mental health – Page 8 – Sugar And Spice… Among Other Things

Daily, Life, Personal Musings, Quotes, Work

Patience to Thy Own

Posted on May 30, 2019May 30, 2019 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“Patience is when you’re supposed to get mad, but you choose to understand.” Anonymous

At the grocers’ en-route from work, as the shopping was underway, the realization that the long list taped to the refrigerator door was still stuck on there, had raised the annoyance levels. Consequently the shopping was a very quick one and while paying for the bill and for the rest of the journey, the niggling sense that the shopping was incomplete and things were still undone was lingering on. The journey back was disturbing for one’s peace of mind. Later on, while defusing the day’s stress with tea, the fact that one is least patient with one’s own self struck the core thoughts.

“One minute of patience, ten years of peace.” ~ Greek proverb

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One of the first subjects is patience towards oneself, although we often tend to lose sight of this fact. By tolerating oneself means that on seeing our own mistakes and shortcomings or failures, one shouldn’t be distraught to an unnecessary extent or be greatly upset or indignant. For all these are signs of pride, leading to one’s own downfall. Instead accept that even oneself is prone to make mistakes. Understanding this requires the patience towards self first. For once we learn to be patient with one’s self, then only will the art of patience with others’ and in our daily lives be the routine norm.

“Have patience, my friend, have patience; For Rome wasn’t built in a day! You wear yourself out for nothing In many and many a way! Why are you nervous and fretty When things do not move along fast; Why let yourself get excited Over things that will soon be past?” – Gertrude Tooley Buckingham, “Patience”

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Being human implies that all of us will make mistakes. There are no perfect people in this world. One is prone to stumble and fall, on way or the other. Unless we learn to have patience to correct our steps and put one foot in front of the other, we will never move on or away from our own troubles. Accepting the ignorance of own mind, heart and thoughts; learning to be careful and cautious but having the patience to accept the fact that we have been wrong, will aid us in finding help from His Grace, to rise again and turn the day’s mood from sour to happy. Patience with own help us not only to learn from our mistakes, but also to grow ourselves. If one is not patience with oneself, who else will be patient with us.

“Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake.” Victor Hugo

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“Patience Is Not the Ability to Wait:
Patience is not the ability to wait. Patience is to be calm no matter what happens, constantly take action to turn it to positive growth opportunities, and have faith to believe that it will all work out in the end while you are waiting.” Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

Daily, Family and Society, Life, Personal Musings, Stories Around the World, Work

Cups, Perfection or Happiness

Posted on May 23, 2019February 18, 2019 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be.” Abraham Lincoln

As per the recent health surveys, the growing levels of stress are increasing steadily, not only among white collar workers, but also among young adults, adolescents and even at school level. In 2016, an estimate of over 1.1 billion people worldwide ( 1 in 6 or 15-20%) had mental or substance use disorder with around 4 percent of population had anxiety disorder ( Source: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, Global Burden of Disease study). As per the Cigna 360 Well Being Survey (2018), around 9 in 10 Indians suffer from stress. With all this statistical evidence and data of mental as well physical health correlations, the glaring fact or query is whether happiness or health is defined by the boundaries of pre-defined standardized success or by the quiet inner serenity of “being successful within”.

“You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.” Albert Camus

Source:https://vk.com/monahos

Source:https://vk.com/monahos

One of the reasons why we often sink into the pits in our journey in life, is because we are too busy looking around to notice our own. One becomes too busy in concentrating on how “our coffee cup” is shaped, styled and modeled in comparison to others either by wealth, career, assets or other parameters. Unfortunately in doing so, we fail to enjoy to taste, flavours and pleasure of indulging in the freshly brewed coffee in our own cup. Wouldn’t it be better if we enjoyed our own cup in the short time that we have?

“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” Albert Schweitzer

Source:https://vk.com/monahos

To attain the happiness in life, doesn’t imply to concentrate only on the cup that we have. Perfection doesn’t define happiness. Rather define what is important to one and find comfort and peace of mind in those. The choice to remain at peace and serene lies within us and our thoughts. Choose to stay calm, happy and content by finding the value and worth in things that really matter to us and our inner peace.

