Dream On - An Inspirational Video
This is a great inspirational video that I posted here several months ago. I thought it would be nice to post it again.
Also See:
Inspirational Quotes Set To The Music of John Lennon’s Imagine
Who Will “Stand By You”?
It’s Never Too Late To Follow Your Dreams
How to Learn From Life’s Greatest Lessons
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Mother Knows Best - by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at BlogHer)
In honor of Mother’s Day, this is my contribution to BlogHer’s Mother Knows Best series.
It seems most of us start off our life blindly believing that our mothers know best. Then sometime during adolescence we are suddenly convinced that our mother knows nothing, and of course, we know it all. But, as we get older, we slowly come back to realizing that our mothers (in many cases) did know best. Why is that? Is it some kind of genetic programing? What ever the case, we almost all experience this phenomena in one way or another.
Mother’s Day is that one time of year we are inclined to take a closer look at how our mothers have influenced us for the better. Since I am a contributing editor for health and wellness, I’m taking a look at how my mother influenced my views on wellness.
I think one of the most important aspects of wellness, is knowing when we need to slow down, and treat ourselves with kindness. And I learned how to do that from my mother. From a very early age, my mother taught me that wellness was more than just a physical thing. She understood the importance of taking care of the mind and spirit, as well as the body. She taught these lessons more from example than anything else, and because of that, there was never any need to disagree. So what were some of these lessons? They were little things; like tea time, bubble bath time, reading time, sitting in the sun time. Basically, they were wellness rituals, for quieting the mind and body.
The older I get, the more valuable these lessons become. Often times we have little control over our physical conditions, so having the capacity to find peace within can be a lifesaver. And as a mother, I realize the importance of caring for myself, in order to best care for my children. I like to think that I am teaching these same lessons (by example) to my own children.
When it comes to issues of health…My mother told me to eat plenty of vegetables, drink plenty of water, and not to eat too much sugar because it would give me a headache (and it does). She also told me not to eat a lot of watermelon when pregnant, especially if you enjoy salt on it (I don’t). Her best sore throat treatment…two baby aspirin dissolved in a teaspoon of warm water. Best cold treatment…Vicks Vapor Rub, and chicken soup. Best sore neck treatment…BenGay and a towel wrapped around your neck. Best treatment for constipation…prunes (but I hate prunes).
My mother recently wrote on her blog (Frances Ellen Speaks) about how her mother often knew best…
I remember her facing off with our family doctor. Often, when I was sick with some childhood illness, the doctor would recommend a penicillin shot. At the time, penicillin was considered a miracle drug, but my mother insisted a person might build up an immunity to it. The doctor strongly disagreed, but grudgingly honored her wishes. One day, on the way home after one of these visits, she sympathized with me saying that she knew I felt very, very sick, but on the off chance I might need penicillin to save my life someday, she preferred to nurse me back to health without it. I was young, could hardly understand what she was telling me, but I felt her anxiety. Now I realize how hard it must have been to stick to her guns when all she had in her arsenal to defend herself was sheer conjecture. All I know is, while my friends almost always got a needle at the doctor’s office, I received very few. My mother took a stand at a time when doctors and scientists denied the possibility of resistance. Now we know that–
Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria change in some way that reduces or eliminates the effectiveness of drugs, chemicals, or other agents designed to cure or prevent infections. The bacteria survive and continue to multiply causing more harm.
What advice did you get from your mother on health and wellness issues? Did she know best? Do prunes taste better if you hold your nose?
Happy Mother’s Day.
Contributing Editor Catherine Morgan at catherine-morgan.com, The Political Voices of Women, Care2 Election Blog
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Three Tips For Living Healthy — by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at Qvisory)
1. You are what you eat, and it is never too late to start eating healthy. Every day, try your very best to put healthy foods and plenty of water into your body. When you have a choice between something healthy and something not healthy, go with the healthy choice. But, don’t be too hard on yourself on the days you fall back into old habits. There is no rule that says you have to be perfect to be healthy. Even if you are eating healthy 50% of the time, that is still better than not at all.
