What Does Your Life Smell Like? Think About It.

What does your life smell like? At first it may seem like an unusual question. On the second thought, the question will probably reveal to you some things you may have overlooked. If you were to take a whiff of your life, which response mechanism would be activated? A gag reflex? The laugh button? A sigh of relief? Or unspeakable joy? If you were passing by your life, what would you smell? A bed of roses? Or a gym locker full of sweaty socks? Perhaps some... of grandmas' home cooking? 


Or is it more like popcorn that has been left in the microwave too long? If you were to throw open the front door of your life, what would hit you in the face? The scent of Carpet Fresh or the stench of a moldy basement? The aroma of a cake that's just about done? Or the smell of trash that needs to go out? Most of us are very familiar with the way our lives look. Few of us have ever taken the time to make sure that our lives smell as clean as they look. 


Quite often, what our ears, eyes and hands miss, our nose can detect. The sense of smell is also quite useful because it evokes memories. With a whiff of something, you can be thrown back into a memory of something that happened, how it happened and whether or not you liked what happened. From there, you are motivated to encourage or discourage the same thing from happening again in your life. 


Most important, the sense of smell evokes feelings. If something in your life doesn't smell right, you will not feel right. If you don't like what you feel, you know it is time to clean up! Until today, you may only have been concerned with the way your life looks. You may have ignored certain things you heard or saw, but you cannot ignore a smell. Just for today, be devoted to sniffing around your life. Be on the lookout for rotting things you need to discard and fragrant things you can put on display. Enjoy the day!














Excerpts taken from her book: 'Until Today' by Iyanla Vansant.

Thought For Living In The Moment.

"The secret of health for mind and body
is not to mourn for the past,
not too worry about the future,
or not to anticipate troubles,
but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly."  
-Buddha          

Get Serious About Keeping A Healthy Weight - Change Your Mind Set.

When we begin our journey of making changes to better our lifestyle lets look at some ways to live healthier happier lives. Its important to create a blueprint of what you want to achieve. In doing so you can edit it whenever you wish. This will help you keep on top of all the things you want to achieve and need to do to reach your goals. Diet and body weight are related to our health status. Good nutrition is important to the growth and development of children and keeping all of us at our healthy best. A healthy diet and keeping to an exercise routine, from walk-running to yoga, also helps Americans reduce their risks for many health conditions, including:

• Overweight and Obesity
• Malnutrition
• Heart Disease
• High Blood Pressure
• Type 2 Diabetes
• Some Cancers
• Fatigue and Lacking Energy
• Inability to sleep well
• ...and many other health issues

Because weight is influenced by energy (calories) consumed and expended, interventions to improve weight can support changes in diet or physical activity. Doing some research about how you are caring for your body and the foods you ingest are a good way to assess your own bodies condition. This can help enhance and change individuals' knowledge and skills, reduce exposure to foods low in nutritional value and high in calories, or increase opportunities for physical activity.

One thing is for sure, when we become active and responsible about the health of our bodies we learn to fuel it with good calories, energy and lasting health. What people need to do is see themselves in a state of observance. Meaning instead of seeing yourself as a body with a soul, look at yourself as a soul with a body. Learn to appreciate and take care of your body and it will take care of you. Healthy mind and the body will follow. That saying: You are what you eat, is more valid than you may think it is. Its like filling up your vehicle with lousy gas and expecting it to run at its best. It will sputter, run slower, stall and cause you more headaches' than you should have in your life. Where as if you fill your vehicle with good, clean gas it will run smoother, longer and have less wear and tear on its engine. Well the body isn't much different when it comes to that principle. Feed it poorly and you'll get poor results. Feed it healthy and you'll get healthy stronger results.

The keys to maintaining optimal health are as follows. Individuals who eat the recommended 5 or more servings of fruit and vegetables per day are less likely to be overweight or obese and less likely to suffer chronic disease. Fruit and veggies are our bodies cleaners. They are vital to good health and preventing many diseases. Instead of reaching for those salty or sugary snacks, reach for those fruits and veggies. You can eat as much as you like of them so long as you don't add in abunch of unhealthy additives such as dressings, sauces, too much salt and sugar. Stop eating all those processed foods too. They may taste good but beware.. they aren't good for your body. Have you checked out the ingredients label on those processed foods. Its ridiculous! Due to all the chemicals, additives, preservatives, etc that these foods are made with, its no wonder you feel lethargic and fatigued. A key rule to rely on when looking for healthy foods to eat is: If you can't pronounce it don't eat it!  

