Health

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International Day of Happiness, March 20

Good Day Brave Hearts

Have you smiled today?  Are you enjoying yourself?  Is this a good day for you?  Maybe it’s a great day for you.  A day of Sharing and Caring.  A day of happiness.

International Day of Happiness | United Nations

What does happiness mean to you?  Is it a warm hug?  A kiss from your dog?  Fellowship with loved ones or friends?  There are so many ways to enjoy your life, from the sports arenas to colouring books, reading your favourite authors, to exploring the land, gardening, crafts, singing and praising, sharing and caring.  The world needs your fine mind and your pursuits of achievement.  Happiness is part of your achievements.  Its a goal to set, to find ways to enjoy your life, in a healthy, safe and law abiding manner.  It strengthens the community, builds ties with others and creates networks of like minded  people to help you with your pursuits.

There’s a strength in being happy.

Happiness: What It Really Means and How to Find It

Happy people live longer,  have more meaningful relationships and give more community support.  There’s real value in social support, engaging with others and trying to solve issues of hardship.  There’s also real value in play.  The chance to stretch your legs, play a game and just enjoy the fun of life.  Having fun and spending time with people who you enjoy is a fulfilling past time.  It’s also very important to your life, to nurture your sense of well being.  Positive interactions with others, doing things that make you happy, helping someone else, provides positive interactions and positive reinforcement.

There is much to be gained in making contributions to your community.  Some contributions are time, some are goods, some are expertise and volunteering, some is financial, but whatever it is, the overall contributions, helps to take care of another.

Gratitude is an important factor in happiness and happiness improves overall health and well being.  It’s important to be happy and to pursue goals which help to improve happiness.  This helps with personal relationships, work force relationships and general public contacts.  Gratitude comes with sharing and caring.  It has a relationship. It’s the joy of giving and the joy of receiving.

So happiness is a means to an end and finding happiness in your life is a life long pursuit.  It’s so important, that the pursuit of happiness is included in the American Declaration of Independence and listed as an unalienable right, rather than a pursuit, or a quest.  People have the right to be happy.  People have the right to enjoy themselves, to have fun, to engage in healthy social pursuits.  People have the right to live a good life.  A good life comes with a good community, with fellowship and friends, with enjoyable social and recreational pursuits.  It’s being able to participate in the things that you enjoy.  They say that the good things in life are free, but you have to make those good things occur.  Family, friends, supportive people in your life, these will help to make you happy and happiness can come without financial burden.  It’s the gifts of sharing and caring that help to ease hunger, give shelter, clothing and supplies and make a happier world for those in need.

Happiness is for all of us.

Happy International Happiness Day

written by Dr. Louise E Hayes

March 19, 2025

 

 

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National Chocolate Day

Hail Brave Hearts

The sweets are the treats.  Of all of the fabulous adventures of our lives, the delicacy of the world of sweet, is a treat for all of us.  Chocolate for the chocoholic, the worlds favourite flavour.  To have a World Chocolate Day is to honour and recognize the outstanding significance of flavour.  It’s  an opportunity to explore the magic kingdom of this sweet delight and it’s not just one day.  There are four Chocolate Days.  World Chocolate Day (July 7)  National Chocolate Day ( October  28 and December 28) and International Chocolate Day on September 13.  Chocolate is a very important subject.

Chocolate bars, syrup, ice cream, candy, icing, and cooking bars, We drool for this taste sensation and overindulge in it frequently.  Chocolate is one of life’s pleasant, culinary adventures.

The joy of Chocolate.  Easter bunnies and Easter eggs,  chocolate birthday cake, chocolate in the Christmas stocking and under the tree, a  box of  chocolates for a gift.  Valentines Day chocolates and Mother’s Day as well.  Chocolate in the cupboard, chocolate in the fridge, in our pockets and in our purses.  We love this stuff.  It’s good for us.  At least, we hope so.  With something as sweet as this, that we eat so much of,  it must be good for us.  And it is, to a certain extent.  Too much chocolate adds fats, calories  and unnecessary sugars, causing overweight and cavities.  On the bright side, chocolate, especially dark chocolate can reduce stress, contains anti oxidants, lowers cholesterol, improves brain functioning, improves heart health, reduces inflammation, enhances mood and supports weight loss.

