Category: Life Style

Extreme Weather

The extreme weather has brought heavy rains and snowfall. The copious amounts of water collected in low-laying ares has immersed the roads and parkways. In some areas there has been snow, which never used to get any and some parts of the planet are experiencing temperatures which are unprecedented. We have to take all this unusual weather patterns into serious account now and take action to prevent further deterioration to earth’s atmosphere.

But who is to instigate these changes? Who will be taking the lead? On individual basis we all can do our bit. But we do need the governments of leading countries, which have high carbon emissions rates to take some constructive decisions. Are we willing to cut back on our usage of fossil fuels?

Written for the following ;

Word of the day challenge;

Instigate

Your daily word prompt;

Extreme

FOWC;

Copious

RDP;

Immerse

#Keepitalive

#FOWC

#RDP

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What are friends for?

Life gives us a lot of things, good, bad and some which are hard to categorized! But friends are one of the nicest gifts of life, after family.

If you are lucky you will have one best friend, if your are very lucky you will have many. Friends are the family we choose for ourselves. The sharing and caring that we get and give in a friendship is directly proportional to the depth of the relationship. And it is well worth in invest emotionally in a friendship, when your friendship is based on selfless love.

What is amazing about a good friendship is that this relationship is at times even stronger than that of siblings. We can say things to friends that we sometimes cannot say to our own family. The friend who shares a sense of humor with you is very precious.

There is a saying that;

“Cry and you cry alone and laugh and the world laughs with you”

But I beg to differ. Sympathy is easier to find than a shared sense of the ridiculous. At least that is my experience. Friends cheer you up when you are feeling down. They give you advice when you need guidance and they will be the support you need in troubled times.

My best time spend with my friends is when we get together, away from the worries of home and family and have a carefree outing, like catching a movie or going shopping.

When you are in a bind, they will pick up the slack. They are going to help you in chores if you need them to and they are also going to lend the proverbial shoulder to lean on or even cry on if need be.

So value friends and friendships.

Have you any friends like family?

Please share your thoughts and feedback.

#Keepitalive

Enigmatic

Be puzzling, intriguing and enigmatic

The open book model is obsolete now

The more mysterious you are the better

Keep the attention of people engaged

Utter comments difficult to understand

Say things that make absolutely no sense

Dress in outlandish outfits to astonish all

Eat what no one has heard of before now

Be bold, be different, be amazing, be you!

JusJoJan #4

Enigmatic

#Keepitalive

#JusJoJan

De- cluttering Life

I recently read a great blog about the beauty of simplicity. So I am trying to make my life simple by de-cluttering it.

This is the season for making new plans and implementing changes in life. So if you want a streamlined life, free of a lot of extra stuff, both literally and figuratively, go for a purge.

De-cluttering space ;

I think that sorting our clothes, books, pictures and all other stuff which is un-organized not only frees up the space but also gives us the comfort of knowing that we don’t have anything which we are not using.

The extra clothes, out dated, out-sized and worn out all can be sorted into the categories of;

Donations

Give away( disposed off)

Stored away for next season

One advice, I found to be practical is to give away or donate clothes which don’t fit anymore. If we keep them in hopes of fitting in them again, that day sometimes never comes.

Books and photographs are more difficult to organize. We seldom feel like parting with books, old or new. Some can be donated to the lending libraries but most books we would love to keep. So the trick is to store them on shelves and not in boxes or crates. A cheap book shelf is easy to get and will keep the books within your reading range. Nowadays we usually don’t have pictures in hard copies. But if you do, take some time to organize them in albums or scrap books, with a small note saying when and where. It may be useful to add who, in case of old photos. This is a time-consuming process and should be attempted when you have free time on your hands.

Knickknacks and other miscellaneous things can be either stored away or kept in appropriate place

De-cluttering digital space;

The digital space we have is limited, no matter how many giga bytes of it we have, because all things add up. Make a point to free up the space on the laptop, phone and tablet/ iPad etc by deleting old documents that you no longer need. If you feel like me that the moment you delete anything, you will have an urgent need of it, then you should buy a portable hard drive( a really large memory stick) and transfer your data on to it. iCloud, OneDrive and other online storage facilities are excellent to store data which you don’t want to part with. Uploading pictures to online data storage helps free up the space on your digital devices and may even do away with the necessity of getting a new one with more storage space.

