This lockdown is killing all of us

Stay inside.  Wash your hands.  Avoid touching your face.  Stay 2 metres from other other people.  Wear a mask.  Follow the arrows.  Stand on the circle.  Every day we hear these words and they certainly do not bring us any peace.  We watch the news and it tells us how many people have covid and how many have died.  We go anywhere in public and we see these reminders everywhere.

For the first couple of weeks that we were in lockdown mode, I was bit apprehensive as to what was happening.  But I was never in fear of getting sick or dying.  Until covid, we just normally left our houses every day, risking the chance we would get sick, injured or even die and didn’t even give it a second thought.  Just driving a car is a huge risk because 1.5 million people die every year from vehicle accidents but we don’t avoid driving.

I believe that we need to use wisdom and common sense in dealing with any potentially dangerous situation but I do not agree with the lockdown measures.  In the beginning, we were supposed to try and flatten the curve so the health system was not overwhelmed and this made complete sense.  It was never intended to stop people from getting sick and dying because people get sick and die every day and there is nothing we can do to stop it.  Then we were told we needed to stop the spread and the lockdown continued using stats to control us with fear.  Numerous reports have show these daily stats to be inaccurate and research shows that the data is highly exaggerated with many deaths being listed as covid when in fact they are cancer deaths, heart attacks, lung problems and even accidents.  People may or may not have tested positive with covid when they died but someone who was on their deathbed from cancer or other disease did not die from covid and this is misleading the public and it is wrong.

Now we are told that we need to stay locked down, wear masks and keep social distancing until we have a vaccine.  There are so many reports of the dangers of vaccines, yet people are convinced it is the only way to avoid getting this virus and they will willing take a vaccine that could cause paralysis, allergies, seizures and even death.  Unfortunately, the drug companies make billions of dollars every year on medications and vaccines so they will not provide the public with all the facts.  And wearing masks is actually dangerous according to many experts.  Masks can weaken the immune system and they block proper air flow.

What disturbs me is that people are just listening to mainstream media and allowing themselves to be scared without doing any research.  There are numerous studies and videos by doctors, nurses, scientists and other experts that state covid is no worse than the annual flu.  Many people are getting sick but the symptoms are very mild except in a small percentage that is mainly seniors and people who have serious health concerns.   Locking down the world and destroying millions of lives to protect a few people does not seem logical to me at all.  Just consider this…if the virus was so dangerous, people would not be able to shop in grocery stores and Walmarts without large numbers getting sick and dying.  There are so many rules that are being implemented that don’t make any sense at all.

All deaths are terrible but people seem to be only concerned about covid deaths.   When talking to some family and friends, my concerns seem to fall on deaf ears.  If I am not following ‘the rules’, I am told I don’t care and they aren’t interested in hearing about the damage this lockdown is causing.  What happened to logic?  What happened to the compassion for everyone who is sick and dying and not just those who have covid?  What happened to loving everyone?  Why are we labelled as irresponsible if we don’t believe in what our corrupt governments are saying?  Why do we never hear about other serious issues that are going on in the world?

• Suicides are at an all time high due to social isolation.  Already there are about 800,000 suicide deaths every year worldwide but this year it will be far higher. I have heard stories about some children and teens who have committed suicide and one particular case is a 12 year old boy who hung himself because he was lonely and hopeless.  How did the lockdown save him?
• Thousands of people have died from cancelled cancer surgeries and other procedures. How did the lockdown save them?
• Millions of people have lost their jobs or businesses and will never recover from financial distress.
• Domestic abuse has increased greatly and help lines are ringing off the wall.
• Many children who are being kept ‘safe’ at home are being physically and sexually abused by abusive parents and have nobody to talk to and get help.  How is the lockdown helping them?
• Seniors are locked down in long-term care and are suffering from loneliness because they are not allowed visitors.  In my opinion this is senior abuse and the Canadian Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedom is trying to address this problem.
• People who are sick in hospitals are not allowed the love and support they need from family and friends.
• Children and other people who are dying in hospitals are not allowed visitors until they are almost at the end of their lives.
• Millions of people are starving to death because they can’t work or get food.  How did the lockdown save them?
• Children are being kept out of school, not allowed on playgrounds or being able to access anything that might be fun for them, yet children are not getting sick or dying from covid.  Does this make any sense at all?  Interesting that the annual flu makes a lot of children sick and some even die but we have never closed down the world and kept them away from everything they enjoy doing.  In my opinion this is child abuse.

Does anyone else care about these problems?  Thankfully there are many people who do care and are fighting for our freedom.

