If you have never taken the time to go view a sunset, especially over the lake, words cannot describe the peace that can come with this. It is easy for your mind to “unwind”, and just relax, and look at he beauty that is being created in front of you. The scene is different every time! The reflections, the calmness. Somedays though are not calm, and the waves are rolling in. The beauty is still there, but different. Life rolls like this as well. Some days are very straightforward, calm, relaxing, and other days are not. You have to be able to handle it both ways. I like these next two quotes: “In calm water every ship has a good captain” (Grover Cleveland); and “It’s all about finding the calm in the chaos” (Donna Karan).
Clouds create even more beauty with the sunsets. Sunsets are proof that no matter what happens, every day can end beautifully (Kristen Butter). Every sunset is an opportunity to reset from what when on during the day. If our day was not the greatest, we can have something to look forward to tomorrow. Words can’t always express what goes through your mind as you watch things unfold as the sun sets. I dare anybody to watch, and actually take the time to watch, and not let your mind drift off, and dream, especially when the waters are calm, and the reflections back on the water allow you to see the potential in everything in your life.
I find the reflections always tell a story, and it is always a different story. There may be similarities, but there are always differences. The answers to things in life are not always clear, but I can tell you some of the answers come to me while sitting back and really taking these views in. It is one thing to think about things at the time I am taking these pictures, but it is another to look at these later and be able to reflect back on some of those same thoughts, but also come up with some new ones as well.
The answers to issues don’t always appear right away, but eventually open up with ideas and thoughts about how to handle things, and how to approach things in life. Everything now is always so rushed. We have to hurry to do this, and do that. We all need to learn to slow down, calm down, and take it in. Solutions often come easier to mind when you do.
It is truly amazing that something so simple can also be so complicated. Each sunset tells a story. I have found too that the day was calmer when the water is calm, and the day was a little tougher when the water is really rolling as well. That will be next weeks blog topic. Sunsets with wind/rough waters. Even though those days can be tougher, they have a different distinction and beauty all of their own. I find it very relaxing. All of these pictures were taken by me. I took the time… I took the time to take it in, and appreciate it, and learn from it…and enjoy it. We all strive for things in our life. Taking some time to slow down can actually help us in the long run. Enjoy life. See what it has to offer. We are all busy enough during the day. Unwind. Take a deep breath. Relax! And…keep moving everybody…but slow down enough to enjoy life as well.
The air is getting cooler. The leaves are changing color. We may have to put on some other layers, but the scenery makes up the difference. Things are changing all around us. After all, is that not what the Fall Season is about?
I think we are all ready to make way for the new. We have all had enough of 2020, and are ready for something better. Take it in and get outside while you can. Enjoy the colors. Take in nature. Appreciate for what it is.
The bike trail is a great place to go out and see the colors. Go for a walk, or a run, or get on your bike. Take advantage of this. If you have not found time to do this, now is even more important than ever with this crazy year we are having.
Take if on with all you have. Be the one in control, when all else around us feels out of control.
When you are out for a walk, with nothing but your thoughts, it is a great way to let things go. Unwind. Relax. Just look around and take it in. There is so much to look at and take in. Appreciate the changes. You see the trees letting their leaves go. It is time for us to let things go.
Multiple sections of the trail are great to be out on to see the different colors. It is especially beautiful around the lake. The color changes, and the reflections. Sunsets have been great too. I have been posting those in different ways on Facebook. Even our dogs when we take them for a walk are taking it all in, especially if it is windy! They have lots of leaves to chase then!
Many different corners to go around and see something different!
So get out there. Whether with friends or by yourself. Just get out there! And remember:
This is a given. Things will always change. Right now we could use some good changes, but change is always happening. Learn to adjust to all those changes on the fly. Getting out and enjoying some physical activity is a great way to help adapt, and cope with the changes Learn how to deal with it, instead of fighting against it. Things will go a lot smoother in your life if you do. Let things go…just like the trees are doing now! Keep moving everybody!
This day was already 30 years ago…30 years! My how time flies! Our 30th Anniversary will be coming up on Tuesday, October 6. Many things have gone on since we said “I do”! It has been a great adventure. We have stayed active from day 1, and have also instilled that in our kids. Teach them to do what you do, not just what you say! Our kids traveled with us many times, and were there to cheer me on for my marathons. Sarah stuck to the Half Marathons then. I was the only crazy one at that time!
Here we are at one of Grandma’s marathon events. Sarah had these shirts printed up for the kids as a surprise to me during the race. Boy, was it a surprise!
They would be yelling and cheering for me when they saw me coming. Then, to my complete shock, they turned around!
I about lost it right there! These pictures of my kids are still some of my favorites ones, EVER! This was huge for getting me fired up to keep going! It was one of the greatest presents I have ever gotten! And, it was all Sarah’s idea!
Almost 30 years have gone by, and this was us at the end of August out on the Mickelson trail biking! Still active and moving. That is what we do! It is was we tell our patients to do everyday! It has kept us together, and happy, all of this time.
This was us the same week going out hiking in the hills. We love being outside, and being active. We get to see so much more of things that we would have missed if we were not active. These are our best vacations! We have tried to instill that in our kids as well from the day they were born. I honestly think we did pretty well on this. They have grown up significantly since those early years.