If you are one to never go for the healthy choice, then start today with a commitment to eat one thing that is good for you (just one thing that you would normally not eat), and do that for a week. After a week, start eating two things that are good for you. Continue to gradually migrate toward healthier options. Before you know it, you’ll be eating healthy half the time. And, that’s a great start.
You can start today, loving yourself and your family enough to stop poisoning your body with unhealthy foods. Heart disease is the number one killer in our country and 80% of heart disease is due to eating an unhealthy diet that leads to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. Start today, and take a bite in the right direction. Your heart will thank you.
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Stressing Over Money Can Make You Sick — by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at BlogHer)
Do you stress over money? I do. With the way the economy is going, if you’re not stressing over money now, you sure could be in the near future. Gas prices are going up, home values are going down, and what money we do have is buying less and less. The thing about stressing over money is…It doesn’t pay the bills. What it can do is make you sick.
Yes, stressing over money (or anything for that matter) can and does make you sick. How sick? Here is an excerpt from an article at About.com, that addresses Health Problems Associated With Stress…
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Happy New Year everyone! This is one of my most popular posts, and since everyone seems to be talking about dieting and weight loss, I figured now was a good time to re-post. Hope you like it.
THE-ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT DIET PLAN — by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at Be The Change You Want To See In Yourself)
You heard right. All you can eat. And it’s not a gimmick. How can that be? All you can eat diet? No diet is all you can eat? Well you are right, and wrong. No starvation or quick fix theme diet, is ever going to be an all you can eat diet. And we all know there is no pill or powder that allows you to eat anything you want and still lose weight. So, what exactly is an ALL YOU CAN EAT DIET?
Most diets have you starving, or at least hungry most of the time. If you do happen to lose weight on one of these “fad” diets, you just end up gaining it all back and then some. Worst yet, many of us go on these diets because we know it would be better for our overall health if we lost some of our excess weight. We might want to lower our blood pressure, control sleep apnea, prevent diabetes, just to name a few. But, what we end up doing by following “fad” or starvation type diets, is put ourselves at greater risk for health problems.
So, why do we do it? Why do we spend millions on books, pills, and powders that are generally 100% proven to be ineffective. Well, I don’t know the answer to that. But, it might have something to do with the fact that, “keeping” you at an ideal weight can’t be the goal of these multi-million dollar companies, or there just would be no more money to made.
Not only is this an ALL YOU CAN EAT DIET. But, it is also not going to cost you one penny to get the secrets. Because, I’m going to just tell you. The truth is, you already know it. It’s just that we have been programed to think that dieting is some kind of big deal, and if we don’t do it just right we will fail. Well, that is just wrong.
The one way you will lose weight, without risking your health and in fact becoming a more healthy person. The one way, is to eat healthy foods. That’s it. Two simple words; HEALTHY FOODS. What ones? Any and all of them. What is healthy? Basically, anything that isn’t full of sugar, fat, and sodium. Fruits, vegetables, whole wheats, fish, lean meats, milk, cheese, nuts. The list goes on and on. By now we all know the difference between the healthy foods and the not healthy foods. There is no trick, no gimmick. Just stop eating the processed foods that are full of sugar, fat, and sodium; and start eating healthy foods that aren’t.
Throw away the unhealthy foods and the unhealthy diets, and say hello to healthy foods and healthy living. No need to limit yourself. It will take a bit longer, than starvation, but results will last much longer. Once you start eating healthy foods, you won’t have cravings for sugar and salt, you won’t need to binge eat, and most of all you won’t be hungry all the time. You will be on your way to a leaner, healthier you.
No need to make it complicated, just go shopping and get all the healthy foods you want, and start eating them. You can even use the Internet to look up healthy new recipes for the foods you like. Best of all; it’s ALL YOU CAN EAT, ALL THE TIME.