How It’s Made: Chocolate (youtube.com)

Since there are health benefits to chocolate, an occasional craving must be OK.

Since it’s arrival in Europe in 1550, chocolate has made a deep impression on our lives.  It’s part of our diet and our culture.  So many recipes call for chocolate that it’s associated with some of our holidays and special days. It’s so popular that it occupies a whole field in culinary craft.  Chocolatiers are specialists in making chocolate.

It is possible for you to  make your own, if you can find the beans.

Otherwise, enjoy this sweet treat on this special day.  A day of chocolate delight.

Written by Louise E Hayes

July 7, 2024

That Lucky Deep Freeze
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That Lucky Deep Freeze

Hail Brave hearts

The big chill is storming us.  Cold snow has arrived.  From the cozy interior of our homes, we think big.  Winter fun! This is one of the best times of the year!

A frozen river to occupy the afternoon.  Crisp winter weather at -10 is a welcome change to the blistery cold that makes this day possible.  The continued overnight lows below -20 keeps the ice cold and thick enough for our weight.  Caution though.  These rivers have rapids, the water is swift flowing and sometimes is too fast to freeze thoroughly.

Today’s adventure is along a river to a sought after view.  The wide expanse is fully frozen now and our group walk with ease along the covered water.  Ice is welcome now as we snowshoe this path.  An opportunity that will only present itself in the awesome winter.

We pick our way to the bottom of the river bank and walk with relative ease along the snow covered water.  All the while remarking on our good fortune to have this chance to explore an area that is never available to us.  The thickets of willow and stands of evergreen show us locations of ground and islands along this braided stretch of waterway.  Animal tracks appear in the snow and the tiny creatures hide from our view.   We are mainly walking on the gravel flats between the river channels, so we are more safe in our travels.  River travel can be perilous with areas of thin ice throughout.

There’s an interesting formation of hills and valleys all along the river bank.  Walking would be difficult in this area due to undulating land formations of steeply cut hills reaching to the river sides without much river bank to follow.  Our destination is a canyon, 7 km up river which is impossible to reach at other times of the year.  Our good fortune is the deep freeze.

This year our temperatures plunged to an awful -50 overnight during the Christmas holiday season.  Four days of icy blasts with daytime highs of -35 kept us busy with indoor games and indoor holiday cheer.  Now the result is a wintery wonderland with the fun of river travel. which is not always available to us.  Oddly and usually, the good comes with the bad.  Today is overcast and light snow is falling.  This is a surprise to us, since no one had noticed snow in the forecast.  It might be a localized squall.  However, this is good also, since we need the snow to keep us skiing, snowshoeing  and enjoying the fabulous fun of the season.  We also need the snow for our spring melt and moisture.

The snowfall is increasing and visibility is declining.  Open patches of river can be seen ahead.  We have to call off our plans for today, with only 1.5 kms remaining.  Oh well.  Luckily for us -30 is in the forecast for the next 3 days and we will have the good fortune of more deep freeze.  The open areas of this river should freeze again and we plan for another trip to this area next week.

Walking On A Frozen River | Red River | Selkirk, Manitoba, Canada | Walking Virtual Tour in 4K – YouTube

Meanwhile, the ski hill has received more snow.  It’s all good.  A change of scene and a change of game.  Winter has been wonderful to us.

Written by Dr. Louise Hayes

February 24, 2023

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Medicine the Marvelous

Hail Brave Hearts

To the magnificent almighty man, whose mind and aptitude cures us in times of dire despair.  Heal us, oh masters of medicine, of cures, of health.  Heal us of a disease so rampant it’s world wide.