“Happiness depends upon ourselves.” Aristotle

A Cup and Coffee

A group of highly established alumni got together to visit their old university professor. The conversation among them soon turned into complaints about their stressful work and life. The professor went to his kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups, including porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain-looking, some expensive and some exquisite. The professor told them to help themselves to the coffee. After all the students had a cup of coffee in their hands, the professor said: “ Did you notice all the nice looking cups are taken and only the plain inexpensive ones are left behind. While it is normal for everyone to want the best for themselves, but that is the source of problems and stress in your life. “ “ The cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most of the cases, it’s just more expensive and hides what we drink.”, the professor continued. “What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but all of you consciously went for good looking expensive cups and then began eyeing on each other’ s cups.”
“Let’s consider that life is the coffee and the jobs, houses, cars, things, money and position are the cups. The type of cup we have, does not define or change the quality of our lives.”

Source:https://vk.com/pub_mdma

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Daily, Life, Reflections

Time for “Own”

Posted on May 10, 2019May 5, 2019 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” Aristotle

With the current pace of today, finding “alone time” takes a backseat. Multiple reasons can be attributed to the lack of “me-time”. Professional, person or family and even community obligations always take up a few more precious seconds. Yet once in a while, it feels wonderful to leave everything to get some quiet time.

Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts

Research has shown that at least ten minutes per day to indulge in self time really helps. Speaking from a personal viewpoint, taking time for one, be it a whole day or couple of hours, depends on one’s choice. A few minutes of indulging in one’s personal interests to a whole day of the same; should both serve the same purpose. Of being happy and finding a sense f calmness and peace of living in the daily melee.

Be sure to leave at least one day for yourself. Get up when you want.
Take your time to drink fragrant mint tea or aromatic coffee.
Leisurely walk. Confused tracks among the favorite streets of the city.
Or maybe spend the whole day at home, in soft beloved pajamas,
leafing through the pages of your favorite book.
At last, to do what one had long dreamed of.
Pick up a camera, and maybe a brush and paint.
Bake a cake for a new recipe. Learn the first words in French.
Just live the day the life you dream about.
Just be yourself. Just be happy …
Anna Koryagova

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Source:https://vk.com/public138314547

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Family and Society, Life, Reflections, Stories Around the World, Work

The Worth of Every Effort

Posted on May 8, 2019May 4, 2019 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience. Knowing grass, I can appreciate persistence.” Hal Borland

Entering into the work zone every morning, is like walking into a different time frame. From childhood we have been told to take pride in doing our work, be it simple household chores, completing homework or assignments on time, getting involved in school sports, drama or musicals, working for college scholarships, the university Christmas choir and the like. The focus was laid on doing well so as to bear fruit. As we grow older one realizes that not everything bears fruit with immediate effect. By working hard, there is guarantee that the task would bear fruit to be the selected or winning project; or despite all the hard work, sales target mayn’t be met or more clients , may be lost than gained. Yet the underlying benefit of enjoying and working to one’s maximum potential, is knowing that one has tried their respective best. That mental satisfaction is worth every penny of one’s sweat.

“Indeed, this life is a test. It is a test of many things – of our convictions and priorities, our faith and our faithfulness, our patience and our resilience, and in the end, our ultimate desires.” Sheri L. Dew

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Each one of us have our own difficult scales to balance. From managing family and work, to taking care of aged parents, managing the kids, night classes to attain the additional professional degree, juggling two jobs to repay the loans; each one knows their own struggle. Being discouraged and disheartened despite all the efforts is human. In those moments, it’s alright to take a breather, regroup, refocus and find the inner muse to get going. For once one decides not to drop the gauntlet, staying true to the efforts with the inner drive pushing one on; the ultimate outcome would be heartening, beyond one’s wildest hopes and dreams.

“Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.” Walter Elliot

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The Other Side of the Wall

There was a young woman who took great pride in the growth and care of the flowers in her flower garden. She had been raised by her grandmother who taught her to love and care for flowers as she herself had done. Like her grandmother, her flower garden was second to none. One day while looking through a flower catalog she often ordered from, a picture of a plant immediately caught her eye. She had never seen blooms on a flower like that before. “I have to have it,” she said to herself, and she immediately ordered it.
When it arrived, she already had a place prepared to plant it. She planted it at the base of a stone wall at the back of her yard. It grew vigorously, with beautiful green leaves all over it, but there were no blooms. Day after day she continued to cultivate it, water it, feed it, and she even talked to it attempting to coax it to bloom. But, it was to no avail.
One morning weeks later, as she stood before the vine, she contemplated how disappointed she was that her plant had not bloomed. She was giving considerable thought to cutting it down and planting something else in its place. It was at this point that her invalid neighbor, whose lot joined hers, called over to her. “Thank you so much! You can’t imagine how much I have enjoyed the blooms of that vine you planted.” The young woman walked through the gate into her neighbor’s yard, and sure enough, she saw that on the other side of the wall the vine was filled with blooms. There were indeed the most beautiful blooms she had ever seen. The vine had crept through the crevices and it had not flowered on her side of the fence, it had flowered luxuriantly on the other side.

Just because you cannot see the good result of your labour does not mean that it bore no fruit.
Author: Randy Reynolds

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” Harriet Tubman

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Daily, Random Thoughts, Stories Around the World, Work

To Believe It or Not !!

Posted on April 1, 2019March 3, 2019 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

” “Coca-Cola is launching three flavours of its Zero Sugar brand featuring avocado, sourdough and charcoal.”

Imagine the consequences of the taste buds and the senses after an episode of experimentation with these flavours. And here’s how the flavours were described.
• Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Avocado – Forget smashed or blended, this new flavour infuses the subtle, creamy undertones of amazing avocado with that great Coca-Cola Zero Sugar taste. Both delicious and nutritious, this gorgeously green pick-me-up is guaranteed to make your socials grow.
• Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Charcoal – Cleanse, refresh and revitalise with a Zero Sugar supercharge. Loaded with activated charcoal, creating a smooth and rich flavour, this miracle in-a-can pairs-perfectly with your favourite Instagram filter.
• Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Sourdough – Crafted with care, superbly sour and bursting with fermented flavours. Packed with crumbly goodness – so you can start the day in the right way with a mouth-wateringly good snap of this wild-yeast infused Zero Sugar treat. “

For the readers of the above news on the Daily Mirror online version last year, had resulted in a frenzy of whether this was true or was it an “All Fools Day Prank”. Being mixed with the “true news” of the society, food, travel and living sections; it wasn’t easy to ascertain whether one was going to really taste avocado, sourdough or charcoal in their drink.

“The first of April, some do say
Is set apart for All Fool’s Day;
But why the people call it so
Nor I, nor they themselves, do know,
But on this day are people sent
On purpose for pure merriment.” (Poor Robin’s Almanac, 1790)

Photo by Bich Tran on Pexels.com

Photo by Oliver Wiesenberg on Pexels.com

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One of the days dreaded the most, especially at work, school or neighbourhood, is the first day of April, where the day is pretty confusing for each hour goes by the wait of “being pranked”. Each day this year, from social media to official meetings, one is always second guessing everything. As for pranksters, its’ a day of freedom, fun and revelry.

Yet when the prank is actually the truth, one may feel a bit razzed. For instance people who celebrate their birthdays on April First have always been questioned, even though they are speaking the truth. Remember the headlines that state “the African continent can split into two” after an enormous crack appears. Well, it’s actually true for a large crack, several miles long and growing accompanied with seismic activity had appeared in south-western Kenya causing the Nairobi-Narok highway to collapse. Researchers have attributed this to activity between the tectonic plates in Earth’s crust and upper mantle. Today the rift still continues to grow and an expert says it’s evidence that the continent is breaking apart.

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Yet news like this, practical jokes and hoaxes especially on All Fools’ Day or April Fools’ Day spreads mass confusion (which was or wasn’t the purpose all along). Why this particular day ? The origin behind this day is quite interesting, with various versions and tales trending around the world.

As per Geoffrey’s Chaucer’s “The Cantebury Tales”, New Years’ Day used to be celebrated around April. With the Gregorian Calendar (1582, France) being introduced by Pope Gregory XIII with January 1st to be celebrated as “New Years’ Day.” For those who refused to support this,; they were mocked and sent on fools’ errands on April 1st.