De-cluttering mind;

The most useful and important part of de-cluttering is that of our minds. Worries, stress and concerns about future eat away the peace of mind. We can be so distracted by all that is going on in our brain that we may not perform our jobs properly. There are a few tips to de-clutter our mind;

Set priorities; do what is important first. Leave the un-important tasks for later.

Learn to let go; you cannot do everything, and achieve all that you want. So if you are unable to do something, let go of the feeling of failure and move on.

Take a deep breath; deep breathing gets more oxygen into our bodies and help us relax.

Make decisions;being decisive takes a load of your mind. But don’t go back and rethink your decisions.

Share with loved ones; as they say that a burden shared is a burden halved.

Limit the amount of media, social media and digital devices you use; we all know now that too much information, can bring chaos to our mind, so limit the amount of TV, Facebook or other media/ social media you use and give your brain a breather.

Un-wind; at the end of the day, unwind. Physically unwinding and relaxing can make our mind relaxed.

These are a few of the tips to make life simple and free from clutter.

Hope that this is useful to some of you.

Waiting for your feedback and comments.

#Keepitalive

Photo Credit; Google

Writings as a part of:

Ju-Jo-Jan

Fresh air no despair

It is after the holidays and I am re-blogging my post that about the beneficial effects of exercise on us.

Stepping outside into the fresh air, you instinctively take a deep breath. Just to take in all that wonderful  fresh air. Going for a run or jog in the fresh air has an uplifting effect on us. Exercising and doing workouts releases a brain hormone, called endorphins.

What are Endorphins? These are chemicals released in brain when we exercise for a certain amount of time at a certain intensity.

Also known as feel good hormones, endorphins are great mood elevators. After about twenty minutes of exercise of moderate intensity, our brain starts to release endorphins. This is the cause of a euphoric feeling or the runner high.

These chemicals are produced in our brains to relieve stress and pain. The euphoric and analgesic effect are the main reason why people become addicted to exercise, running or jogging. These chemicals also have a sedative effect and that’s why a good run ,walk or workout gives us a good night sleep.

Endorphins not only have a relaxing effect on our bodies but also trigger a positive and uplifting mental outlook. It chases away the anxiety, despair and depression.

Psychologist and psychiatrist also recommend physical activity for a certain time every day to keep depression and anxiety at a minimum.

So let’s put on our running/ walking shoes and go out to enjoy the fresh air that is going to blow away the cob webs from our minds , chase away the blues and energize our body and brain. It will also stimulate our thinking and bring fresh ideas about writing!

So, Endorphins, anyone?

Let me know how you like my post.

Waiting for your feedback and comments.

#Keepitalive

Photo Credits: Google

Movie review: Johnny English strikes again

The latest movie by Rowan Atkinson is a must see. As they say ” Laughter is the best medicine “. If you want a dose of happy, then this movie is for you.

There are no spoilers in this review.

Johnny English strikes again is third in the series of Johnny English movies. Since they are basically a comic take on the famous James Bond movies, ( Bond is member of the famous MI6, whereas Johnny English plays an agent of MI7 ) people who are fans of that genre of films will enjoy it .

It is directed by David Kerr and produced by Universal pictures. Emma Thompson’s portrayal of British Prime Minister may be a hit on the current British PM, but then maybe not.

The antics of Johnny English would remind some people( people found of old movies or who belong to my generation) of The pink Panther movie’s, detective Clouseau in some of the scenes.

As I am not a movie critic, I am not qualified to comment on the artistic/technical  side of the movie, I can only comment as a viewer.In my mind, Atkinson’s name is synonyms with comedy. He creates comedy from his expressions, actions and words. The plot is not complicated , some may even say, silly, but then that is how comedy is created!