UNESCO abounds in Earthly wonder, either planetary marvels or the brilliance of human education.  Technology and engineering bring us great feats of structure worthy of awesome praise.  Their skills and the magnificent of creative works last for eons on the planet.  These marvels tell of the might of the mind of human existence throughout history.  Fabulous human with magnificent monuments to exult the glory of Gods and kings.  Masters of architecture and engineering to carve palaces, roads and habitations from rock and to erect statues and buildings to last forever.  Praises to the minds of mathematicians and builders who construct fantastic premises and fortresses, many of which are impossible to replicate today.  Fabulous human, who carves a history of wonder and splendor into the fabric of the Earth.

These are the exalted ones, the famed.  Their lives lived for the everlasting brilliance of their age.  People who ensured that their societies would live forever in the miraculous wonder of their feats of engineering.  People who devoted their existence to art, governance, construction, even agriculture, are all praised for their contribution to the legacy of brilliant mankind on this earth. These are the masterminds of creative wonder, who are remembered forever.

But now, in our times of trouble, we look into the minds of the healers, for a solution to our despair.  In our time of dire need, when plagues erase communities, when viruses raise the death toll to the thousands, when disease runs rampant throughout society, now we look to medicine to be the praised almighty ones who have the cure.

 

“Importance of immunization

Immunization is one of the most important public health measures used to protect the health of Albertans. It is one of the most successful and cost-effective public health interventions.

Immunization helps your body to build immunity, or resistance, against certain diseases before you are exposed to those diseases. Vaccines are used for immunization.

Vaccines are very important to public health and their use has significantly contributed to the prevention and control of infectious diseases.”

 

Virus and flu needs to be controlled.  Our good fortune lies in the persistence to find a cure. Vaccines are commonplace, to resolve the spread of deadly disease.  Be safe, be healthy, take the vaccine.  Common childhood illnesses vanish with the presence of a dosage of a vaccine which prevents the dangerous disease form infecting the body.  A small prick of a needle, for a lifetime of cure.  Thousands of hours of research for this small dose of wellness, that will save you for the rest of your life.  Praises to the healers who are so overlooked, as we admire the temples of the great, the  magnificent marvels of construction to feast our eyes upon.

At earthly levels we beg to stop the pain, the ravages of disease, the poverty that overwhelms us as our bodies cripple, and our minds depart.  When we are well and healthy, medicine vanishes to nutrition, proper diet, the food supply, exercise and general health and well being.  The focus is on being well, being in charge of your life, your vitality, your success.

When we are ill, the focus is on healing.  Now all around us, is the potential for disaster.  A disease so deadly it’s called a pandemic.  Our natural defenses may not be enough.  The transmission levels are high, the death toll rises, a vaccine is needed, demanded, called for.  A year in the making and still so slowly, the vaccine is being dolled out carefully.  But it’s there.  Finally the dose of cure, the medicinal marvel to overcome your weaknesses is here.  At last, at long last, we will be saved.

https://covid-19.ontario.ca/covid-19-vaccines-ontario

Written by Dr. Louise Hayes

January 26, 2021

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Think Yourself Well

Hail Brave hearts

Good health to you.

Your organic diet is healthy.  Eat wisely and grow well.  Be strong in your body and keep a focused mind.  Your life is important.  Live well and be safe.  Choose your highest aptitude to live in and pursue your craft with dedication.  Experts are welcome here.  The more you focus on your fine mind and it ‘s fine aptitude, the more you achieve.  Connect to the people who share your aptitude and you will achieve more.  Good health, healthy living and a sense of well being is for all of us.  Obey laws and socialize well, you’re fine mind is needed.

