CHECK THIS OUT:  Can laughter help heal?

I have long recommended using positive thoughts as a way to lessen or prevent the effects of illness and disease. Pessimism has been linked to a higher risk of dying before age 65, while expressing positive emotions, such as optimism, is associated with lowered production of the stress hormone cortisol, better immune function, and reduced risk of chronic diseases. If you are a pessimist - or know someone who is - try the following:

1. Take care of yourself by eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly and getting adequate sleep.

2. Express your emotional reactions honestly so you can effectively deal with what is bothering you.

 3. Confide in someone - your mate, a good friend or a trusted relative.

4. View  the cup as half full instead of half empty.

DAILY MOTIVATION :  Seize the moment

I have a friend who lives by a three-word philosophy: "Seize the moment."

Just possibly, she may be the wisest woman on this planet.  Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they have not thought about it, do not have it on their schedule, did not know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine.

I got to thinking one day about all those women on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back.  From then on, I have tried to be a little more flexible.

How many women out there will eat at home because their husband did not suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed?

Does the word "refrigeration" mean nothing to you?  

How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched Jeopardy!  on television?

I cannot count the times I called my sister and said, "How about going to lunch in a half hour?" She would gasp and stammer, "I cannot". I have clothes on the line.  My hair is dirty.  I wish I had known yesterday, I had a late breakfast, It looks like rain. And my personal favourite: "It is Monday".  She died a few years ago.  We never did have lunch together.

Because Americans cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our headaches.  We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect:

We will go back and visit the grandparents when we get Stevie toilet-trained.

We will entertain-when we replace the living-room carpet. We will go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.

Life has a way of accelerating as we get older.  The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer.  One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show  for our lives is a litany of "I am going to," "I plan on" and "Someday, when things are settled down a bit."

When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips.  She keeps an open mind on new ideas.  Her enthusiasm or life is contagious.  You talk with her for five minutes, and you are ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of Roller blades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord.

My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years.  I love ice cream. It is just that I might as well apply it directly to my hips with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process. 

The other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-decker If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy.

Now...go on and have a nice day.  Do something you WANT to......not something on your SHOULD DO list.  If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say?  And why are you waiting?

 Make sure you read this to the end; you will understand why I sent this to you.  Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to the rain lapping on the ground?  Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night?  You better slow down. Do not dance so fast. Time is short. The music will not last.  

Do you run through each day on the fly?  When you ask "How are you?" .  Do you hear the reply?  When the day is done, Do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head? 

You would better slow down. Do not dance so fast. Time is short.  The music will not last.

Ever told your child, we will do it tomorrow and in your haste, not see his sorrow?

Ever lost touch, Let a good friendship die to call and say "Hi"? 

You would better slow down Do not dance so fast time is short The music will not last.  When you run so fast to get somewhere you miss half the fun of getting there.  When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift....thrown away...

Life is not a race.  Do take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over.

  Irby F. Stewart