Another disputed association between April 1st and foolishness also comes from Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales (1392). In the “Nun’s Priest’s Tale”, a vain cock Chauntecleer is tricked by a fox on “Syn March bigan thritty dayes and two.” While readers apparently understood this line to mean “32 March”, i.e. April 1, it wasn’t clear if this was the correct inference. The scholars of today, believe that there is a copying error in the extant manuscripts and that Chaucer actually wrote, “Syn March was gon.” Then the passage would have originally meant 32 days after March ( i.e. May 2nd), the anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia (1381).

French poet Eloy d’Amerval (1508) had referred to “a poisson d’avril” (April fool, literally “Fish of April”), possibly the first reference to the celebration in France. In France, January 1st as New Year’s Day became common only by the mid-16th century and the date was adopted officially as per the Edict of Roussillon (1564). Likewise Flemish poet Eduard de Dene (1539) had written about a nobleman who sent his servants on foolish errands on April 1st.

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The origin of April Fools’ Day is different in Netherlands, where it’s often attributed to the Dutch victory at Brielle in 1572, where the Spanish Duke Álvarez de Toledo was defeated (“Op 1 april verloor Alva zijn bril”). Another citation in history was on April 1, 1698 when several people were tricked into going to the Tower of London to “see the Lions washed”.

Few authors have expressed the belief that the origins of April Fool’s Day may go back to the Genesis flood narrative, although this hasn’t been verified by Biblical scholars or historians. As written by the Harper’s Weekly cartoonist Bertha R. McDonald (1908), ” Authorities gravely back with it to the time of Noah and the ark. The London Public Advertiser of March 13, 1769, printed: “The mistake of Noah sending the dove out of the ark before the water had abated, on the first day of April, and to perpetuate the memory of this deliverance it was thought proper, whoever forgot so remarkable a circumstance, to punish them by sending them upon some sleeveless errand similar to that ineffectual message upon which the bird was sent by the patriarch”.

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Festivals celebrating a day for pranks has been there since the early Roman times, where “Hilaria” a Roman festival was celebrated. As the name suggests, it was a festival of laughter and hilarity where people would dress up in disguises to fool others and enjoy the spring season. Various countries have different ways to celebrate this day. While across Italy, France, Belgium, and French-speaking areas of Switzerland and Canada, people celebrate April Fools’ Day by trying to stick a paper fish on someone (without being noticed); in Iran jokes were played on each other on ‘Sizdah Be-dar'(the 13th day of the Persian New Year, falling on April 1st or 2nd). On the other hand Spanish speaking countries celebrate similar festivity on the ‘Day of the Holy Innocents’ (December 28 or 29) and in Denmark, this day is celebrated on’Maj-Kat’, which means ‘May-cat’ (May 1st).

Either way the chance to play practical jokes and hoaxes on this day has promoted this trend to continue. For there’s nothing more enriching than genuine innocent fun and laughter for the day.

“The maple syrup’s full of ants.
A mouse is creeping on the shelf.
Is that a spider on your back?
I ate the whole pie by myself.
The kitchen sink just overflowed.
A flash flood washed away the school.
I threw your blanket in the trash.
I never lie—I—
April Fool!” (Myra Cohn Livingstone)

Source:https://vk.com/monahos

Daily, Food

Beyond the “C”

Posted on March 1, 2019February 11, 2019 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

What connects Camellia sinensis, Coffea seeds, Kola nuts as well as the yaupon holly leaves, Amazonian holly guayusa leaves. The common factor is a simple but bitter, white crystalline purine, a methylxanthine alkaloid compound popularly consumed globally as “Caffeine”. The growing role of “caffeine” related beverages is evidenced by the celebration of March as the National Caffeine Awareness Month” by foodimentarians globally.

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Like the two sides of a coin, caffeine has its’ own merits and demerits. Primarily playing its’ role as a central nervous stimulant as well as inhibitor of two major enzymes, phophodiesterase and adenosine; caffeine of coffee, tea as well as the medically available pure form has its’ indicated uses and merits.

From treating to preventing major diseases in neonates (like bronchopulmonary dysplasia, apnea of prematurity) as well aiding asthmatics in reducing their exacerbation; caffeine aids in reducing fatigue, drowsiness and improving coordination and reaction time. Imagine the endless night shifts, cramming before exams, pulling all nighters before the term exams in university and aiding to stay awake during classes after late night events; caffeine was always a life saver. In moderation, caffeine aids in reducing depressive symptoms as well as suicide idealizations.