A key point to remember. When buying fruits and veggies, try to buy organic fruits and veggies. They are cleaner foods and have none or much less pesticides and are never GMO - genetically modified organism foods. Its also very important to hydrate your body. I'm not talking about drinking soda, coffee, teas, artificially flavored drinks etc. I'm talking about the one main substance that is the elixir of life. Did you know that the majority of illnesses that lead to serious health issues are created by not being hydrated? That most people in our society and probably around the world are chronically dehydrated? According to healthgrades.com and other medical resources researched, the following information is vital as to the state of dehydration and why its so important to make it a habit of drinking more clean, filtered water as a daily routine. Dehydration is an abnormal condition in which the body's cells are deprived of an adequate amount of water.

                                                                                                                     

Water and fluids make up about 90% of fluids throughout the body. Its distributed throughout muscles, bones, organs, tissues, cells, spinal and cerebral-fluids and plasma throughout the body and is crucial to many of the body's processes. Dehydration negatively affects important bodily functions, including toxin elimination, delivery of nutrients and oxygen to the cells of the body, energy production, and joint lubrication. Severe dehydration affects every body system and can also impact the proper balance of vital electrolytes. Sodium and potassium are electrolytes essential to healthy functioning of the body and critical processes, such as muscle function and a normal heart rhythm. Complications of severe dehydration can be serious and life threatening and include shock, coma and death. Dehydration is categorized as mild, moderate or severe, based on the extent of the body’s fluid loss. Moderate and severe dehydration can be a life-threatening emergency.

Infants, children, athletes and the elderly are particularly prone to dehydration and severe complications, although dehydration can occur in any age group or population. You can learn to make your own electrolyte drink so there won't be all those chemicals in it. Or you can simply add a lemon slice to your water for more flavor. Get creative with the many ways you can drink water with flavors organically. Its really amazing all of the flavors you can create and enjoy which are truly healthy for your body. But you have to change your thinking about drinking more water. Its only because the manufacturers came up with all sorts of artificial flavored drinks with way too much sugar, that you may think you don't like water. Change your thinking, change your life.

And of course a BIG part of feeling our best is to exercise. Develop an exercise routine that works for you. You may have to experiment with different types of exercise routines before you find the one that works well for you. But either way.. get a routine going. The more you do this the more it will become habit, a good habit. People have a misconception and think that if they are on their feet throughout their workday that they don't need to exercise. This is far from truth. If you are some one who is on your feet all day you still need to "unwind" or "de-stress" after work. You may not have to do a routine that targets weightloss as much for someone who sits all day at work. But a routine that de-stresses the mind and body is key to better health. If you are someone who sits most of the time at work an exercise routine that will target weightloss is key for you to achieve better health. Whichever routine you choose, any one of them will benefit your body, mind and spirit. You just have to get started. Have courage and commit to a balanced way of living. Your journey of making changes to better your lifestyle is well within your reach. Some research information and excepts have be taken from www.healthgrades.com/conditions/dehydration . Enjoy the day.

Copyright(c)2014.Get Serious About Keeping A Healthy Weight-Change Your Mind Set.Written by Sherrie Vitello. All Rights Reserved.  

Fear - You Will No Longer Control Me

We see it all of the time. With friends and family that are into something that just causes them pain and suffering. We wonder to ourselves why on earth are they still in the situation they are in? Could it be that they are happier in misery? Perhaps. But for the most part it could be that these people, in these unhappy and unhealthy situations, just don't know how to get out of them or they are afraid to take steps on their own to change for the better. Mainly due to the fear that it wouldn't work out on their own or they just can't accomplish surviving on their own. By feeling that way these people think its safer to stay where they are. Without realizing they have placed themselves their lives and their happiness in a dormant state. Allowing fear to take center stage they decide to stay in a unhealthy, unhappy relationship. People who do this are actually not allowing themselves the chance to live a happy life. Because the main root of why they don't change their situation is due to the fear of failure. They are too afraid to take the steps that are necessary to better their lives. We all have fear to some degree due to the unknown. But when we want something so badly, we can taste it, people can learn to overcome that fear. We can learn to prevent fears or anxiety(because they go hand in hand), mostly unrealistic fears, from controlling the outcome of what we are aspiring to do. Its time to stop ruining your own quality of life. A beautiful saying I came across always helps me to get passed any fear (or anxiety) I may have about accomplishing something. I love this saying so much, I keep it written on a peice of paper and taped to my bathroom mirror. I use it as a positive affirmation to help me start my day. 

"Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgement that something else is more important." 

There are some people that have no fear or anxiety about much of anything. For these people everything is a personal challenge. Like the quotation above to them situations are seen as their call to action that something must change. People with this personality usually have high self esteem and they make it a point to overcome any circumstance or overcome any challenge. As far as any measurement as to how many people in our society are like this remains unknown. For the most part most people will be a victim of their own fears or anxiety at some point of their lives. The levels of fear will differ in all of us. For some its very low but for others it can be on a high level and interfere with their daily lives. Studies have shown the relations among fear, anxiety and stress can be a precursor to health issues. This can effect our blood pressure, our cortisol levels in the body which can cause weight gain and due to fear and anxiety causing stress, has been related to illness. Also for people who are healing from an illness i.e. cancer or healing from surgery, having an overactive level of fear or anxiety can prevent a person from healing faster. It may even cause complications. The more we've learned about the effects of fear on our bodies the more questions we seem to have about it. Long ago when humans were first living on the earth, their brains used the flight or fight response, which is another form of fear, to help them to survive. For other mammals, it is still very apparent today. But for humans, we've grown away from that to some degree because of how we've advanced in our existence. And the fact that there are no longer giant creatures looking to eat us. Even though some creatures from way back then still exist today, they are not as big nor do they look to hunt us. So long as we don't get near them. 

There is help for those who have acknowledged that there is a problem. Some people can get counseling. Some people may have to use medications to help them with their fears or anxiety. But all of us can actually help ourselves overcome this crippling affliction of fear. It starts with acceptance and acknowledging that time has come to change. You deserve the chance to be as happy as any other person, no matter what their lifestyle is like. Fear is not prejudice and it doesn't care who you are or what walk of life you're in. All it wants to do is destroy your happiness and even your health. When we look at fear for what it is, as a disease of our emotions, we can set a course for a healthy prognosis. But we have to work at it and it will most likely be an everlasting affliction. However, with proper application of rendering fear helpless, we can overcome the control it has on us. One thing you can do right now is go stand in front of your mirror, tell yourself, "Fear you will no longer control me, I love myself, I trust myself, I respect myself. I have worth and value as a human being."  Write that down and the above affirmation about courage. Then tape it to your mirror and read it out loud every single morning and in the evening before bed. Read the sentence then look into your eyes and repeat it. As you keep doing this action your brain begins to wrap itself around your words and you will begin to understand and apply the meaning of what you say to yourself every day in that mirror. In doing so you will begin to think that way. You will begin to change in your thinking. In reference to all people the quote "As a man thinketh, so is he." (Or as written in the book: Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth - Proverbs 23:7 -"As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.") No matter what you believe those few words are true to form.

Copyright(c)2014.Fear-You Will No Longer Control Me.Written by Sherrie Vitello. All Rights Reserved.

Advertising verses Inner Beauty? How it effects our self-image.

   ("Do I look as good as that woman in that commercial?")

One of the biggest struggles facing young people today, is self-image. Everywhere you look, on TV, on billboards, in magazines, videos, movies, 90% of the time it's all beautiful perfect people. Advertising verses inner beauty and self-image all of the time. This suffocating display of everyone being perfect or beautiful, can be very difficult for young people. Especially during junior high and high school years for both boys and girls. Girls worry about being popular, being pretty enough, having the nice clothes, having the prettiest accessories. Whereas boys, although not shown as much, they have to be worried about being cool, hanging with the coolest guys, and when old enough having the coolest car. It just seems to be all material things and outer image. Of course in reality, eventually, this is not the way it is. Somewhere long ago, someone decided that being the perfect, sexiest, handsomest, prettiest, skinniest, finest looking human being, is the best way to sell things, and it's worked, quite well, all this time. How many times have we thought about buying a product and thinking to ourselves that we will get the same results as what we saw in that advertising? You know you did that too..LOL!