This was last year at Molly’s wedding. My, how things change over the years…for the better!!! Hopefully they keep going at it too like we did. When we start having grandkids, I guarantee they will be active with us! This next picture a good friend of ours, Cory Ann, took this picture of us at Brookings 2 years ago. I think it pretty much sums up how we have lived our life, and how we have fun with it.
Running! Together! Forever! It has been a great 30 years Sarah. Let’s work on the next 30! I had a couple that I took care of as patients, and a few years ago they celebrated their 80th Anniversary! He would just smile, and sing, and say it was “total bliss”, and she would just shake her head and say, “Lot of work…lot of work!”. Ha! There is no question it takes work…from both. There are differences some days, but seldom. I love running, biking, walking, hiking…and being with you Sarah! Let’s hope there are many more adventures, and years left! I love you! Keep moving everybody!
With all of life’s stresses going on right now, we need to make our health an even higher priority. A great way to relieve some of that stress is to do some resistance training, or weight workouts. It is a great way to exercise, and blow off steam at the same time. A corner of my garage is now converted into my own gym: The Reiflex Center!
I have had this now for several years, and have gradually increased the amount of the equipment we use in it. It is very convenient, and I have a heater for the Winter, and I can go out and workout anytime I want, any day I want. I can jump rope, do pullups, sit ups, and several other pieces of equipment that I can be creative on what I do. I mix it up and have a variety of different activities, and go out for 20-30 minutes, 3 days a week, and usually with Sarah. It is always easier to workout when you have a partner to push you as well.
Sarah and I don’t just tell everybody they need to exercise more, we do it as well. Get going with some music blaring, and burn off those frustrations. It sets the tone for the day as we are usually out there by 6 AM when we do start. We feel fired up for the day, and ready to take it on. We definitely love to run, and this helps increase both our strength, and our endurance, helping even that much more with our running. We all need to do resistance training of some sort 2-3 times a week. Create your own space, or go to a gym/wellness center. Whatever works for you, just get out there and do it. Right now is an even more important time to do this with all of the stress of 2020 going on. Take care of yourself in the process! Keep moving everybody!
The continued debate about wearing masks during this COVID pandemic is getting extreme, from all directions. At the clinic, we wear a mask all day. I have patients complaining that they won’t come into the clinic if they see us all wearing a mask, and other patients who refuse to come into the clinic if we don’t mandate that everybody coming in wears one. We are in a no win situation. We continue to screen everybody at the door, with questions, and a temperature, if they have anything that my be suggestive of COVID, they are handed a mask, if they are not already wearing one, and triaged and taken to a room quicker.
I hear all of the time that masks really don’t work, so why wear them. You still have to continue to wash your hands, try to stay 6 feet apart, if possible, avoid crowded areas, and it is recommended to wear a mask. Many different researchers emphasize there are two main reasons for wearing a mask. There is some evidence of protection for the wearer, but the stronger evidence is that masks protect others from catching an infection from the person wearing the mask. How much protection a mask provides, both to the wearers, and to the people around them, depends on the mask, and whether you are wearing it properly. It needs to cover your nose and your mouth. N95 masks are designed to fit tightly around the nose and mouth so that the air you breathe has to go through the mask. They block at least 95% of small airborne particles, and are designed to protect both the wearer, and other people. They are in short supply and are reserved for those in healthcare. Surgical masks are designed to protect people from the wearer, and have been found to block up to 70% of respiratory droplet size particles. As for cloth masks, the protection depends on what they are made of, and how well they fit. But having the right combination can create a cloth mask that offers protection to the wearer in the 30-50% range, or more. That’s far from full protection, but combined with social distancing and hand washing, it’s certainly better than nothing.
And yet, everyday, people complain about it. This goes both ways, for those who refuse to wear them, and those that think everybody should have one on at all times, whether they are around somebody else or not. If you are outside, and maintaining social distancing, you do not have to wear one.
Last weekend, a bunch of us from our Watertown Area Running Club when to Brookings to either do the Marathon, or the Marathon Relay. Mask were required for the event. They were trying to make it as safe for everybody involved as possible, for not only the runners, but the people managing the event, and all of the volunteers.
When the race was started, everybody had to begin wearing a mask. Once you were spaced out more, you could remove them. We were far enough apart from each other, and we were outside. It was not difficult at all, and I heard nobody complaining about it!
The week before, we had all gone out to Caribou for coffee afterwards. Mask were required to be there. All of us had them on. If it meant we were going to be able to get coffee, and relax a little bit, so be it. And be as safe as we could at the same time!
I am sure somebody will have some negative comments if they read this far into today’s post. One thing I have found is that this virus had tended to show a lack of kindness in people as well. Kindness is not doing something for someone else because they can’t, but doing something for someone else because you can. Wearing a mask shows that you actually care about the people around you. In a world full of people right now who couldn’t care less, be someone who couldn’t care more. Kindness is contagious too. Why don’t we try passing this on to everybody for a change?
Instead of complaining about it, why don’t you have fun with it? Be creative on the designs. Be funny. We are all in this together whether we want to be or not. We may only know our own situations, but somebody else’s situation may be even worse. Think about it? What can you do to make it better? Or is it just easier to keep complaining and taking it out on someone else? Care about somebody else! Kindness–let’s make this become the next pandemic! Keep moving everybody, and be safe!