The aptitudes of your colleagues help you with your life.  A strong connection to your community of like minded aptitude and of diverse aptitude enhances your overall success.  To achieve well, remain healthy in mind and in spirit, in body as well, if you can.  The health of your body propels you and gives you sport and vitality, but the health of your mind gives you peace, prosperity, social connections and creativity.  The health of your mind is enhanced by your focus to educate yourself, to learn well and to communicate.  You also need to eat properly.  Your brain needs nourishment, via diet and blood flow.  Exercise properly, get the blood circulating, feed your good brain with that much needed oxygen.  A small but vigorous workout of 30 minutes a day, can keep your body stay active.  The results can give you a lifetime of strong muscles and flexibility that breathe oxygen into your blood and feed your much needed brain.

Your brain.  The keeper of your success.  Your mind.  The source of your aptitudes and the storehouse of your potential.  These are gifts to use wisely for your achievement.  Protect your fabulous brain.  Feed it with nourishing thoughts, educate it with higher learning, surround it with positive feedback, help it to grow and with it’s growth it will save you.  A properly nourished and focused mind will save you from self destruction.  A properly educated mind will protect you from the turmoil of life that surrounds us.  A good education protects the mind and helps to keep it rational, orderly and provides a proper thought process.  A good education provides the brain with correct knowledge.  Pursue this all of your life.  Proper thinking is essential.  Regardless of aptitude, it’s all important.  Feed your fabulous brain with knowledge, you need all of the information that it can hold and more.  Feed it with knowledge, good companionship, positive thinking, personal growth.  Direct your thoughts to improve your mind.  This is essential for you to stay well and to remain current in your aptitude.

The human brain is a wondrous work of brilliant intricacy.  Focus it properly  and it will save you.  A marvelous tool of genetic miracle, your brain holds the key to the  outcome of your life.  A good brain is mastery, but this comes at a price.  Focus.  A nourished mind speaks well.  It speaks with correct thinking, with proper information.  The skills that improve your mind, improve your life.

Think well to be well, oh mighty human.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=how+to+focus+your+mind&docid=608022229711392199&mid=4AF7B5F604ABE44881234AF7B5F604ABE4488123&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

 

Things Your Brain Needs to Function Correctly  quotation from Google search

  1. Sleep : Not only does lack of sleep impair our concentration, make our mood take a nose dive,…
  2. Exercise : Staying active is one of the most important ways we can take good care of our brain.
  3. Good nutrition : The type and amount of food we consume plays a huge role in brain development…

 

Written by Dr. Louise Hayes

November 12, 2020

 

 

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Pandemic Bliss

Hail Brave hearts

Joy to you, with this awful isolation. Joy to you, to overcome perils. The hardship of disease brings a new life of solitude and self exploration. Change and be healthy. All obstacles can be overcome. This is a time to refresh, rejuvenate, recharge and become new. Take advantage of this crisis and the gift that it gives us, we may never pass this way again.

Look forward to those long days of learning a new skill, or to improve the old ones. The time that it takes to reinvent and refurbish a dowdy room or area. Plant a new garden, try new seeds, adventure into the known by unexplored worlds outside your doorstep. A chance to be a tourist in your own country. Those old familiar trails, which should be vacant, are full of Canadians travelling. We climb a familiar scramble to a peak just outside of town. Usually this one is lightly travelled, since it’s somewhat obscure, but today it’s full of people. The parking lot is full, the trail is full. It’s unusual to see this.

The earnest quest for adventure takes us to new destinations annually.  We strive to fulfill the ambition of discovery, of learning, of knowledge of this world and the fabulous fortune that it holds for us.  The fortune of personal development, of personal achievement, of conquering new lands by tourism, adventure, eco tourism and insightful gain.  The path to follow is new to each of us.  A daring land of plenty to explore just outside out borders.  The world is full of wonder and grateful hearts eagerly plundered the wilds of this planet, always seeking more.  Our human endevour is to know it all.  Each step on an unknown path is the thrill and excitement of discovery.  So many kilometers to travel, so many peaks to climb, the essential fun filled holiday is a yearly dream come true.