Some advertising has used average people, older folks, mothers with their children, dads with their kids and pets, in an attempt to make the people watching, believe that this advertiser is just like them. The "average folk." That advertising technique works too in a lot of cases. But all in all, these advertising's and commercials are really after one thing, and that is to get the public to buy their product. Some advertising is very funny or have a catchy tune. Those are the ones people seem to remember the most. You can believe these advertisers who create these commercials know this. But just what are these advertisers saying to people that are subjected to the falsity that in order to get the same results or work as well, you have to look as good as those models do on television, have the same great looking car, or beautiful clothes. Sure..everyone wants to look great, but at what price and stress-level does it cost our young people in today's materialistic society? Everyday people are getting ready for work, school, going out and visiting with friends, just being in the public eye. They change outfits, change shoes, put on makeup, spray cologne or perfume and primp, guys do this too, just not as extravagant, to make themselves look as good as possible, all in the effort of being attractive or sexy.

I'm not saying we should all walk around smelly, dirty and grungy looking. Eeeeww! Although for some people that seems to be their way. I just think that in our country, and in many societies, we put way too much emphasis on the outer beauty of things instead of looking inside where beauty is found, is made and lives. There's nothing wrong with having nice things. Things that we've worked for, bought with our hard earned money, built up from nothing. Things that we enjoy, and things that make our lives filled more with gratitude, than vanity. I just think that young people are faced with more materialistic stress then necessary and it's greatly due to the falsehood of advertising and commercials that our children are subjected to on a daily basis. We probably will never get rid of this type of advertising either. So what can we do or how can we help our children? It's up to the parents to teach their children not to be so vain or gullible about what they see advertised. For some young people, they will have to learn this lesson on their own because their own parents are very materialistic. Which makes it even harder for them to learn this life lesson. When we teach our children to believe in themselves, teach them to have good character, to know that they are just as good as anyone else, but not better than everyone else, to be humble, it makes it easier for that child to grow up with a sense of assurance and belief in themselves. Without having to adorn an overpriced, unrealistic result of a product they saw advertised.

Young people that are raised with self-assurance tend to stay in focus as to who they are as an individual all through their lives. Even when people are trying to "find themselves," having been taught self-assurance, will usually lead that person back to their right path. Instead of falling by the wayside trying to keep up with all the falseness in advertising, that they believe may be true. But sad to say, there will be those who will not learn this life lesson. What you will find when people do not learn this life lesson is they become very vain, materialistic and self absorbed. They worry about every little sign that may cause them imperfection. They may even become bitter or angry about the fact that they are no longer able to look like all that false advertising that they grew up believing was true. So the lesson here is, there's nothing wrong with wanting to look good so long as it is not done out of self-serving vanity or being conceited. Being happy and self accepting has always given us an outward glow of beauty, whether we have the most current fashion line or not. Realizing that beauty comes from within, believing in our own abilities and character that is what will shine through from the inside out. That will give us the true beauty within ourselves instead of what we find in all that surface falsehood. That is "true beauty." Food for thought. :)

　

　
Copyright(c)2013. Advertising verses Inner-Beauty? Written by Sherrie Vitello. All Rights Reserved.

Failure Should not be Looked Upon as a Negative.

"The way we perceive things will be the compass to how happy or how miserable we will feel."

"..its going to be a positive day.."

I've always believed that with each new day we all have the opportunity to make that new day a positive, productive, happy day. We owe to ourselves to try and have a good day. One that will end with a feeling of gratitude or satisfaction that we did the best that we could with the hours of the day we had. I've learned to think a certain way as soon as I become awake every morning. After all..in order to change our lives we have to change our thinking. For the better of course. So every morning before I even get out of bed, I immediately think to myself "..I will have a positive and productive day.." Its a form of self talk that I've grown accustomed to doing. Best of all it works well when we're at a stage of our lives of uncertaintly or unclarity. For things to be better in our lives, so we don't feel bad or sad every time we start a new day, we have to see our reality for what it truly is for each of us individually. Even when things arise that we feel we have no control over. The way we deal with it will make all the difference in how we feel. If things don't seem to be working out for us then its time to re-evaluate the way we are living. We should do this in order to find out where we should begin to make changes so we can carry on with a better outlook about our lives.

"..don't throw in the towel!.."