This lockdown is killing all of us.  It is killing our bodies, our minds, our sanity, our emotions, our jobs, our relationships, our finances, our passions and our hope for the future.  For some of us it is a quick death, for others it is a slow death but one way or another, something in us will die, except for the very rich and they will soon control us all if we don’t fight back.  We need to fight for our children and grandchildren or they will grow up in a horrible world.  More people will suffer and die from this lockdown than the virus.  Please don’t believe me.  Do the research and you will find out what is really going on.   Nobody in this world can save us from sickness and death.  If we put our faith in the world, we are lost.  God is in control of the world and He is the only one who can save us.  God bless everyone!

Make volunteering a priority in 2017

There have been many studies done on the benefits of volunteering.  Without a doubt, it has proven to have positive effects on our mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health.  Volunteering can bring happiness and fulfillment to your life.  It helps you become more confident, connects you to other amazing people, may help advance your career and give you a sense of purpose.

Volunteering not only benefits you, it also benefits the people you are helping.  It brings encouragement and makes them feel more valuable.  By feeling that someone cares, it can change the entire direction of their lives

Families and friends also benefit from your volunteering efforts.  It lets them see love in action and it shows them how volunteering makes a difference.  Anyone who notices your acts of kindness will be affected in a positive way.

However, even if nobody notices what you have done, it still makes a huge difference in your own life.  The real purpose of volunteering is doing something and expecting nothing in return.  We should never volunteer just to get recognition.  Working for an organization that answers calls from people in distress or writing letters to lonely people far away can go unnoticed by others but it will still bring positive benefits to you.

Start the New Year with a resolution that will make an important and valuable difference in your life and the lives of others.  Resolve to volunteer for a local organization and bring in the happiness!  Even 2 hours a month can make a difference to someone.  I have volunteered for years and I know the benefits it brings!

Here is an article on the benefits of volunteering for teenagers.  Being a volunteer and showing a good example to your children will teach them valuable lessons that will enrich their lives.  Get them started young and help them become responsible, caring adults.  https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320432.php

Take care of yourself!

Our health is very important.  If we don’t take care of ourselves, we can easily develop major health issues that will affect everything in our lives.

We should try to eat healthy foods, exercise regularly, get proper sleep and eliminate any negative stresses.  This isn’t easy in a world that promotes fast food and a fast life.  We fill our lives with so many activities that we are too busy to cook healthy meals, go for a leisurely walk or get to bed at a reasonable hour.  The sad thing is, we believe that our value is found in how much we can accomplish in a day and we keep adding more and more stress until we reach a point where our health fails.

My own lifestyle was certainly not the healthiest.  I didn’t really watch what I ate, I exercised very little and my sleeping patterns were terrible.  Stress was a huge part of my life and I kept driving myself to do more that I could handle.   Having a stroke was not something I expected at this stage of my life.  On a positive note, it has changed my thinking and I have no choice but to take care of myself.

Here are some healthy habits that you should incorporate into your lifestyle:

• Eat a diet that is low-sodium, low-sugar and low-fat.  Lots of vegetables and fruits are important.  Never eat on the rush, take time to enjoy your food.  Frozen and prepared foods along with fast foods are unhealthy so try to cook at home as much as possible.  Eating healthy is a good habit to get your family and yourself into.
• Exercise a minimum of 30 minutes or more each day.   If you have an active job, this really doesn’t count.  Join a gym or exercise club.   Walking is the cheapest and most effective exercise.  Get a walking buddy and support each other.  I’ve been walking with my husband every day and it is benefiting both of us!
• Go to bed at the same time every night and get up at the same time.  Of course, there will be times when events or activities get in the way but that’s okay.  As long as you develop a habit that works most of the time.
• Try to eliminate as much stress as you can.  Positive stresses like getting ready for a exciting event are great but negative stresses will just drag you down.  Think about what is important and what isn’t important.  Spend less time with people who stress you out.  Cut down on your to-do list and make sure you add some quiet time each day.

You are an important person and you need to take care of yourself.  Don’t wait until something happens.  Start today!

Are you teaching your children to worry?

Let’s face it – life IS difficult and there are so many things that we can worry about – our families, our jobs, our friends, our finances, our future.  However, what value does worrying have?   The answer is – absolutely none!!  Worry doesn’t make anything better and it won’t resolve any problems.  Worry is just a major cause of stress and we know that stress can kill us.

So if we are worrying about everything in our lives, then we are impacting everyone around us, especially our children.  Think about it – our children are watching everything we say and do and will likely pick up any bad habits we have, like worrying!  We are giving them a terrible gift, one that will harm their health and possibly destroy any close parent/child relationship.