Now to the reality of disease and pandemic perish.  Open your parks and swing on the swings, stay home and build new dreams.  The fortunate can venture into the wilds of Canadian parks and enjoy the stimulation of an adventure in this awesome land.  So many kilometers to travel, so many paths to walk.  The never ending landscape of discovery in this fine land, became the national dream of Canadian holiday seekers this year.  Back to action packed fun, wherever it may be.  What is new to us is old to us, but new again.  Every square kilometer travelled?  Oh such awesome human to have done so much.  So much time to explore, so much money to spend, so much curiosity and initiative.  It’s immense.  It’s WOW!  What a fortune to spend.  Especially in other lands.  

Work and work and work, you mighty relentless souls.  Build your estates, compound it annually and spend and spend and spend it all, frolicking around the world.  Have a good time, enjoy yourselves, squander it all away.  Until this mighty pandemic hit, now it’s a Canadian holiday you say?  We’ll buy ourselves a trailer now and pay the camping fees and praise ourselves immensely for surviving the disease.

As we open up this country with caution to continue to  wear our masks, we breath for the days of flu season and to put the pandemic in our past.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

September 2, 2020

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Are We Cursed?

Hail Brave hearts

It’s quiet.  The days are long and the sounds are different.  Less traffic, less chatter, fewer people.  The night is quiet.  No street noise late at night.  More rest and relaxation, more time for self reflection and self interest.  An unusual change in reality.  The business of our lives has vanished, to be replaced with long days of self isolation and social distancing.  Communication skills and life skills have changed.  We vanish into the isolation of family.

Business winds down and phone lines are still.  The rush of commercialism has changed from endless shopping to buying masks.  Social skills have become social distancing.  The latest craze is hand sanitizer. We will learn to be clean, cleaner than we’ve ever been, by simply washing our hands.  Don’t touch your face. Wear a mask.

This new dilemma is an outstanding challenge of perseverance.  We win this.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

We win this for ourselves and for the lifestyles that we covet.  We win this for our families whose affection we cherish.  We win this, as if we are fighting a war.  It’s a virus, but it’s a substantial foe.  An odd set of circumstances bring us to this awful place, our lust to see new worlds.  The insatiable curiosity of other lands, other peoples, other worlds to travel to.  A holiday, a honeymoon, a business trip, a cultural exchange, all tourism, and the fine mechanism of money.

Bring me riches, bring me gold, bring me markets, bring me wealth.  Be it imperialistic plunder, or grass roots peasantry, bring me humans by the score.  The tourist dollars go round and round, round and round, round and round, all through the town.

An unprecedented disaster occurs which brings a dreadful halt to our wealth building module.  No tourists, no money.  No money, no gain.  So much of our time and energy has been absorbed in tourism, that now, the problem arises, how do we return the wheels of fortune?  What is our plan B?  With this economic strategy falling, what brilliance will replace it?  What dollars and sense will catapult us to economic recovery?

Slowly we return to the normal world of prosperity.  Build it, oh financial geniuses, build it with magic and wizardry.   Paint the pallet black, so that the recovery is complete, oh you awesome doctors of mathematics.

Meanwhile, what we can enjoy from this pandemic, since it befalls us, is the quiet solitude of our new found wealth.  Time.  Time to be home with recipes to try, with exercise class, online courses, email, documentaries, online business, social media. Time to indulge in a hobby, a new lifestyle, a project.  Time to change and to be new.  Time to rejuvenate and to emerge from the cocoon  as a butterfly.

The recovery strategy is markets, be it foreign or domestic, but business has always been the money wheel.  There are always other strategies.  The strategy of self help and learning, of exploration within Canada, of athletics and education.  A different wealth is offered.  A wealth of time, of restriction, of poverty.  The wealth that demands that people stay home, enjoy their own place, discover their own good fortune of the new, the unusual, the uniqueness of their own land.  This is a new age of discovery, of being the tourist in your own homeland.  This is the restriction of no money, when we can’t afford international travel.  Save us!  Save us from the devil that calls this a sin.  Save us from the mind that abhors it.  The self indulgent traveler who knows their own homeland, like the maps, the parks, the novels that are written for it.  Sing to us, oh great traveler, who recognizes those place names  and can check them off their bucket list.  The growing names of unknown places, waiting for a visit.