If we keep blaming everything on situations or circumstances then what we are really saying to ourselves is that we have no control over our thinking or lives. We've gotten to a point where we either "think" we can't change or we don't "want" to make the effort to change. That kind of mindset can and usually does lead to negative feelings, thoughts and outcomes. I've also learned that failure should not be looked upon as a negative. Why? Because if we didn't fail then how would we know what or where to change things for the better? We wouldn't. We would just keep going along the way we're going. Thinking that nothing will ever be better or different for us in our lives. So the next time you fail at something, instead of throwing in the towel, try to look at that failure from a different perspective. Think to yourself.."what can I do to make the outcome be more positive or successful?" Look back at the situation that caused you to fail in the first place, see it for what it is and try going about whatever it was you were trying to accomplish, from a different angle. It might surprise you to find that by looking at your situation from a different perspective was just what you needed to make the task (or situation)positive and successful.

Money as a Tool is Essential.

Failure is only fatal when we deem it so. The way we perceive things and what we do about things that come about in our daily lives will be the compass to how happy or how miserable we will feel. Alot of people allow material things to be the base of their happiness. Especially money. No doubt money (when used as a tool) helps us to have the essentials for living i.e. food, our electric bill, house payment, our car payment, our insurance, clothes etc. What I find is that even though people usually have enough money to pay for these essentials, (or they have assistance) people always want or need more. Thats because money has become the most important factor for alot of people. There's nothing wrong with having the desire to make more money in order to live better. But when it comes to being so preoccupied with making money that you forget the true quality of living, that is a problem. We malfunction. Like a robot that is overloaded with too much to process. We can forget about the important things in life i.e. our families, helping others, the beauty of nature, the small things we do that really count and gives us feelings of gratitude or fullfilment. All in all in our pursuit of happiness we should never forget the things that matter. No matter how small they may be. In keeping to this way of thinking, we can be more balanced in all the phases of our lives.

"Don't Allow Your Failures To Hold You Down"

Everyone at one time or another will fail at something. Its just the way the cycle of living is. What we have to realize about failure is that we can learn from it and actually use it as a tool to make things turn out better for each of us. Learning this lesson early on in life is essential to creating a productive, successful path for our lives. Unfortunately some people won't learn this until they are older and have been through some negative experiences. We try to cushion the stress or hurt we may have experienced by buffering the emotional pain with drugs, alcohol or other forms of addiction. Which because we are creatures of habit, usually turns into an addiction. Although this is a difficult stage for people to go through, they can still come out of it, be free of it and not rely on artificial stimuli to help them cope. Besides, people miss so much when in the haze of addiction. I never knew how much I truly missed until I became free of my addictions. It was as if I was standing on a mountain cliff and I saw the sunrise for the first time. I mean to genuinely have laughter because I honestly felt happy was an awakening I'll never let go of. So if you're feeling down about the way you see your life and you're not sure of what to do to improve your life. Try looking at things differently from a different perspective. Sometimes a small change in how you think can make a huge difference. Enjoy the day.


Copyright(c)2012.Failure Should not be Looked Upon as a Negative.Written by Sherrie Vitello.All Rights Reserved.         

How Addiction Effects Our Life of Purpose.

"The purpose of life is a life of purpose" When I read this quote I realized that this is what everyone needs to live by in order to feel content, gratitude and happy about their lives. Having a purpose. When a human-being has no purpose in their lives they are much more susceptible to staying or becoming addicts. Be it drugs, alcohol, over-eating, over-shopping, to name a few. Everyone of us feels the need to have purpose, be needed, feel worthy, have approval, even being looked up to. When we lack those feelings we feel empty inside and we tend to "make up" (sort of speak) for that emptiness. We do that by developing habits. Some people develop good habits and some people develop bad habits. When we are addicts we need to stop the bad habit and replace it with a good habit. So its stand to reason that when a person doesn't have these emotional-tanks filled to some degree, they are more likely to fall off the path of staying clean and sober.

We must continue at all costs to strive to have purpose in our lives. It won't be given to us. With purpose we are given the air under our wings that lifts us up away from our unhealthy addictions. Why does having a life of purpose effect us so much? I did some research about this and found some very interesting facts about how "purpose" effects our brains. Because of our limbic system located in our brains. This part of our brain directs emotion and behavior. The limbic system sets the emotional tone of information before it reaches the cortex, where most of our thinking and learning takes place. Our limbic system interprets and directs emotions and behavior. Then these emotions are sent to the cortex where it is processed. When we have purpose in our lives we have emotions of fulfillment and contentment. This is a positive state of mind and our limbic system interprets this as positive information.

