Hold My Hand- Story of trust

Found this on Facebook and thought I would share.

There's something very comforting about holding a hand, especially someone you love and trust.

Enjoy the sweet story with a moral.

Hold My Hand- Passionate Parenting

A little girl and her father were crossing a bridge.

The father was kind of scared so he asked his little daughter, ‘Sweetheart, please hold my hand so that you don’t fall into the river.’

The little girl said, ‘No, Dad. You hold my hand.’

‘What’s the difference?’ Asked the puzzled father.

‘There’s a big difference,’ replied the little girl.

‘If I hold your hand and something happens to me, chances are that I may let your hand go.
But if you hold my hand, I know for sure that no matter what happens, you will never let my hand go.’

Moral of the story:

In any relationship, the essence of trust is not in its bind, but in its bond.

So hold the hand of the person who loves you rather than expecting them to hold yours.

Source: Passionate Parenting Facebook

Managing Chronic Pain With Exercise Using Stretchy Bands

For those of us dealing with chronic pain, sometimes we're just too sore to work out, and yet that's the one thing everyone recommends to help with pain management. Both holistic and allopathic doctors will encourage you to find some form of exercise to get those joints and muscles moving.

So when I found this series of exercises on Real Age, I thought I would share. This way I can also easily access the video. It's a 17 minute work out with bands. If you've ever been to a physical therapist you could probably use those stretchy bands they give you to practice with at home. I still have mine from when I first got sick with the arthritis and my shoulders froze and I had to go to PT three times a week. 

Remember, though, to check with your doctor before you start any exercise programme.

Watermelon Good For The Summer and Your Health

It's summer, and hotter than heck most everywhere in this country, so what better time to bring out some luscious, juicy watermelon. Most people think of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) as a wonderful and refreshing fruit to add to picnics and bbqs, but guess what, it's actually considered a vegetable, akin to cucumbers, squash and pumpkins. 

You know what else? It has some amazing health benefits.

Chock-full of vitamin C, vitamin A, potassium, lycopene, beta-carotene (and a myriad of other minerals and nutrients) it can help protect the body from viruses, bacteria and parasites. Because of the potassium component, it has been known to help control blood pressure, and possibly prevent kidney stones. The vitamin C and beta-carotene are helpful in preventing cancer and heart disease.
The lycopene is good for prostate, breast, colon and lung health, reducing the risk of cancer. And all the antioxidants are also helpful with asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammation and prevention of macular degeneration.
This is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of how good watermelon is for the human body, and why most anyone would benefit from enjoying a slice or two.

Although it is high in sugar, it's mostly water and fiber and is still considered a low-calorie, fat free, great-for-dieting kind of food.

So cut some up and enjoy!  I know I will.

This article on Care2 has a slew of interesting information on watermelon, including how to pick a good one.

And though it has nothing to do with eating watermelons, per se, read what I wrote about Wally Amos' inspiring "Watermelon Credo".
Sources: Healthmad, Organic Facts,

Kindness- It Only Takes A Moment- Singapore Kindness Movement

Flash mobs seem to be the latest fad, and they're a global phenomena.  I first discovered their existence on a TV commercial ad not so long ago. So much for being in the know. But since then, there has been a plethora of flash mob activity, some bad- like the recent Jacksonville, Florida spontaneous flash mob that all but destroyed a Walmart, and then there's the opposite out of Singapore:

Singapore's on a mission to make people kinder and gentler, and so they established  "Singapore's Kindness Movement" (SKM). SKM recently gathered some 85 volunteers to create its "Kindness Only Takes A Moment" campaign, and filmed it.

Singapore, 19 July 2012 – There’s always time to make someone’s day. That is the heart of this year’s kindness message that began rolling out on 5th July.

Continuing from last year’s theme, “Say thanks, make someone’s day!” the new direction encourages the public to re-examine how they’re actually spending their time. In the 2012 Graciousness Index, a lack of time was the most often cited excuse for not being more kind or gracious to others.

The Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM) draws attention to some of the things that Singaporeans spend a lot of time on: mobile phones, browsing social media pages, playing computer games and mobile apps. The idea is then put forward that it does not take a lot of time to do something kind or gracious.

The Index also revealed that graciousness ratings are generally lower on public transport, public eating places such as hawker centres and food courts, as well as on the road. Accordingly, these public spaces are a focus area for this year’s campaign.

Each day, millions of commuters make use of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and bus services. The SKM is encouraging the public to make the most of this daily commuting time to make someone’s day.

For instance, one MRT station wall mural illustrates a popular mobile game with the following message, “Scrambling for words: 2 mins. Giving up your seat: 2 secs. If there’s time for distractions, surely there’s time for gracious actions.”

