Holistic Solutions - Nutrition and Lifestyle Counseling

I think everyone needs a great big tree in their back yard. A tree so high that when you stand underneath it and look up you have to bend backwards to see up to the top. A tree so full you can’t see the sky through the tree top. A tree so big you can’t put your arms around the trunk.

Having a tree three stories high in my back yard helps me keep my life in perspective.  It is a lesson in humility. It reminds me that I play a small part in the bigger picture of the Universe. The tree has been here long before my time and will be here long after I am gone.

I am a spiritual being in a material world. A world that is complex and dynamic; a world of energy ebbing and flowing.

I am a fleeting moment in the spectrum of time but I hope that my life has contributed to the higher good of all just as my life has been impacted by the ripple effect of so many other lives.

“Life is a long lesson in humility.”
James M Barrier

A friend just told me March is National Nutritional Month. That could have been such a great topic for a workshop but it’s half-way through March. Too late. Can’t do anything with it now. Or is it? Wait! I can blog!

Missed opportunities. They can really bum us out but we  have two choices. We can catastrophize and say “I miss every good opportunity every time!” and berate ourselves or we can mark our calenders for next year.

Once upon a time I was a “catastrophizer.” Melodrama was my middle name. My last name way annoying.  It didn’t get me anywhere except alone. No one wants to be around a drama queen.

No one wants to face all the challenges we are facing as a nation but again we have two choices. We can react by moaning and groaning and create and perpetuate a negative climate. Or we can respond and take our best shot.

Plan A. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Plan B. Sometimes it’s a better idea than Plan A, sometimes it’s not.

The big challenge is when neither Plan A nor Plan B work for several situations in a row. An even bigger challenge is or when neither Plan C nor Plan D work repeatedly.

We have two choices. We can moan & groan, catastrophize or just quit. Or we can save the plans for a more opportune time.  Smart move in a troubled economy or anytime.

Nice blogging with you but I gotta go plan a great workshop on nutrition for next March. Don’t miss a great opportunity!

So many times we start out with lofty ideals. We are inspired. We are commited. We are mission driven to make a difference. Then things happen like the economic collapse and we are challenged to maintain our drive and our enthusiasm.

We know that we are all in the same boat. Those of us who are wise smile and put on a cheerful front.  Others become melodramatic and wear their hearts on their sleeves. Still others are immobilized by the stress of the situation. They isolate and catastrophize.

We all have choices. We can respond to the situation, weigh our options and make careful well-thought out decisions. Or we can fail to analyze the situation and react in ways that are not in our best interest.

We cannot always choose what happens to us but we can choose whether or not we give away our power and allow the situation to control us. We can choose to be survivors instead of quitters.

I choose to respond to a challenging situation with a renewed spirit. I choose to have an inspired and mission driven life to improve the quality of people’s health by helping them improve the quality of their diet. I choose to hold onto my lofty ideals.

We all have our favorite parts of the Olympics. I love the opening ceremonies. Never before has there been such pagaentry, such excitement, or such a panorama of colors. The 2008 Olympics hosted in China were like no other Olympics before.

As hosts the Chinese had five mascots which represented the five elements. They believe that these five elements of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water govern the Universe. These elements correspond to color, emotion, taste, sound, energy, organs and bodily functions. They are assoicated with the time of the day, the seasons of the year and the organs of the body.

 The mascots also represented the five tradiotional beessings of: prosperity, happiness, passion, health, and good luck. What do these traditional blessings mean to you?

To me prosperity and abundance are two sides of the same coin. Happiness and contentment are another coin and health and wealth are on a third. Passion and faithfulness, health and wealth and good luck and hard work are each on seperate coins. These are the traditional blessings that fill my wallet and make me feel rich.

What coins are in your wallet?

Every day I walk my dog in the park and smile at everyone I pass. I consider them to be new friends because they have just done something wonderful for me! They have improved the quality of my immune system! When I smile at someone happy hormones are released in me and in the person you I gave a smile to. When people allow me to make eye contact with them I always get a smile in return. 

Most of the time I’m a happy person. When I’m not I pretend to be. I’m gregarious and am told I have an infectious laugh. It’s easy to make friends when I’m having fun. People like to be around people who love to laugh.

Happy people have stronger immune systems than unhappy people. According to a study by Nicholas Christakis, a professor at Harvard University, happy people produce fewer stress hormones. They have a broader base of support which helps shorten the duration and minimize the intensity of stressful times in their lives.

Happy people typically have more friends, are well connected, and are at the center of social networks. Having have friends and siblings close by is a more important contributing actor than  a happy  marriage. Close friendships with girlfriends is especially important for women.

Happiness spreads more consistently than unhappiness. Every friend increases your chance of being happy by 9%. Every unahppy friend decreases it by 7%. The way I see it you never have too many friends. So I’m going to keep on smiling at strangers every day as I walk my dog in the park. All I want for the new year is to continue to be healthy in the new year. 

All I want for Christmas is a smile from a stranger.

 Here is some advice Gandhi gave to inspire the world.

1. “You must be the change you want to see in the world.”

2. “Nobody can hurt me without my permission.”

3. “An eye for eye only ends up making the whold world    blind.”

4. “An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.”

5. “It is unwise to be too sure of one’s own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err.”

6. “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

Bobbie Burkhart
www.bevitalwithbobbie.com
June 19, 2008