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The Super Bug MRSA: Should You Panic? — by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at BlogHer)

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last ten days, you have more than likely heard about MRSA, a drug resistant form of Staph Infection (see one of the many news reports here).

This is by no means a new problem. What is new though, is that we are hearing about it affecting and sometimes killing children that are picking up this infection at their schools. Very scary. We’ve been hearing about sick kids, and schools closing for top to bottom hazmat style cleanings.

But before you panic…The best medicine is knowledge. Knowing the signs and symptoms of what to look for is the most important aspect of this story. Panicking is an option, but not a productive one. And like we’ve talked about before, MRSA is another one of those illnesses that may be caused by the overuse of antibiotics and antibacterial cleaners.

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This is a post from Izzy Mom about giving reusable shopping bags as gifts…I think that sounds like a great idea. And if you are going to do it on a large scale (and buy more than 100), you can even have them personalized just like the supermarkets do (for as little as $0.99 each).

You know the holidays are coming up, right? And you KNOW what that means, right? Yep, shopping. Lots and lots of shopping. And lots of bags. Paper and plastic.

The paper bags from everyone in America buying groceries for Thanksgiving alone will probably set us back a few frillion trees and a lot of oxygen, ya know?

READ THE FULL POST HERE

The Invisible Toxins In Everyday Products — by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at BlogHer)

A disturbing story came to light this week, from CNN’s Planet In Peril series. Our children are being exposed to such high levels of industrial chemicals, that studies are showing many of them to have up to seven times greater levels in their blood than their parents. Think about that for a minute. If their levels are this high now…How high do you think they will be by the time they are adults?

With so many cancers and chronic illnesses being blamed on environmental causes…How sick do you think these children might be by the time they are parents? How many might be unable to be parents? We are talking about chemicals that are known carcinogens, and known to be in products we and our children are using every day. It’s a much larger problem than I had ever realized…especially for our children.

Of course, we can not be sure how these exposures will affect our children’s future health, only time will tell. But, if these studies are any indication, the future is very troubling.

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HOW WE CAN CREATE PEACE AND LOVE IN OUR LIVES – BY LETTING GO OF ANGER AND HATE – by Catherine Morgan

If we wish peace for ourselves, me must first wish peace for others. How do we do that? I think a good place to start is to take “hate” out of our thoughts and mind. It’s easy to say you’re not a hater, but to truly live a life without hating is not that easy. Here are a few suggestions….

1. Start with yourself. Stop hating yourself. Stop hating your weight, your looks, your job, your face, your inabilities, and on and on. This first step might be the most difficult, but it is also the most important. Learn to love yourself.

2. Stop hating the uncontrollable situations in your life. Things like; the traffic, the news, the bills, the check-out girl, any circumstance in your life that makes you angry but that you have no control over.

You can be conscious of your emotions at these times. When you feel yourself getting impatient in a traffic jam, use this time to reflect on your need to learn how to be more patient. Realize that this hold-up may actually keep you from being in an accident yourself, acknowledge that traffic isn’t the enemy unless you let it be. Do this type of refection with all the uncontrollable inconveniences that you hate in your life. Take some time to reflect, see the uselessness in your anger.

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HAS THE WORLD LOST IT’S EMPATHY? — by Catherine Morgan

We all see the news, and feel badly about the wars, the starving, the homeless, the poor, and all the other sad things we are seeing on television. On a smaller scale, we all know people with hardships, going through divorce, struggling with health issues, having financial problems, and many other difficulties affecting our families and neighbors.

When we hear all these stories, we feel great sympathy and sadness. But, I think what we don’t do, is feel empathy. To feel empathy, you have to be able to put yourself in that other person’s shoes, and feel what they must be going through. True compassion comes from a place of empathy, not sympathy. In fact, most people don’t want our sympathy, and I don’t mean that in a disrespectful way. What I am saying is that people don’t want us to feel sorry for them, they want us to have compassion and empathy for them.

I’m pointing this difference out because, we need to see that without empathy our sympathy is just a judgement, and being judgemental is never helpful. When we can “truly” empathize with the hardships of our neighbors, our families, and others in our lives, we are then in a position of compassion and kindness towards them. Even if we are not in a position to alleviate the struggle of the person we are empathizing with, we will be conveying compassion towards them and not pity. While your pity is a judgement, your compassion is a kindness, and kindness is what we all need in our lives.

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Hi Everyone. This weekend I decided to put together a new blog…The Political Voices of Women. It will be all women blogging about politics, all the time. I’ll be using the recently compiled list of over 200 women political bloggers, to find posts to feature on this new site. I hope you’ll get a chance to check it out, and please let me know what you think.

Thanks.

Dieting and Weight Loss — It’s all about eating healthy foods, not starvation. — by Catherine Morgan

Successful dieting and weight loss comes from one thing, and it’s not a bottle or a book. Being successful at weight loss takes only one step…A commitment to eating healthy foods. Here are several posts I have done on the subject of dieting and eating healthy, and also many links to other bloggers blogging on the same subject.

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Redefining Yourself From Healthy and Successful to Successfully Living with a Chronic Illness — by Catherine Morgan (cross posted at Living With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome)

This issue is so important, and that is because; When you suffer from chronic illness, although you are being treated (even successfully), going back to your former life before you were sick may be impossible. I hear this all the time from others suffering with CFS and FM, and I am certain it holds true for many others suffering with chronic disease as well. The biggest problem, is that many of us “define” ourselves through our work, or what we do for a living. Quite frankly, this is a bad idea even if you are a healthy person. None of us “are” our work. Our work is not who we are, it’s simply what we do. But, we all know it doesn’t always feel that way, especially when out of nowhere, we are unable to do what we do.

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In Women’s Health News — by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at BlogHer)

I decided to post on some of the interesting health and wellness issues that have been in the news this week…

Starting with the Autism Speaks website…They now have video examples of children with autism, compared to children without, in the hopes of helping parents recognize early signs of the disease. Also, a new study shows that the United States is lagging behind in maternal health, and the House urges health agencies to expand research into Postpartum Depression.

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A List of Over 200 Women Blogging on Politics — by Catherine Morgan

Last week I started a list of women who blog about politics, at that time the list was just under 100. I asked for others to send me links so I could add to the list, and am happy to announce that we are now at…OVER 200!

All kinds of women, blogging on all kinds of politics. Check-out the updated list here.

I never thought I would get such a huge response for simply putting together a list of great women bloggers, but it’s been a wonderful surprise. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this list, and please continue to send me links to other women blogging about politics…you can add them to the comments here.