Joy to us, for the pleasure of this compromise.  No international travel, stay home and enjoy your place.   Joy to us, for this restriction of our poverty.  It is with great pride, that we present to ourselves, our own great nation.

Our travels become close at hand, perhaps only within the province.  Lucky are we, for this gigantic misfortune.  We have it to ourselves.  All of this beauty and magnificence, that we show off to the world, is just for us right now.

It’s for us, you awesome human.  This oasis in the universe is for us.

Written by Dr. Louise Hayes

June 7, 2020

 

 

 

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To your good health

Good morning Brave hearts!
Wake up to the aroma of a highly nutritious breakfast brew. Energy packed, vitamin filled, the morning dose of body and mind rejuvenating food that boosts your body and starts your day off running.
The national past times are coffee and tea. But what about you brave hearts? Do you feel the power of an uplifted mind in your morning consumption? Is your blended cocktail of fruits and juices starting your day off right. Does your body say to you, feed me well so that I can perform well. Listen to your body, it speaks to you in so many ways. Your body will ask for proper nutrition, water, exercise and meditation. It will ask for relaxation and exertion.
Your beautiful body, so graceful and perfect, the vessel for your mind and soul. So well-tuned, so flexible, so strong and well-muscled. A high performance body, diligently exercised by the command of a controlling mind.
Eat properly, speaks the wise and your body will be healthy. Exercise regularly, speaks the diva and your body will perform well and you will live longer. Care for your spirit, says the saint and your mind will be at peace.
To start your day off with the typical boost of caffeine is short term gain. A healthy start to the day, will take you through the day at a happier, more enlivened pace. A boost to your mind and a boost to your spirit. The wholesome nutrition of vitamin packed foods to launch you off on your awesome day. A day of work, of worthwhile endevour. A day of skills and sharp aptitudes. A day of socializing and play. The energy to take you throughout the day, combating fatigue and stress, is connected to your good health and your diet.
Awesome human, the demands of your body are not that high, just proper diet, proper exercise, congenial social circles.
What your body can do for you, if you care for it properly, is your life fulfilled in so many ways. More agility, more stamina, more strength, more daring, more adventure. A properly nourished body helps to focus the mind, think more clearly, sharpen skills.
It could start with something simple, like your morning breakfast brew.

http://www.bewellbuzz.com/weightloss/1-morning-drink-boosts-energy-kills-belly-flab/

written by Dr. Louise Hayes
March 15, 2014

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Canada Day

Central Clayoquot Sound, British Columbia, Van...

Central Clayoquot Sound, British Columbia, Vancouver Island, Canada –Base for my Sea Otter Story (Photo credit: SparkyLeigh)

Canada Day, July 1, 2013

Good Day, You Awesome Human!  What a grand day this is.  The birthday celebration of this great country, from ancient peace and prosperity to modern joy and splendor.  Happy Birthday to you, Oh Canada.

And happy day to us.  All of us, who thrive in this land and strive for the continued negotiation, the continued peace, the continued joy of sharing a great land, a great destiny and a great partnership.  Hail, Oh Canada, for the ancient negotiation, the lasting friendship, the brilliant union and the compatible peace.

Hail, oh Canada, for the wild landscape which has always been our struggle, our hardship,  our treasure, our prosperity and our joy.  Lucky are we to be the intelligent and moral person who protects the great good earth and it’s environments. Honourable are we, to be the caretakers of the great landscapes and all of the life within it.  The moral human, who’s goal is healthy living, vitality, strong ties, prosperity and intelligent minds.

To live with great joy in a land so compromising.  An ancient people, so compatible.  A lifestyle of freedom and adventure.  A kingdom of wealth for exploration, inspiration  and pleasure.  The landscape is awesome!  The animal life is beautiful.  The environments are pristine and challenging.

