Becoming As Little Children

What do you think when you see certain people? Do we sometimes forget that people are people, and not realize why some people are the way they are? Here is a little story that has been shared on the Internet that may give a different perspective on things.

Becoming As Little Children
by: Author Unknown

We were the only family with children in the restaurant. I sat Erik in a high chair and noticed everyone was quietly eating and talking. Suddenly, Erik squealed with glee and said, "Hi there." He pounded his fat baby hands on the high chair tray. His eyes were crinkled in laughter and his mouth was bared in a toothless grin, as he wriggled and giggled with merriment. I looked around and saw the source of his merriment. It was a man whose pants were baggy with a zipper at half-mast and his toes poked out of would-be shoes. His shirt was dirty and his hair was uncombed and unwashed. His whiskers were too short to be called a beard and his nose was so varicose it looked like a road map. We were too far from him to smell, but I was sure he smelled.

His hands waved and flapped on loose wrists. Hi there, baby; Hi there, big boy. I see ya, buster," the man said to Erik. My husband and I exchanged looks, "What do we do?" Erik continued to laugh and answer, "Hi, hi there." Everyone in the restaurant noticed and looked at us and then at the man. The old geezer was creating a nuisance with my beautiful baby.

Our meal came and the man began shouting from across the room, "Do ya patty cake? Do you know peek-a-boo? Hey, look, he knows peek-a-boo." Nobody thought the old man was cute. He was obviously drunk. My husband and I were embarrassed. We ate in silence; all except for Erik, who was running through his repertoire for the admiring skid row bum, who in turn, reciprocated with his cute comments.

We finally got through the meal and headed for the door. My husband went to pay the check and told me to meet him in the parking lot. The old man sat poised between me and the door. "Lord, just let me out of here before he speaks to me or Erik," I prayed. As I drew closer to the man, I turned my back trying to sidestep him and avoid any air he might be breathing. As I did, Erik leaned over my arm, reaching with both arms in a baby's "pick-me-up" position. Before I could stop him, Erik had propelled himself from my arms to the man's. Suddenly a very old smelly man and a very young baby consummated their relationship. Erik in an act of total trust, love, and submission laid his tiny head upon the man's ragged shoulder.

The man's eyes closed, and I saw tears hover beneath his lashes. His aged hands full of grime, pain, and hard labor, cradled my baby's bottom and stroked his back. No two beings have ever loved so deeply for so short a time. I stood awestruck. The old man rocked and cradled Erik in his arms and his eyes opened and set squarely on mine. He said in a firm commanding voice, "You take care of this baby." Somehow I managed, "I will," from a throat that contained a stone.

He pried Erik from his chest unwillingly, longingly, as though he were in pain. I received my baby, and the man said, "God bless you, ma'am, you've given me my Christmas gift. You see, m'am, I never saw my child grow up. My wife and son were taken from me in an automobile accident when they were both too young. I was never able to get over it."

Something to think about this season of giving....

Alain

Special thanks to Healthy Wealthy nWise Chronicles for being one of the sources that shares this story. www.healthywealthynwise.com

Giving Thanks

I'm writing this article two days before Thanksgiving and a day after our first big snow storm of the year. My stiff muscles tell me that the hour and a half of shoveling I did yesterday morning before work was the first time I've used a couple muscle groups in a while. "Snowstorm knocks out power for thousands" read the headlines in the local paper this morning. Our house was one of them because I was wondering yesterday as I shoveled if I'd have to shave by flashlight when I finished.

With my back a little stiff, but clean shaven because our power did come back on, and in fact came back on while I was shoveling yesterday so I was able to comfortably shave yesterday too, I ponder the upcoming holiday.

Thanksgiving is just two days away. It is a holiday when we are supposed to be thankful. I sometimes wonder if people actually are thankful on Thanksgiving. Or is it just a day to cram our mouths full of anything and everything we can reach on the table in front of us as we plan the next day's shopping. After all, the experts tell us we must plan our Black Friday shopping if we want the best deals. I saw an article yesterday suggesting that you pick the store with the early bird special you want to line up at and send your spouse or others to various other places so your divide and conquer plan can yield the best after Thanksgiving bargains.

Many people, myself included, will most likely have a very busy Thanksgiving. People will be traveling or hectically preparing their homes and meals for company that will be coming over. The traveling, preparing, orchestrating the meal, dealing with clashing personalities of friends and family, cleaning up, and then preparing for the rest of the weekend, which we can't miss because after all, there are only so many more shopping days till Christmas and heaven forbid we miss the best sales, can all be physically and emotionally trying. With all of this going on, when will we take time to be thankful? After all, being thankful is something that most of us have to work at, even during the holiday that is supposed to remind us of this important act.

I think many, if not all, of us would like to be characterized as the kind of person who is thankful. Why then don't we focus on it? We should be thankful many times during the year, not just Thanksgiving, but if we can take a few moments right now during the holiday, it would be a good start.

I could start by being thankful that I am physically able to shovel snow for an hour and a half, or that I have a drive way to shovel. I am thankful that our power came back on yesterday morning, because the article in this morning's paper provided that many people were without power all day yesterday and into the night again. Wow, these are just little tiny things to be thankful for that happened in the last twenty-four hours. What if I stop and think about the real important things I am thankful for? What are you thankful for?