Yum.
ALSO SEE:
Six Tips To A Healthy Diet Plan
3 Easy Steps To Get Started On Your Diet
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Top 10 Hot Topics From Health and Wellness in 2007 — by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at BlogHer)
It’s the last day of 2007, and I thought I would do this post on some of the hot topics from BlogHer Health and Wellness. So, in no particular order, here is what I think are the top ten.
1. A big issue for both BlogHer and women, has been body image. And recently I did this post…”Body Image, Dieting, and Your New Years Resolution“, here are a few others.
Maria Niles had “Learning the Lessons of Ugly Betty“.
Suzanne Reisman did a this great post “The Swimsuit Brigade for Honest Photos“.
Iainad did “Black Women and Body Image“.
Jennifer Satterwhite did “Moms, you are beautiful“.
2. In a related story, this year the world was introduced to a dieting product called “Alli”. But names can really be deceiving, and that sure is true with this product. Here is my post from July…Alli: “The Diarrhea Diet“.
Denise also posted on Alli, “Alli Has Allies“.
3. Another controversial drug was Gardasil, I did two posts on this topic here and here. But the Gardasil story started before my two posts.
Denise began the story with “Gardasil - for HPV - for Cervical Cancer“.
Mir Kamin did a follow-up to Denise’s post “More thoughts on Gardasil“.
Amanda Shaffer posted on “The People vs. Perry: Fallout of the Texas Gardasil Decision“.
4. Vaccines in general have always been somewhat controversial, and with all the new ones that are being developed (and mandated), this has been a hot topic. My posts were on the Chicken Pox vaccine being mandated and also, Are the Cures Becoming the Cause,.
Denise did this post on “Immunization Awareness“.
5. At the BlogHer Convention this year, I met many women who blog about Autism. Just before the convention I did this post on Autism, here are a few others.
Mary Tsao did “New Autism Study Points Finger at Moms” and “Autism: The Parent’s Perspective“.
Jennifer Satterwhite did “Children with invisible special needs“.
6. Then there is the Healthcare Crisis and SCHIP, I also did “Univeral Health Care: The Health and Wellness of Our Entire Counry Is At Stake“.
Rita Arens did “SCHIP: We’re All One Horrendous Medical Bill Away From Needing Government Aid“.
Morra Aarons did “SCHIP Childrens’ Helath Insurance: Bush Uses Executive Power to Harm America’s Children“.
7. The issue of Reproductive Rights has gotten a lot of attention…I’ve done, Man Spikes a Womens drink with RU-486, Letting Our Voices Be Heard, Battle Over the Aurora Planned Parenthood, and Is It Now A Crime To Have a Miscarriage?
Suzanne Reiman did “When Pro-Life Mean Terrorist” and “More Contraceptive Use, Fewer Abortions“.
8. Stem Cell research is another controversial issue, and I posted on it here.
Dana Tuszke did “Bush Promises to Veto Senate Stem Cell Bill“.
9. Breast Cancer a big issue at BlogHer, my posts are here and here.
Suzanne Reiman did “Pink Ribbon Madness“
10. The issue members of BlogHer have chosen for BlogHer’s Act…Is Maternal Health.
Cooper and Emily — Important Facts on Maternal Health
Well, that’s it. Happy New Year! See ya in 2008.
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This is something I wrote almost a year ago, and I thought it would be nice to include it here.
WHO WILL “STAND BY YOU”? — by Catherine Morgan
One of my favorite songs to listen to is, “I’ll Stand By You” by the Pretenders — you can play the song at the bottom of this post. I was listening to it today in the car (while riding home from my mammogram). I began to think about how nice it is to know that someone will “stand by you” no matter what. As a mom, I will “stand by” my kids no matter what…I think they know that (especially since I play the song all the time and tell them). The song always makes me think about how lucky people are when they know (really know) that they have someone who will “stand by them” no matter what.