I would give it a four and a half star rating, because of its entertaining nature. We went to see the movie because we had time on our hands. There were no great expectations and so we were pleasantly surprised.

If you are looking for a few laughs, a clean and not so complicated movie, then go for this one.

Let me know how you liked my post and the movie, if you see it.

#Moviereview

#JohnnyEnglish

#Keepitalive.

Staying in your comfort zone

We humans are comfortable with what we are used to. This is our known territory, our Comfort Zone .

It is often that either physically or mentally we are taken or forced out of our comfort zone. Not staying in a frame of mind that we are familiar with can push us both mentally and physically to a state of stress. So is this forced or voluntary stepping out of our comfort zone, good for us?

Most people wouldn’t want to step out of the familiar. But experts tell us that sometimes doing things which stretches our limits and capabilities can be good for us.

There are two aspects of stepping out;

1. Mental:

Stretching your mental abilities, though is stressful at that time , can help you grow both intellectually and skill wise. The most common example is of school learning. Children, when they start school, hardly know anything much but through this stretching of their mental capacity, they start to learn and gradually their intellectual capacity is extended to include knowledge on different subject. Continuing on this principle, adults who no longer fall in the category of students, can and do learn new skills and acquire knowledge on subjects of which they were previously ignorant. Many times through need or hobby, people push themselves to acquire new skills, which previously they didn’t have. This is where stepping out of comfort zone benefited these people. Learning to operate computer, developing skills to use machines ( of various kinds) or taking up a new profession, (after learning about it from scratch) are all examples of leaving one’s comfort zone.

2. Physical;

Stepping out of physical comfort zone has to be considered very carefully. If one is young and healthy and, has nothing to limit their venture into their chosen physical activity, by all means go ahead. Learning and playing new games, sky diving and bungee jumping are all the sort of  adventures open to these people. It gives one a thrill and sense of adventure to take part in these newly acquired sporting activities. Start gym or yoga, cycling or aerobics, the only limitation are those of physical endurance.

Now, consider the second category of people who are not that fit, young or flexible etc, etc. These people should not push themselves too much out of their comfort zone! It is always good to be physically fit and active , but recognize your own limits. An unadvised and unsupervised entry into rigorous sports like activity can cause harm which sometimes cannot be fixed easily.

The conclusion;

The take away from all of this is that : Mentally, it is always good to boldly go where you haven’t gone before. Trust in your own capabilities and try new things. Learn new skills and languages. Push yourself out of your comfort zone and you will see that it’s a rewarding experience.

Physically, choose your challenges carefully, keeping in mind your limitations. It’s no use starting some new activity, just to give it up due to your health. But even in this scenario, slow and gradual build up of capacity can help you in taking up new hobbies, games and physical activities.

Hope you like this post. Please share your feedback and comments.

#Comfortzone

#Mentalhealth

#Physicalhealth

#Keepitalive

My fitness tracker.

Fitness trackers are all the rage these days. The question is: Do I need one? I will be honest with you! The answer is a yes and a no!!! If you are a creature of habit, with discipline ingrained in your character, the likelihood is that you won’t need the added push which a fitness tracker provides towards gaining good physical health and regular habits. But if , like me you are careless about personal goals or have a lackadaisical approach towards health and fitness, then my dears, this gadget is a necessity!

Let me explain:

A fitness/ exercise/ step tracker is a device often worn on the wrist ( though there are arm and pendant versions also available) of a person (that maybe you!). The purpose of this device is to measure the physical activity that is done by the wearer. As new technology is coming into play, the trackers can monitor your steps, heartbeat, sleep and any exercise that you do. It is done basically by measuring your heartbeat and movements. The tracker cannot be 100% accurate but most devices have a pretty good tracking rate. As a person wears the tracker, all the physical activity done by him/ her is recorded. The number of steps taken, floors climbed and aerobic exercise like walking, running and cycling etc are also recorded automatically. It also tells you how long you have been sitting around and how long you slept. Usually there is an app ( both for android and iPhones ) which links your tracker to your device ( usually the phone) and analyzes the data collected.