It's so true. All it takes is a moment, to smile at someone. Say hello. Open the door. Give a compliment. Let someone go ahead of you at the cashiers in a grocery store. It's the little things that count.  My 87-year-old dad told me that the postal carrier (a woman) offered to help him move this huge stump in our front yard. He refused, but was touched by her kindness.
The Singapore "Kindness" movement began back in 1996 when the Prime Minister at the time, Goh Chok Tong, proposed that Singapore become a more 'gracious' society by the 21st century. Current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is the patron of the movement.

SKM'S Mission Statement:

Mission of SKM

To help build a gracious Singapore, the Singapore Kindness Movement aims to encourage the individual to internalise courtesy, kindness and consideration. Our mission statement is:
To inspire graciousness through spontaneous acts of kindness, making life more pleasant for everyone.
Objectives of SKM
- To encourage all Singaporeans to be kind and considerate.
- To create public awareness of acts of kindness.
- To influence and raise the standards of behaviour and responsibility.

I love this. I think every country needs to adopt the same kind of movement.

Poke around the website, there's some good stuff there.

Take The Time To Love- Thai Insurance Video

I found this very touching video on Facebook. If you can get over the fact that it's actually for a Thai life insurance company, it has a very important message.

Take the time: to love more. To take care of our own, to tell them we love them more often, because we never know when our time is up.

This is a one box Kleenex video.




The Facebook page had this quote along with the video:

“When you grow up you can do whatever you want to do, when you do something, make sure you do it well... Never give up; it is stunning how far you can get if you don’t give up.. Never forget how much I love you." ~ Robin Sharma’s words to his kids each night

Source: Success Nation

Eat Non-Dairy Ice Cream and Donate to Charity

I received an email this morning from Vegetarian Times about So Delicious^® Dairy Free frozen dessert teaming up with Brees Dream Foundation, so I decided to look into it. I love finding mutually beneficial opportunities to donate to good causes, especially for those who don't have that extra cash to give.  In this case you get to eat delicious So Delicious products, and for each non-dairy goodie you buy between July 1st and August 31st So Delicious will donate a portion of the net sales (0.75% ) to the Foundation.  There is no cap and they expect the donations will reach at least 50,000.00. It will depend on how much we buy.

I can vouch for So Delicious: since I don't eat chocolate, I have only tried their Soy vanilla frozen dessert (which is yummy), but some of their other flavors sound incredible. Chocolate Obsession. Mint Marble Fudge. They've got sandwiches and fudge bars.  The also have a line of coconut milk products, including a coconut milk ice cream in coconut, vanilla and mango that I have tried, all of which are to die for. I've also tried their strawberry coconut milk yogurt drink, and their soy and coconut milk. And the great thing is you can get coupons on their website.

The campaign is only good on the frozen treats, but the other products are worth a try if you are lactose intolerant, or choose not to eat dairy.

I decided to check out Brees Foundation because I know nothing about it.  It was apparently founded by New Orleans Quarterback Drew Brees and his wife Brittany:

The Brees Dream Foundation was founded in 2003 with a mission to improve the quality of life for cancer patients, and provide care, education and opportunities for children and families in need.

Brittany and Drew Brees and the Brees Dream Foundation have collectively committed and/or contributed more than $11,000,000 to charitable causes and academic institutions in the New Orleans, San Diego and West Lafayette/Purdue communities. Some of the Brees Dream Foundation’s most recent commitments include:

• Partnering with Nike and the Allstate Sugar Bowl to support the City of New Orleans and Mayor Mitch Landrieu in providing funding as part of $23 million in improvements to transform Joe Brown Park into a world-class, regional park to enable children and families to be healthy and active.
• Contributing $1,000,000 in funding for the renovation project at the American Cancer Society Patrick F. Taylor Hope Lodge.
• Contributing $295,000 for the “Peek-A-Boo Camera Project", which will include 51 cameras at Ochsner Medical Center (42 NICU, 6 LDR and 3 antepartum).
• Contributing $100,000 to complete funding for the GW Carver Field of Dreams.
• Contributing a total of $150,000 equally between KIPP Charter Schools and Teach for America.
• Contributing $80,000 to Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego.
• Contributing $50,000 to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana.
• Contributing $50,000 to St. Michael’s Special School.
• Contributing $125,000 to Tad Gormley Stadium Renovation.
• Contributing $50,000 to the Purdue Athletes Life Success Program.
• Contributing $35,000 to the San Diego Armed Services YMCA.
• Contributing $50,000 to the New Orleans Ballet Association.

What I like about them is that they have donated to everything from the arts to the military. I couldn't find any information on any of charity ranking websites, but that doesn't really mean anything.  Drew seems to be one of the good guys.

In case you are wondering, this is not a paid sponsorship, I just want to share a good thing.

For other free, fun and easy ways to give to charity, check out my other post.