Which gives us a feeling of purpose and directs our behavior to achieve and meet our goals. Of course when our feelings get hurt or we have emotional trauma in our lives, it makes us feel unhappy as if we have no purpose at all. Especially when we have not learned how to cope with or deal with negative situations very well. These kinds of emotions can lead us to finding ways to comfort ourselves, over eat, self medicate or drink too much, to forget how we're really feeling. And this happens alot to alot of people. Now think for a moment just how using drugs, alcohol or overeating (which are the 3 most common forms of addiction) will effect us. First by using artificial stimulus (some-thing external that influences an activity such as drugs, alcohol, over eating) we end up saturating our brains due to the overflow of chemicals. Drugs, alcohol or overeating effect our brains by acting to enhance or interfere with the activity of neuro- transmitters and receptors within the synapses of the brain.

Our brains are made up of neurons ( aka nerves) so whatever drugs or chemicals we put into our bodies will get to our brains but the effects are destructive not productive. This is why after so many years of drug addiction, alcoholism or over eating the effects on our brains and bodies start to take over. We've all seen people that have been addicts for a long time and the abuse they subject their bodies to, the end results are unpleasant to see. Whenever you think about something, sense something or do something, what is happening at the level of the brain is that various neurons are sending information to one another concerning what you are thinking, sensing or doing. It is at the level of this inter-neuron communication that most drugs have their effects. Either by over stimulating or preventing proper function. So the idea that we are making ourselves feel better by continuing with an addiction is in reality a harmful and false state of mind. And we cause more damage to our brains than we truly know or want to admit to.

Because our addictive thinking has clouded our reasoning and doesn't want us to stop being addicts. It's a demon we have to fight in order to gain control over our health and quality of life. When you really think about how addictions effect your brain and body to this degree. You can build on that knowledge of how to start stopping your addiction. We all know that addiction isn't good for us. But when we step back and see the true damage and we learn how our addictions really hurt us and how it disrupts our lives. We can then see that it's up to us as an individual to stop blaming everyone and everything else, take responsibility for your actions and to get the help
needed to stop being an addict. To allow ourselves to gain control and achieve a positive lifestyle, state of mind and a happier life. It is only when the addict can addmit they have this problem, they can't fix it alone and they reach out for help that they are truly on the path to recovery. We can then understand the true meaning of "getting high on life!"  Enjoy the day.

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  Copyright(c)2011-2012. How Addiction Effects Our Life of Purpose. Written by Sherrie Vitello. All Rights Reserved.

Keeping Up With The Joneses - That In Itself Is A Real Tragety



"Hey..I have to get one just like that!"

Why is it that we humans, or alot of humans, seem to think that they have to "keep up with the Joneses?" All thru' our lives we observe how there are so many people in our society that feel that they have to have the same style of clothes, the same vehicle, the same material things that someone else my have. Don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about looking up to or admiring someone for their character here, this is more about the material things that people seem to think define them. Sure it's great to have a nice wardrobe or a nice car. And perhaps these things do define us to some degree. But these material things are not who we are, at least they shouldn't be, they are material, they can show our success or our financial status but they can't make us who we are as a human being. Sadly for some people, they never get that. Have you ever noticed some of those people that are "well off financially" have a way of looking at others like they are much better than most people? Why is that? What happens to the character or personalities of people that have alot of material things? If you've been around these kind of people, you may have noticed how judgemental some of them can be. It's almost like they forget that somewhere along their family tree, their ancestors all got started somewhere too and probably with very little means. Reflecting back to school days is some the most painful memories for some, because they can recall the way they were treated just because they didn't have all the material things some others had.
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"Why do they have to make fun of me?"

They were made fun of, ridiculed, picked on, out cast for no real reason other than the fact that they didn't have the designer clothes, the nice car, the current hair style, or the cool school supplies. Like alot of us, alot of us didn't have those things either and we would hang out with others that were on a similar material level. Of course the guy with the coolest car was always admired and all the girls wanted to be with that guy. Unfortunately people that had alot of material things would act stuck up or judgemental of others with less material things. Once in awhile though, you'd meet someone that had all the material things and they were truly a nice person. They weren't judgemental, they didn't criticize others, they would help you out with your studies, if asked to, they seemed to treat others as they would like to be treated themselves. So what's wrong here? Why is it that some people that have more material things than others seem to develop an attitude of disdainfulness towards those who aren't on the same material level?  Are human beings taught this way of thinking from there parants or peers that are also well off? If so why? Just because someone has more material things than someone else, does that make them better?