Sometimes when we are feeling down, and life isn’t going our way, and we feel all alone…..That’s the time we find out who will “stand by us”. It’s sad in a way, that it takes tragedy, or pain to find out who the people in our life are that will “stand by us”, even in our darkest hours. The people who are like angels on earth to us–Connie. The people who were like angels on earth to us–Becky. The people that pick us up when we feel like we are in a never ending free fall of grief–Dawny. The people who save us when we just want to die–Vicki. The people who support us when we can barley support ourselves–Frances Ellen. I feel sad for the people who have perfect lives and never get to really find out who these people are in their lives. It is truly the one great blessing that comes out of our heartache and pain.
Thats all, just something to think about.
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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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Find Your Way Out Of The Darkness — by Catherine Morgan
Challenge yourself to see past the darkness in your life, and find the beauty. Walk through your life today, just a little slower, and just a little more aware. How you see your life is ultimately up to you; if you see yourself as sad, then you are sad. When there is no light at the end of your tunnel, it is because you are choosing not to see it. Just remember that the darkness can not exist without the light, darkness is simply the ying to the lights yang. So, if you are having one of those “dark nights of the soul”, know that when you are ready, you can choose to let the light back in.
See the light at the end of the tunnel, and walk confidently in the direction of your dreams.
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How We Can Empower Our Children By Empowering Ourselves — by Catherine Morgan
I wanted to write a post about children today, but I wasn’t sure how to start it. Then I remembered how about 12 years ago (shortly after I had my second child), I was driving to my job, and I heard a song on the radio that really resonated with me. The song was called “The Greatest Love Of All - by Whitney Houston”. At the time, it made me feel like I finally understood what my purpose was in life, and I felt empowered by it. I needed to become strong, and confident, and fearless. I needed to be empowered enough to step out of my comfort zone, and become the women I was meant to be. I needed to become the kind of person that I wanted my children to become. Let me share some of those thoughts with you now, and at the end of this post you can listen to the song and see if it doesn’t ring true for you as well.
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ONLY KINDNESS MATTERS — by Catherine Morgan
Jewel has a song, and in it she sings….”In the end, only kindness matters”. Those are very profound words. I would even say, that these are words to live your life by. Because, it is so true. In the grand scheme of things, we are here on earth only a very short time. Many of us spend much of this time being angry at people, making judgments on others, and generally just not being as kind as we could be.
So, the question then becomes….How can we change that? How can we live a more kind life? Well I think, that like everything else we can’t be too hard on ourselves. After-all, we live in a harsh world, where many times people are not even being very kind to us. But, that’s no excuse either. Remember when our mom’s told us, “treat others the way you would want them to treat you”? Well it seems that, somewhere between kindergarten and junior high, most of us forget this little bit of wisdom. But, I say we bring it back. Don’t get panicked, I’m not suggesting anything radical. But, maybe just some baby-steps in the right direction.
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If You Want To Attract Love, Be A Loving Person — by Catherine Morgan
Did you ever notice that angry people tend to attract other angry people? That greedy people, enjoy the company of other greedy people? Just like we choose to associate with people in our lives that have similar interests as we do, we are also unconsciously choosing people that are putting out that same emotional “frequency” as we do.
So, who cares? Well, you should. That is; if you are interested in “attracting” people into your life that are kind, caring, and loving, and not angry, bitter, and hateful.
It’s all about awareness. If you are attracting negative people into your life, it is most likely that you are putting out negative “energy”, and you are most likely doing that because you are feeling negative “emotions”. If you are aware of that, you can work on putting out more positive energy, by choosing to feel more positive emotions. It’s really very simple.
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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.
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My name is Catherine Morgan, and I'm a writer, nurse, and mother. Above are links to my blogs, that also list many of the posts and articles that I've written for them.
I am now also at the Care2 Election Blog, and THE POLITICAL VOICES OF WOMEN.