If you want to be more thankful, and I am suggesting that we all should be more thankful, you must set aside time to reflect on those things to give thanks for. In our fast paced life, if we don't stop and take the opportunity to give thanks and reflect on those things we are thankful for our days, weeks, months, and years will fly past and we will miss giving thanks and being thankful and then it will be too late.

During that time of reflecting, ask yourself what you can be thankful for. Don't bemoan about those things you want, but rather look to what you already have. Many of us take a lot of things for granted. Give thought to your blessings and be thankful. And if you are thankful for other people in your life, tell them. Tell friends and family, those you love and care about, how much they mean and that you are thankful for having them in your life.

Take a few moments this Thanksgiving holiday to be thankful. Be sure to take the time to let others know how thankful you are to have them. Take the time to visit them, call them, or write them a note. Make sure they know what they mean to you.

Once you have started this habit on Thanksgiving, wouldn't it be a shame if you were only thankful one Thursday every November? Why not be thankful more often? Many of us have much more good fortune than we think about. We often focus on the negative and forget the blessings. Let's all remember to count those blessings and give thanks. Let's all be more thankful. Not just this Thanksgiving, but throughout all of our years.

Wishing you the Happiest of Thanksgivings and the warmest of thoughts throughout the year!

Lose Fat to Increase the Quality of Life

Recently, there was a study that basically said that being over weight might not be as bad as some people believe. I have a couple problems with this study.

It focused on mortality and death,not enjoyment of life. What about people who have excess fat, and due to that excess fat, have to take medications, and so on to help them live longer. What about people who have excess fat, and due to that excess fat, they don't enjoy life as much.

Okay, here is one of my biases, but I believe it. When you are healthy and don't have excess fat, you can better enjoy life. Period. I've seen people who can barely walk across the street because of being so out of shape. And I'm not addressing legitimate medical problems that can lead to gaining weight. I'm focusing here on people that the only problem has been lack of exercise and over eating junk that leads to being over fat. I say over fat, because over weight, going just by what the scale says is not accurate, and I'll address that next.

Being over fat makes it hard to do a lot of things. That leads to what I believe a less enjoyable life. Now maybe it is because I enjoy active things. I love taking long hikes in the woods, and when my daughter Cosette can't walk anymore, I carry her. I was glad that I could carry Cosette from where we turned in the stroller at Disneyland to the tram and then to the car. (And for those that have never been there, that is quite a distance to carry a 40 pound little girl who is completely out due to along day at the park - a day at the park that you have been walking all day at too) Many people who are out of shape could not do this. I see people who are over fat struggling with things at times, simple things that people that are not that out of shape don't have problems with. I think people get the point.

So while the study talked about mortality, what about quality of life? I still firmly believe that lowering a person's body fat and increasing energy through an exercise program and healthy eating improves the quality of life. (We don't even need to get into the studies that show people with excess fat don't make a much in the work force, lose out jobs, etc. - and even risk the chance of getting fired by Denny Crane for those of you that saw the most recent Boston Legal)

So while you might not die. I still think it is vital to reduce excess body fat for quality of life reasons. Why live long if you can't do things, etc. I also don't like BMI that much because it focuses on weight and not fat. Now, I'll be the first to admit that during law school I gained some pounds. I've taken most of them off, but still would like to lose a couple more. And the weight I gained in law school was FAT. No doubt about it. However, back when I was younger, in the Army, they used some height/weight charts similar to the BMI charts. Every time I was measured, I was too heavy for my height. If you fail these tests, they put you on the Fat Man program. (I forget the real name, but we called it the fat man program) On that program, if you did not get your weight to standards, you could get booted out of the Army. Anyway, I and a few others that lifted a lot were always overweight by the charts. That I maxed every PT test and so on didn't matter. According to the charts, I was overweight. The good news is that the Army realized those charts were just a starting point. Those that were overweight by the charts had to then be tested for body fat levels. Anyone over 20% for men headed to the fat man program. I usually came in at 9-10 percent back then. For those that don't know, that is pretty good and what many athletes fall into. Marathon runners and bodybuilders at time of competition will be down lower than that. I forget, but Clarence Bass got down to under 4 percent or so at times, and that is super low. You MUST have some fat to live. You cannot be at 0 percent. And those super low numbers can be unhealthy if you try to maintain for a long time. So that is why I don't like BMI that much. It is an okay general standard for many "average" people. If you are tall, have extra muscle from exercising, etc. it screws up the results.

I think suit manufacturers follow similar guidelines. I cannot go buy a suit either. I need a 46 Jacket. Most suits have a 6-7 inch drop. So pants that comewith a 46 jacket come with 38-42 inch pants. Way too big for me. Last time I was being measured at a nice clothing store the guy told me to quit lifting weights or to stick with sports coats and Blazers. (The store did not sell separates)

Bottom line: We should all strive to exercise and eat reasonably, keep our body fat levels reasonable, and stay in shape in order to not only live longer, but to be able to enjoy the quality of life that comes with being fit and healthy.

Yours in Health and Fitness,

Alain