You are further encouraged to log in the food and water intake via the app into your account, that you create when you start using your tracker.

So this is how your tracker works!

Now, the question: why should anyone go to all this trouble?

I am going to cite my own example to make it easy for you to decide. I was a lazy person who disliked to do any exercise or physical activity, voluntarily. Then a few ( 3 or so) years ago, I realized that if I wanted to have a chance of aging gracefully with my dignity intact, I better reform my indolent ways. So I got myself a fitness tracker. After a few frustrating day, ( learning how to use the device and the app) I started my journey towards a better physical health. The pre-set limit on my tracker was 10,000 steps. Now this was an impossibility to me at that time. So I tweaked it and reduced the target to 3000 steps. Slowly and gradually I increased my capacity to walk and finally was able to do the 10 k.

So long story short, now it’s not only a habit but sort of compulsion for me to complete my daily quota of steps. I also log in my food/ calorie intake and water intake.

The conclusion:

As I said earlier, if you are concerned that you are not getting enough exercise or are not doing enough for you health, get a fitness tracker which suits your requirements. It will remind you to move, get your daily quota of steps and in general be more active. The latest research has equated being sedentary as having the same risks as smoking. So it’s time to invest in a bit of technology to help you on the road to being more active and healthy.

Let me know how you like my post. Share your questions and give your feedback.

#fitnesstracker

#Goodhealth

#Keepitalive

Too busy to talk to your family?

How many times in a week, it happens? We are planning to talk to a loved one and then get caught up in something and either forget or postpone it for tomorrow!

Time seems to be the enemy of family ties! There is work, studies or social commitments. It like a race that we are constantly running and the time usually wins.

It’s usually okay with our immediate family where through constant reminders and struggle with schedules we manage to make that ballet practice or the little league match. Anniversaries and birthdays are often remembered by the help of phone reminders. And I did say”usually ” as some people have trouble with those too, due to their hectic schedules.

But with long distance relationships we often flounder! Be it siblings, parents, grandparents, cousins….. and the list goes on. Childhood friends are often in this group of people that we “always mean to call but something came up”.

Another reason that hinders the inter-family communication are the small misunderstandings that have occurred over some long forgotten and trivial issues. Lay aside these differences and you will find that the other side has either forgotten about it or have grown above it.

The wake up call sometimes comes when for some inevitable reason it is too late to talk to our loved one! The regret that strikes at our hearts at such a time is usually very sharp. We are assailed by ” if only” scenarios. And then we do realize that calling someone doesn’t take such a big effort. As little as 5 spare minutes can connect us to a person with whom we haven’t spoken in a long ( ish) while.

So the time to make that call or write that email/ letter is now. Don’t remain Silent. Don’t put it off. Don’t procrastinate.

hands coffee cup apple
Photo by Stokpic on Pexels.com

Connect and reap the reward of making your loved ones and yourself happy. Remember if you stay Silent, you may regret it later.

Let me know how you like my post. Waiting for your comments and feedback.

#FOWC

#Silent

# keepitalive

#Familyfirst

#Connectwithyour family

Stretch

Stretch your imagination and dream the dream. Life is meaningless without a dream. It takes an active imagination to set up a goal for life achievements.

Or Stretch this body of yours. Go for a run, do aerobics or yoga. Get the heart pumping blood. Wake up all those dormant muscles, tendons and exercise the joints, which are creaking from being used so less.

But don’t Stretch the truth. That would be a betrayal of your inner self. Honesty will make the heart light and life uncomplicated. As they say( I wonder who ” they” are) the best thing about telling the truth is that you don’t have to remember what you said!

And do Stretch your budget to make the ends meet. Try not to overspend on your cards. Try to live between your pay checks. It’s a very difficult advice to follow for the impulse buyers and the shopaholics. A useful tip is not to buy anything on your first visit. Go home and come back tomorrow to buy it. In more than half the cases , people either think better of their ideas or even forget it!

These are all the Stretches I could think of.

Let me know what you think of the post.

#FOWC

#Stretch

#Keepitalive