You can take two people and stand them side by side. Person A only makes $20,000 a year, person B is well off, makes over $95,000 or more a year. Ok, this is going to seem abit strange but it's a way of comparing them, stick with me for a minute. Picture these 2 people in your mind, see them standing side by side, got it in your minds eye? Ok, now picture them naked...no really, picture them without any clothes on for a second, look at their bodies from head to toe. Not much difference right? With the exception that some parts may be bigger than others i.e. their hands, feet, longer hair, keep it clean now, this is PG rated LOL! Ok back to the point. Now picture them dressing themselves. Whether they start with the bottom half first or the top half first, isn't important. But as you see them dressing themselves, they really don't do anything much different than anyone else, they really don't look any different than anyone else. So what is it that causes a person that has more material things than others, seem to also have a different way of seeing others? I could never understand why that is so. Don't get me wrong, not all well off people are this way. But you've got to admit there is a majority of people that are like that. I want to know why? Where is it etched in stone that a person that has more material things is better than those who don't?
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The human factor

Do you think people that are well off materially are better people at heart than others? No of course not. There is good and bad people from all walks of life. Being good at heart stems from what we are taught as children, life-lessons etc. But there are people that are well off materially that "think" they are better than others. So it would stand to reason that these kind of people were taught to think this way. That could be the great divide between all people. When we "think" that we are better than everyone else, humans tend to forget the human factor. In general, a human factor is a physical or cognitive property of an individual or social behavior which is specific to humans and influences functioning of technological systems as well as human-environment equilibriums. Equilibrium is the condition of a system in which competing influences are balanced.   I believe people thinking they are better than others because they have more material things, stems from way back in time. I mean, even back to when people were first on the planet. And if so, why? Could our creators have been responsible for placing this in our genes? Where did this way of thinking derive from? Perhaps it has to do with humans having free-will. Our creators gave us free-will, so we could rationalize, solve, decide choose the way we think. That being so could be the reason why alot of humans believe if they have more material things, they are better than others. But even if this is true, I'm not saying these people are better than others. Maybe just better off. In a material sense

Quality of Life is so much more than material things.

As our children grow they aspire to be astronauts, doctors, physicists, great chef's, teachers, artists, and alot of them try to reach that goal and succeed. I believe whatever life-lessons are taught or learned by our children inspire them to become the adult they want to be. No doubt when we are raised with more means than others, we can accomplish things easier. Not to say, that anyone on any material level can't accomplish things, they can. What all of us need to remember is we have the right to excel in our lives anyway we desire. We have it in us to become anything we want. It really doesn't matter how much material things we have. What matters is how we utilize the time we are given and how we utilize material things. Hopefully for the better, not for self serving, vanity or conceited ways. Our quality of life is really what should matter to us, not the material things we acquire in our lives. Perhaps some people are born into being better off from the start and the purpose of this isn't so these people can brag and show off all their material things. Altho' alot of them do. Maybe they are meant to have all these things for another purpose, to help those less fortunate or to teach others how to be successful. Its just that somewhere along the line these well-off human beings forgot about that purpose. They began to think only about themselves and how being well-off benefits only them. It has become a "keeping up with the Joneses", dog eat dog world for alot of people. That in itself is the real tragety.  Enjoy the day.

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Copyright(c)2011.Keeping Up With The Joneses - The Effects On The Human Race.Written by Sherrie Vitello, All Rights Reserved.

The Rainbow Tree - An edited version that improves our quality of life.

As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will. You will have your heart broken probably more than once and it's harder every time. You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You'll fight with your best friend. You'll blame a new love for things an old one did.

You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you love. So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back. Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin.

Learn to let go of people that cause you pain. Hold fast to those people in our lives that lift us up and help us feel happy. Let go of all the things that you can do nothing about. Mistakes made in the past are there to help us to learn not to do them again and to help someone else who we see is going down that same path. Lift others up that seem to be down, sometimes a word of encouragement can make all the difference. Never be too quick to judge someone you don't know.

