I joined a couple of hundred of my fellow employees to watch the eclipse. We are outside the “path of totality”, but even so, it was mighty cool to see a crescent sun.
What I found almost as amazing as watching this celestial event and all the mesmerized watchers is the fact that all across the country millions of divided and feuding people put aside their differences for a couple of hours.
Now why can’t we do that all the time?
Yes, yes, I used filtered glasses….
LGloyd (c) 2017
Every Autumn when the weather starts to cool down and I begin to interact with more people on the day-job, I inevitably come down with a bad head cold. This year I thought I would start early — last March to be exact — in developing ways to build my immune system. One of those ways was to make a batch of what I call “winter tonic.” This is an old folk remedy with many names. I am going to start taking a daily teaspoonful dose in hope that this spicy concoction will minimize my acquisition of a nasty cold. Or is it decoction? Maybe it might be a type of tincture? Whatever… a jar has been sitting in my refrigerator all spring and summer so it is good and potent now.
When I made it last Spring, I mixed together chopped onion, garlic, fresh horseradish, fresh ginger, fresh turmeric, honey, cayenne and star anise, put this all in a glass jar covered with apple cider vinegar and let sit in the refrigerator for a month. I then strained the solids out of it. At that point it was ready for consumption. I have to admit that at the very least it will clear sinuses — or be put to use as a salad dressing. I will see about the immune-boosting qualities as the season progresses.
I got this recipe from a master herbalist:
I am engaged in a wellness program of my own design with the goal of pulling together the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual realms to optimize my health and well-being.
To accomplish this, I have assembled individuals and resources in a partnership. My partners in this program include my Western medical doctor, a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine who is also my herbalist and nutritionist, my yoga instructor, my pastor, my spiritual director who has a background in counseling, a work-related wellness coach who leads a group of us in weekly guided meditation, and several supportive friends and colleagues.
In addition to these individuals, I access the writings and videos of other experts in these areas, and, most importantly, I draw on the wisdom of the ancient Hebrew and Christian scriptures.
These partners in this program never interact with each other. They are separate entities that I dovetail into a working whole.
Picture, if you will, a wagon wheel with me at the center and these individuals and resources as spokes in that wheel. The rim of the wheel is the Divine Spirit which for me through my faith tradition is Jesus. Without this rim, the wheel will not roll. I am convinced that without his presence and guidance this program will not work and this partnership would fall apart.
It has not always been easy, and there have been some setbacks, but I will keep this wheel rolling as long as I possibly can.
*******
Mandala image created in Photoshop and Illustrator. I believe the calligraphy means “wellness”.
ljgloyd 2017
Some helpful tips about sketchbooks.
Today’s prompt at the Daily Post is “Toothbrush“. When I checked for this prompt at about 9 a.m. this morning, there were no responses at all. None. And I thought, “how weird– no one can think of anything to say about toothbrushes?” Just because it is a poor, lowly toothbrush does not mean it is not worthy of note. There are a lot of things you can say about the toothbrush.
For example, you could write about the refreshing feeling you experience when the dentist hands you that new brush after your last dental exam, or how much work it is to brush your teeth when your toothbrush starts to wear down.
You could also write about all the different things you can do with a toothbrush besides brushing teeth. You can use the toothbrush to clean your finger nails, apply hair dye, dig the grout out of your kitchen tile, brush your eyebrows, and remove stains from clothing.
However, the coolest thing you can do with a toothbrush is create stars. Yeah, stars.
From the earth to the heavens, so is the life of a toothbrush.
ljgloyd 2017
Miss Pelican's Perch 