An awakening of the senses and a joy of living.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHt1DgeRwuo

Hail,  Oh Canada, for the multicultural nation that you are.  For the brilliant compromise.  For peoples of the world who unite for a unified, healthy, cohesive objective.  A strong and mighty nation.

Peace amongst us.  The good will of the worlds peoples live within your boarders.  The desire for never ending peace, for unpolluted lands, for pristine nature, for wildlife protection, for continued prosperity, for homes, food, education and activity.  The world’s peoples unite within the boarders of a country founded on the love, goodwill, compassion, companionship,  humanity and courage of the moral human.  The human,  who negotiated peace and prosperity for all.

Oh, Canada, a country built on trade, treasure, persistence and the acceptance and exchange of culture and religion.  The  philosophy of equality and the bold courage to achievement and adventure.  A philosophy of compromise, of dignity, of change.  The daring brave hearts who are the nations founders and the brilliant achievement of union.  All within our boarders.

They came here for what the life is.  It’s endless challenge, its compassionate mercy, it’s unending adventure.  The life itself surpassed all disputes.  The life itself overcame the obstacles.  The life itself was the end in sight.  It still is.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=canada+day&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=NM7QUeyYDMOmigLGiYGoCg&ved=0CIcBELAE&biw=1366&bih=650

Hail to you almighty human, for Canada.   For who we are, who we were and who we will always be, Canadians and this country  Kanata, our Home.

written by Dr.  Louise Hayes

July 1. 2013

Commuter Challenge
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Commuter Challenge

And God created the Earth.

The vast heavens, the bountiful  oceans, the abundant life on the planet.  And He also created us, the human.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFq42IibUeY earth song meditation

It’s environment week and there are many ways to enjoy this national celebration of preservation and environmental protection.  We all need clean air, clean water, sunshine and healthy living.  We all need to stretch our legs and join the crusade to walk, run, hike, bicycle and to be the champion.  The more often we leave our vehicles at home and use other methods of transportation to reach our goals, for example, public transportation, car pools, bicycling or walking, the fewer emisions we put into the atmosphere.  With less emmisions the air is cleaner and clean air is better for us and better for the planet.

http://www.environment.gov.ab.ca/edu/eweek/

Yes, the trees and plants are capable of cleaning the air, but they can’t do it all.  Pollution is a cause of decreasing life expectancy and disease.

To take to the trails or the streets for running, walking and cycling is a pursuit of the joy of living.  The increased fitness level powers you on and the earth sighs with gratitude.  Only footsteps, only the power of the muscles.  Each step increases lung capacity and cardiovascular strength.  Each step promotes healthy living and promotes the health of the planet.

Each breath that you take, fills your lungs with oxygen for the health of your blood and your cells.  The increased oxygen feeds your cells and helps them to fight off disease.

Feel the cool of the forest as you pass under the canopy of the trees.  There is life in the foliage and oxygen productivity in the leaves.  The cool shade is a welcome retreat from the scorching sun.  The busy birds and insects hurry onward with their own day.  The plantings save the water shed and the rushing sound of water fills our ears.  Clean water!  Water for our bodies, we can’t live without it.  Clean water with no pollution,  no water born disease.

The busy sidewalks turn into a carpet of grass.  Soft, green, fresh grass.  The life under your feet saves the soil, with all of it’s life supporting nutrients.  Under your feet is the domain of the soil and all of the tiny micro organisms and earth life.  The soil, the building block of plant growth.

Feel the earth under your feet.  The life producing quality of the soil.  Rich in nutrients for our harvest, the soil is key to our survival.  Healthy soil, healthy food.  No pollution or contaminants of the earth

As we prepare ourselves for another day of healthy living, for us, for the environment, for the earth, remember to give thanks for life itself, all life.

The commuter challenge promotes healthy bodies, healthy lives, healthy living.  Brilliant mankind, the choice has always been yours, choose health.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

June 6, 2013