For as much negative things that are always around us in our daily lives there is a vast amount of positives. Always think of the possibilities instead of the obstacles that can trip us up. Take on the day as if it was your last. Take nothing or no one for granted. Be grateful for your health, loves, beauty in the world, things that make you happy and rainbows.

...everyone dies, but not everyone truly lives. It is a path we all must take. Enjoy the day.


Written by Author Unknown with excerpts added in by Sherrie Vitello

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Copyright(c)2011.The Rainbow Tree, written by Author Unknown and edited by Sherrie Vitello. All Rights Reserved.

Have You Had A Hug Today? - The Outstanding Benefits of Hugging

Did you know that when you hug someone it not only gives you a good feeling but it also helps to reduce deseases that can effect your overall health i.e. heart desease and blood pressure issues. Research has found that hugging increases the bonding or love hormone, Oxytocin, which decreases the risk of heart desease. Also hugging decreases the hormone, Cortisol, which decreases blood pressure. Although studies show that the decreases in Cortisol(the Fat-Causing-hormone)is mostly found in women. Oxytocin was found to increase in both men and women, especially those in healthy, positive, loving relationships. A research study was conducted by Dr. Karen Grewen, Researcher/Psychologist and results showed that handholding and hugging decreased the effects of cortisol caused by stress.

Interesting Facts from Wikipedia: Oxytocin is best known for its roles in female reproduction. It is released in large amounts after distension of the cervix and uterus during labor and after stimulation, facilitating birth and breastfeeding. Recent studies have begun to investigate oxytocin's role in various behaviors, including orgasm, social recognition, pair bonding, anxiety and maternal behaviors. For this reason, it is sometimes referred to as the "love hormone."

Cortisol is a steroid hormone or glucocorticoid, produced by the adrenal gland. Sometimes referred to as the fat-causing hormone. Studies show that due to the release of cortisol in the body it has been connected to increased abdominal fat. It is released in response to stress and a low level of blood glucocorticoids. Its primary functions are to increase blood sugar through gluconeogenesis; suppress the immune system; and aid in fat, protein and carbohydrate metabolism. It also decreases bone formation. During pregnancy, increased production of cortisol between weeks 30-32 initiates production of fetal lung surfactant to promote maturation of the lungs.

So in other words, the more positive and stable relationships are the better it will benefit our health. Perhaps those peace loving hippies from the seventies that would always say: "Make love not war.." weren't far off the mark of the benefits of holding and hugging one another. As human beings we are social creatures by nature. Studies have shown that people who are married, have friends and are social, tend to be healthier and happier. Which makes me wonder about people that are anti-social or have antisocial personality disorders. There must be some sort of emotional or biological distortion with those people that cause them to be that way. Some people don't even want to be touched, let alone hugged, and they will avoid getting close to anyone physically.

It has been found that those people have other emotional issues that could probably use some form of counseling. This is not a ridiculous claim. The absence of touch can have an effect on our emotions. The positive benefits touch has on us emotionally and physically are key to retaining a heathly sense of well being. I can't help but think that how we feel about getting touched or hugged stems from when we are babies. A child can grow up disturbed or having social problems with others due to them not being nurtured properly, which normally involves loving hugs and positive reinforcement. Where as a child that was raised in a loving family that was hugged and nurtured grew up having self-assurance and they too were a loving human-being. Of course we can't dismiss the fact that no matter how much we love our children some will fall into the wrong crowd of peers and can become lost and change their entire outlook towards others and life.

For them, even though they came from a loving, nurturing childhood, they have chosen to be influenced by others, whether positive or negative, and they will have to learn from their experiences. Even so, usually people will come to their senses once they've realized they have made a mistake, and they will fall back on the key character builders they learned as a child. Hopefully those were positive reinforcements and nurturing times. Positive touch(or stroking)has been shown to facilitate physical and psychological functioning paritcularly in terms of reducing stress, relieving pain, increasing the ability to cope and general overall health. So when you wake up in the morning take a few moments to hug your spouse, your children, your pets. Even when its appropriate, hugging your co-workers is extremely beneficial too. This can significantly improve your quality of life. Enjoy the day!

\Sources: University of North Carolina, Dr. Karen Grewen-Researcher/Psychologist, Dr. Ben Kim-Natural Health Care, Wikipedia Encyclopedia

Copyright(c)2011.Have You Had A Hug Today?-The Outstanding Benefits of Hugging.Written by Sherrie Vitello.All Rights Reserved.