Let Them Play!

Check out this article on the importance of playing for children. Our children need to play again, and not organized play like team sports or physical education. The benefits of imaginative, free play are numerous. Playing supports learning, creative and social skills, and abstract thinking. Our schools need to bring back recess, and we need to leave the TV, video games and movies for only special occasions. Lack of play is seriously affecting our children's social skills, problem solving and creative capabilities, not to mention their health. American children have obesity problems and Attention Deficit issues.

Perhaps parents and teachers need to model the appropriate behavior as well. Imagine all the adults and children outside again playing or inside making new discoveries. Maybe we all need to get in touch with our inner child and learn to play again. Get on the floor and pretend you are a panther slinking through the forest, or stand tall with a pot on your head and a broom stick in your hand and pretend you are Queen of your domain. The kids will love it and perhaps they may even help with dinner and cleaning if it is made into play. Pretend you are the steam engine of a train when loading kids in the car for school, and all the children can be different cars on the train with the caboose bringing up the rear. The children will laugh and pile in the car and you won't have to yell five times to get in the car. Think of how wonderful the world would be if everyone played!

Here's to your playful side!
ClearSkies

Fruit of Kings!

Also known as pineapple, the "Fruit of Kings" is packed with nutrition that is hard to surpass in the produce department. Pineapple is high in Vitamin C, which makes it a must have as we enter the cold and flu season. Vitamin C helps protects us from free radicals and fights seasonal illness like colds and flu. Pineapple also aids in digestion, reduces blood clotting and assists the body in bone development. An excellent item to add to fruit salad or eaten alone, pineapple is beneficial for old and young alike. The Manganese contained within this royal fruit aids in energy production, as well as preventing osteoporosis and bone fractures. It also contains Vitamin B1, which further elevates energy productions. Besides Vitamin C, pineapple contains Bromelain, an antibacterial enzyme that suppresses inflammation and coughs, and loosens mucus. Other benefits of pineapple include antiviral properties and significant levels of potassium.

When it comes to consuming pineapple, fresh is best. Canning causes the pineapple to lose some of its beneficial health properties. When purchasing a pineapple, give it the "sniff" test, if it smells sweet, it is purchase worthy. If it doesn't smell sweet, put it back and sniff another. Pineapples stop their ripening process when picked, so choose wisely. When storing it at home, leave it on the counter upside down, which will allow all the sweet juices to trickle down to all areas of this delicious tropical fruit.

Pineapple is a must have in sweet and sour stir fry dishes. It lends well to being eaten alone or with other fruits as well. If adding pineapple to any dairy such as yogurt or cottage cheese, make sure you add it right before eating, as the properties of the fruit change when mixed with dairy. Personally, I like to cut it up and keep it in the refrigerator for easy snacking on the go. Children love the sweet taste of pineapple as well and eating it frequently will assist them in their bone development and Vitamin C intake. We could all benefit from this "Fruit of Kings"!

Here's to your continued health and happiness!
ClearSkies
photo courtesy of: www.freefoto.com
sources: http://www.bizaims.com/coffee+break/advices+projects/pineapple+health+benefits
http://www.knowledgebase-script.com/demo/article-283.html

Coincidences, I think not!

As I sit at my computer, doing yet another graduate study assignment, I am listening to an audio CD from Deepak Chopra, "The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire", which is about harnessing the infinite power of coincidence. A wonderful and supportive friend brought it over and I am soaking up every utterance. Deepak is inspiring and poignant in his analysis of the arrangement of the universe, it is truly inspiring and under the umbrella of Naturally Living.

If interested, click on the link to the right and it will take you directly to Deepak's book on Amazon.com, and soon you will be have the Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire.

Have a Naturally Living weekend and enjoy!
ClearSkies

Is Happiness Abnormal?

Ok, now I have seen it all, or at least I think I have, which remains to be seen. Anyway, enough of the philosophizing. Here is an link to an article that indicates a proposal has been made that happiness could be classified as a psychological disorder.

Quoting the article: "In a review of the relevant literature it is shown that happiness is statistically abnormal, consists of a discrete cluster of symptoms, is associated with a range of cognitive abnormalities, and probably reflects the abnormal functioning of the central nervous system." I find this hilarious, what do you think? Perhaps we need to redefine the definition of abnormal.

According to the text, it is not scientifically relevant that happiness is seen as positive and not negative, it could still be classified as a disorder. Wow, I think that about says it all....

Here's to your continued happiness, abnormal or not!
ClearSkies
source: Journal of Medical Ethics 1992;18:94-98; doi:10.1136/jme.18.2.94Copyright © 1992 by the BMJ Publishing Group Ltd & Institute of Medical Ethics.