“It was a pleasant cafe, warm and clean and friendly, and I hung up my old water-proof on the coat rack to dry and put my worn and weathered felt hat on the rack above the bench and ordered a cafe au lait. The waiter brought it and I took out a notebook from the pocket of the coat and a pencil and started to write.” Ernest Hemingway

Source: https://vk.com/slideshowarts

Not just students or night shift workers, for the gym goers, caffeine helps in improving their endurance, aids weight loss as well as increase the training or exercise volume. Moderate consumption of caffeine reduces dementia and Alzheimer’s risk, neuroprotective for Parkinson’s patients, reduces liver fibrosis and cirrhosis as well decreases risk of throat, mouth, colon and skin cancer.

On the other hand, more than 400 milligrams of caffeine intake has been associated with health risks ( Health Canada limitations) while toxic doses are in the range of ten grams or more of caffeine (50 -100 coffee cups with 80-175 mgs of caffeine per cup). Adverse effects of caffeine have a physical as well as psychological manifestation. In the former group would include raised blood pressure, headaches, increase gastrointestinal motility, increase bone loss in postmenopausal women, stained teeth, increased eye pressure in glaucoma patients, loss of essential minerals like iron and calcium as well as decreasing collagen synthesis i.e. more wrinkles.

“As long as there was coffee in the world, how bad could things be?” Cassandra Clare, City of Ashes

Source: https://vk.com/slideshowarts

From a psychological viewpoint, increase caffeine can lead to addiction, mood swings, dependency, anxiety disorders, tremors as well as irritability and sleep less nights. For the pregnant women, balancing the daily intake to two or less cups of coffee ( less than 200mg ) helps to reduce the caffeine induced pregnancy complications.

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Caffeine consumption, highly depends on the way and reason we take it. From a simple homemade coffee to the “calorie laden coke” (laced with additional compounds) or the simple morning and evening ritual of tea, caffeine intake can be regulated. The more carefully we regulate the caffeine intake, the longer we can enjoy the merits than be affected by their demerits.

“Adventure in life is good; consistency in coffee even better.” Justina Chen, North of Beautiful

Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts

Christian, Daily, Life, Stories Around the World

Combining Our Thoughts

Posted on February 20, 2019February 20, 2019 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“….. but I shall toss my head and have nothing to say to them. Forgetting all about the pail, and suiting the action to the word, she tossed her head. Down went the pail, all the milk was spilled, and all her fine castles in the air vanished in a moment!” (Source: The Milkmaid and Her Pail, Æsop’s Fables, translated by V. S. Vernon Jones (London: W. Heinemann; New York: Doubleday, Page and Company, 1916), pp. 25-26.)

While some of us may heard of the fable of “The Milkmaid and Her Pail”, others may have read of similar tales of other variants like Bidpai’s “The Poorman and the Flask of Oil”, “The Barber’s Tale of his Fifth Brother” from The 1001 Nights and the Jewish story of “The Dervish and the Honey Jar”. Essentially all these resonate the moral of ” Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched.” Yet these fables bring to my mind, the dangerous turn of our thoughts and dreams which turn from being simple to lofty leading to depression, anxiousness and the unending pursuit for “the pot of gold” harming our health, mental peace and happiness in the process.

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For instance, we all have suffered from depression, nerves, anxiousness, worries, stress at some point of time. What do all these have in common besides harming our mental peace and happiness ? They all arise from a combination of thoughts. We ponder of something that is yet to happen, guess the course of events and combine one thought, then the other and then the third and so on and so forth. We are all puzzled on how everything will happen or what will happen in one way or another. In the end, the result surprises us as the Lord arranges things in a different way. In such a scenario, what was the point of experiencing the nerves and depressing or worried thoughts?

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Phillipians 4:8)

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When the thoughts of darkness surround us and surface to mind, turning to His Word helps to dispel the darkness and ward off the despair. When we turn to our Faith we destroy speculations and loftiness. As said in the Psalms, “When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul.” (Psalm 94:19)

On another note, we need to plan and foresee to achieve certain goals for the future but pure conjectures, speculations and lofty thinking don’t help our dreams but rather, crashes them putting them on hold. Learning to distinguish between thinking, planning and pure “counting of chickens before they hatch” is what life and experience teaches us.

“For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

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