REFLECTIONS

This cartoon is from an excellent blog. Here's the link: http://pjeco.blogspot.com/

I've noticed that when I'm feeling a little discouraged, I get busy trying to organize small unimportant areas of my life. This gives me the delusion of improving my situation. It distracts me from my worries but wastes a lot of time and effort. The Serenity Prayer helps me stop this futile compulsion.  It lets me step back for a moment to see what I can control and what I just have to live with.   Yesterday I needed this prayer.  I say it each morning when I wake up but after a while it becomes a thoughtless routine.  When this happens I make an effort to really pay attention to its meaning. Here are some notes I found on wikipedia: I have no idea who he was but from the 8th-century Indian Buddhist scholar Shantideva of Nalanda University:  If there’s a remedy when trouble strikes, What reason is there for dejection? And if there is no help for it, What use is there in being glum? Again, I'm not sure who this was. The philosopher W.W

OUR ONLY HOME From: http://mnhopkins.blogspot.com/

Before:     It was too spread out and floppy. After:   It's balanced. <>  <>  <>  <>  <> HUNGRY BLUE JAY  It was an enjoyable peaceful day.

I found this picture in the pile of old photos I have in my basement. Here Angela has her arms around me. My mother is on the right and my aunt is to the left. My brother looks bored.  I can't tell if the men in the background are our fathers. I'm not sure who took the photo. I like the style of the old cars. The location is Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York. Our outfits remind me of the old TV show The Little Rascals. It looks like I'm wearing a Brooklyn Dodgers T-shirt!     A post from the blog:  Stonehouse Cottage Potpourri~  encouraged me to post this photo. It was sometime in the 50's. Angela's family lived in another state so we didn't get together much. But when we did we had a good time. I had a boyhood crush on her. I even gave her my doll. I know boys are not supposed to play with dolls. I'm not sure where I got it but I really liked that doll. The link to the post:  1952...Cousins and Best Friends

The adventure of life is like sailing in a small ship.  We can adjust the sails and rudder but the wind and waves are mostly in control.  Reaching our goals, changing them when the situation proves they are unobtainable, recovering from unexpected hardships, succeeding when it seems all is lost; in the end we have much less control than we believe.  This makes life scary but it also makes it exciting and enjoyable. I wrote this quote, inspired by a post from the Aphorism of the Day blog. The link: http://mydailyaphorism.blogspot.com/2011/04/sailing-wouldnt-be-much-fun-if-we.html?showComment=1303423745399#c2686770346005764239

Yesterday I attended a six hour lecture about the aging brain. "Advances in Preventing Cognitive Decline: Getting Old, Thinking Young" The lecturer is a research professor at Johns Hopkins. The hippocampus was one of the main topics discussed. Definition: The hippocampu s is a complex neural structure (shaped like a sea horse) consisting of grey matter and located on the floor of each lateral ventricle; intimately involved in motivation and emotion as part of the limbic system and has a central role in the formation of memories.    It was very interesting but I'm sure I won't remember the complex medical details; which are too much for the average person like myself. I made an outline of some of the information that I believe I can use: ~SLEEP (usually 7 to 8 hours) (6 to 9 hours as needed) Don't set alarm? ~STRESS- AVOID! (Affects the health of hippocampus as does depression and anxiety. The nerve structure physically changes into a less healthy st