Are you teaching your children to worry?  If you are a worrier, take some steps to change this bad habit.  Write down your worries and try to change your perspective on them.  Ask yourself why you are worrying so much.  Try to focus on a positive solution and have faith that things will usually turn out okay.  The fact is, about 95% of the things we worry about never happen!

 

 

What kind of example are you?

Unless we are completely alone, everything we say and do has an effect on other people.  We can be a good example or we can be a bad example depending on what kind of words and actions we are using.  The best thing we can do is to lead by example and have a positive impact on everyone around us, especially our children.

• If you want your children to show respect to others, you can’t call people names and run them down.
• If you want your children to tell the truth, you can’t call in sick to work and then go and play golf
• If you want your children to be kind to others, you can’t ignore that homeless person lying on the ground
• If you want your children to be healthy, you can’t eat unhealthy foods or abuse substances yourself

If you want your children to grow up to become responsible adults, you have to show them what a responsible adult looks like.  You can’t just tell them or try to force them into a mold.   They will learn best from your positive example.

This doesn’t mean that you should try to be a perfect parent.  There is no such thing!  Do the best you can and aim for excellence not perfection.  You will make mistakes.  Don’t try to cover them up and pretend you are perfect.  Show your child that you do fail but that you learn from your mistakes and keep trying to do better.

What kind of example are you?

 

Clutter creates chaos

Having too much stuff can create chaos in your life.  Stuff stresses us out.  It frustrates us.  It drains our energy.  It can make it hard for us to get organized.

Most of us collect things, like antiques, books, coins, cards and so on.  Collecting things is fun and we can display them so they can easily be seen and enjoyed by ourselves and others.  However, when we start collecting many different things and putting them in piles so we can’t even find things or have no idea where we put something, this is when clutter happens and chaos starts.

When we have so much stuff that it drags us back to the past or ahead to the future, we can’t really live in the present and enjoy our lives.  People keep things that remind them of important things that happened in the past (newspaper clippings, photos, something that was owned by a loved one, a child’s toy).  People also keep things that they may need in the future, afraid to part with anything that might be of some value.  It is certainly okay to keep memories and anything that may be useful to us but when it gets out of control, it results in an unhealthy living environment.

Clutter is unhealthy.  Dust, mold and animal dander collect and can cause breathing problems.  Bugs and mice are also attracted to cluttered areas where they can live and breed.  Clutter is also a fire hazard and could hamper rescue efforts, sometimes resulting in death for the inhabitant and also the firemen.

If you have too much stuff, ask yourself what kind of life you want to live.  Do you want your stuff to control you or do you want to control your stuff?  Create a new vision for your life that is calm and easygoing, one that has less stress.   Talk to yourself in words that are encouraging and hopeful. Tell yourself that you are far more valuable than your stuff and you deserve to live in healthy, stress-free conditions.  Make a promise to yourself that you will start making some positive changes in your life, starting with cleaning up the clutter.

Ask yourself why you are keeping certain items.  One of the big items people keep is old newspapers because they might read them someday.  Chances of reading them are slim to none and why would you want to read old news anyway?  Besides, half of the newspaper is ads and they have absolutely no value once the sales are over.  Keeping them is just creating a mess and a possible fire hazard.  Another big item is keeping plastic bags for garbage.  We can only use so many garbage bags and they also just create a mess and possible fire hazard.

Pick one area and spend an hour or two a day working at it.  You can’t do it all at once, so don’t even try.  It will take time and patience but if you are committed to having a better life, you WILL be able to do it.  If you need help and you can afford it, contact a company that does organizing/de-cluttering.  Let’s face it, if you could afford to buy all that stuff, you would be better off using your money getting rid of the clutter instead of bringing more into your home.

Put things where they belong. If you have dishes or groceries in the bedroom, move them to the kitchen.  Books should be in a bookcase, not piled on the floor.  Clothing should be in a closet or dresser.  Clutter tends to become a pile of anything and everything as space gets limited in the rooms where things belong.  Then when you can’t find things, you go out an buy more to replace stuff that is lying in a pile somewhere.

Make a promise to yourself that when you get something new, you will get rid of something old.  Of course, this doesn’t apply to things like food unless you are keeping expired cans or food that is rotting.  If you enjoy reading, you don’t need to keep hundreds of books; go to the library and save some money.  If you like new clothing or fancy jewelry, donate your old items to goodwill.  You don’t need a new outfit to wear every day for the next 20 years.

Make an appointment with yourself to de-clutter.  It can’t be done all at one time so do it in small time frames that are manageable.  Do one or two hours a day and soon you will start to see some progress.  If you want more ideas, check out some sites that help with clutter removal.  There are lots!

