secrets –

and thereby ridding myself of guilt –

I can actually change my thinking;

by altering my thinking,

I can change myself.

My thoughts create my future.

What I will be tomorrow

is determined by what I think today.

 

**********************************************

Dependence -- Unhealthy or Healthy

 

"Nothing can be more demoralizing

than a clinging and abject dependence

upon another human being.

This often amounts to the demand

for a degree of protection and love

that no one could possibly satisfy.

So, our hoped-for protectors finally flee,

and once more we are left alone –

either to grow up or to disintegrate."

 

We discovered the best source

of emotional stability to be God Himself.

We found that dependence upon His perfect justice,

forgiveness, and love was healthy,

and that it would work where nothing else would.

 

If we really depended upon God,

we couldn't very well play God to our fellows,

nor would we feel the urge to rely

wholly on human protection and care.

1. LETTER, 1966

I HOPE YOU STILL TAKE THE TIME TO RUN THROUGH THE RAIN.

 A little girl had been shopping with her Mom in Wal-Mart. She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful red haired, freckle faced image of innocence.

It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time to flow down the spout.. We all stood there, under the awning, just inside the door of the Wal-Mart.

We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day.

I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I got lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories of running, splashing so carefree as a child came pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day.

Her little voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in, 'Mom let's run through the rain,' 

She said. 

'What?' Mom asked.

'Let's run through the rain!' She repeated.

'No, honey. We'll wait until it slows down a bit,' Mom replied.

This young child waited a minute and repeated: 'Mom, let's run through the rain..'

'We'll get soaked if we do,' Mom said.

'No, we won't, Mom. That's not what you said this morning,' the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom's arm.

'This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?'

'Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, ' If God can get us through this, He can get us through anything! ' '

The entire crowd stopped dead silent.. I swear you couldn't hear anything but the rain.. We all stood silently. No one left. Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say.

Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child's life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith.

'Honey, you are absolutely right. Let's run through the rain. If GOD let's us get wet, well maybe we just need washing,' Mom said.

Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and yes, through the puddles. They got soaked.

They were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars. And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing.

Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, and they can take away your health. But no one can ever take away your precious memories...So, don't forget to make time and take the opportunities to make memories every day.

I HOPE YOU STILL TAKE THE TIME TO RUN THROUGH THE RAIN.

TWO "MAGNIFICENT STANDARDS"

 TWO "MAGNIFICENT STANDARDS"

 

All A.A. progress can be reckoned

in terms of just two words:

humility and responsibility.

Our whole spiritual development

can be accurately measured

by our degree of adherence

to these magnificent standards.

AS BILL SEES IT, p. 271

 

To acknowledge and respect the views,

accomplishments and prerogatives of others

and to accept being wrong

shows me the way of humility.

To practice the principles of A.A.

in all my affairs guides me to be responsible.

Honoring these precepts

gives credence to Tradition Four–

and to all other Traditions of the Fellowship.

Alcoholics Anonymous has evolved

a philosophy of life full of valid motivations,

rich in highly relevant principles

and ethical values,

a view of life which can be extended

beyond the confines of the alcoholic population.

To honor these precepts, I need only to pray,

and care for my fellow man

as if each one was my brother.

 

**********************************************

Self-Respect through Sacrifice

 

At the beginning we sacrificed alcohol.

We had to, or it would have killed us.

But we couldn't get rid of alcohol

unless we made other sacrifices.

We had to toss self-justification, self-pity,

and anger right out the window.

We had to quit the crazy contest

for personal prestige and big bank balances.

We had to take personal responsibility

for our sorry state and quit blaming others for it.

Were these sacrifices? Yes, they were.

To gain enough humility and self-respect

to stay alive at all,

we had to give up what had really been

our dearest possessions –

our ambition and our illegitimate pride.

A.A. COMES OF AGE, P. 287

 

**********************************************

Crying only a little bit is no use.

You must cry until your pillow is soaked.

Then you can get up and laugh . . .

—Galway Kinnell

 

Many of us were raised to deny our feelings;

 that is, we might have been allowed

 to describe them politely,

but we were not allowed

to express feelings on the spot

 by wailing, jumping for joy, or dancing.

This is often considered rude. In a proper home,

we often hear, if people have feelings,

they have them quietly.

But many of us have suffered living this way.

We need a full and thorough expression of a feeling

 in order to know it, experience it, and move beyond it.

This is the way we let go of sadness, for instance.

Feelings come and go.

If we are not afraid to let them have their moment,

we will not be afraid to express them.

 

What am I feeling right now?