Remove the clutter in your life and you will start to feel better.   As someone who helps people de-clutter, I can tell you that when the job is done, we almost always see a smile on their faces and there is an obvious sense of relief.  Happy de-cluttering!

Relax…Breathe…Take it easy…Slow down

People are such a rush these days!  Christmas should be a time when people can enjoy the season and anticipate being together with family and friends.  Unfortunately, many people don’t have time to enjoy Christmas because they are rushing to buy gifts and get all those last minute errands run.   I could never understand why so many people wait until the last minute to get things done.  I start early in December so I don’t get caught in all those crazy crowds.

Just this morning, I was driving down the street and had to stop for a red light.  I looked to the left to see if any cars were coming so I could make a right turn.  This probably took my eyes away from the traffic light for about 3 seconds and I heard a beep from the car behind me.   The light had just turned green and she was obviously very impatient for me to start moving.  Wow, she had wasted 3 whole seconds!  I felt so bad that I made her wait for so long!  (Not really)

People need to slow down and stop rushing through life.  Where is everyone rushing to anyway?  Is anything that important that we can’t wait for a minute or two and take a deep breath.  We are all programmed to want things immediately.  We don’t want to wait for anything.  We want it NOW!!

The reality is, everything is not an emergency!  Trying to rush through life just stresses us out and we miss out on a lot of important things.  We miss what is happening around us, those special moments with our families, especially our children.  We miss the beauty in nature.  We miss all those little, important things that happen when we are too busy to stop and look.

Take time this Christmas season and just relax…breathe…take it easy…slow down.  Enjoy the blessings of the season.

 

We don’t need a new diet, we need a new lifestyle

People are always looking for a new diet, a faster and better way to lose weight.   They listen to promises that they will look better and feel better in just a few days or weeks.  But if these promises were true, how come so many people are continually on diets?   The sad fact is, about 90% of people who diet will gain the weight back and sometimes will gain back more.

We don’t need a new diet, we need a new lifestyle.  Dieting doesn’t work in most cases.  People want their weight to drop quickly and will try almost anything that promises a quick fix.  They don’t think realistically.   The math is simple – you can’t lose 100 pounds in a few weeks when it took years to put on.

Don’t listen to all the crazy promises that you hear.  Companies will tell you anything just to make a buck.  The only way you can lose weight and keep it off, is to eat healthy foods and exercise daily.   Drink water, eat fruits and vegetables and consume smaller portions.  Cut out junk foods and only have a small ‘treat’ once in a while just to keep you motivated.

Your health depends on what you eat and how you take care of your body.   You only get one body for life, so treat yourself with care.  You deserve it!

 

National Girlfriends Day

Have you  heard about National Girlfriends Day?   I didn’t realize there was such a day until someone brought it to my attention.   Apparently it is an annual celebration of friendships between women that is commemorated every year on August 1st.   I tried researching this to see when and where it originated but couldn’t find much, so if you know any further details, I would really be interested in finding out.

In our busy lives, we often forget to think about what is important to us, so it is good that we are reminded by special days set aside like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Grandparent’s Day and now Girlfriend’s Day.   We should celebrate the special people in our lives every day, so we need to try to focus on the people who are important to us each and every day.   Nothing in life is certain and we can lose a loved in an instant through illness or injury.

Tomorrow is National Girlfriend’s Day so let’s remember to cherish all the women in our lives.   There are many things we can do to celebrate:  have a party, go for lunch, go shopping or plan some other event, but let’s also consider thinking about our health and how important it is to live a healthy lifestyle.  Women often are so busy taking care of their families and other people, that they ignore looking after themselves and this can result in serious health issues.   We should start having regular conversations about the importance of having regular checkups, eating healthy foods and daily exercise.

Let’s encourage and remind each other to stay healthy and take care of ourselves properly. Oscar Health Insurance has created a list called “The Woman’s Roadmap to Health”.   Use it as a guideline to keep track of important issues. Oscar is also a great resource for all health information. They have a team of trusted nurses and professional on call for any questions or concerns you may have. Check out more on their New Jersey and New York health insurance plans.

What do you do for fun?

I just watched a video that was very upsetting but didn’t really surprise me.  3 generations were asked the question,  ‘When you were a kid, what did you do for fun?”  Of course, when they asked the younger generation, it applied to what they did for fun right now.  The answers cut right into my heart.  Watch the video and then ask yourself these questions:

• How does this make me feel?
• Am I personally allowing my children to develop these behaviours?
• What can I do to be a better role model?
• How can I help make positive changes in  my children, grandchildren and other children around me?