Opportunity Knocking

Opportunity. Have you ever thought about what that looks like to you or maybe even what the mainstream identifies with when they envision opportunity? What if we trained our minds to identify opportunity in simple, every day situations? No grandiose job placement, not a huge money making endeavor but more so a way of existing and operating our lives. A sort of motto to live by kind of thing.

Well, I had the opportunity to help a snake to freedom today. Yes, opportunity. Now let's make one thing clear. I am not a snake person. I usually cringe when I see them and I definitely don't want to touch them. Today I tried to see opportunity. My dogs alerted me to something in a roll of erosion control blanket (made with small, plastic netting woven together with loose hay) in our backyard. Yes, of course it was the snake. It was struggling there as it had entered the plastic netting with its more slender head end until it had itself stuck with its fatter middle body.

What would you do?

This life revolves around perspective. The experience I encountered today was an opportunity because it provided an anatomy/species lesson for my miniature onlookers, a chance for redemption for my guilty conscience (this snake encounter thing has a learning curve for a country dweller) and even more than that, a golden opportunity to demonstrate the pivotal choice often taken for granted by humans that think they rule the world. The pivotal choice of choosing life or death in perhaps a simple, invalid way to us because it relates to a not so fluffy animal or insect. But the bigger picture here is how that translates in other ways and in other areas of life. We have this one life to do what we can where we can with what we have in the time given. What will your very small window of opportunity look like?

This experience brought to mind something I had read by my very favorite Rachel Stafford over at Hands Free Mama who talked about a pivotal choice in "A Way for Kids to Learn What the Right Choice Feels Like"  last week in her latest blog. There she states "Doing the right thing ... the loving thing ... the respectful thing ... the compassionate thing ... the compromising thing ... the unifying thing feels like it's getting lost in our world." Let's make sure we call claim to the counter measure right now, today.

Opportunity knocking.

Personally, I am co-parenting two children who impart bountiful pleasure in our lives but also fill me with a heavy sense of responsibility. It is my absolute duty to mold their minds with good. I'm no child expert but I'm certain there is a period of time early on where their minds are absolutely shaped daily very directly by what goes in and the foundation is built for how they will deduce, reason and ultimately act. I want that window to contain small glimpses of differences that can be inferred to a bigger picture of life circumstances. I have been commissioned to get this right. There are no do-overs. So I showed a snake love and respect today.

Slowly, I used small red handled child scissors to cut away tiny pieces of plastic nearly embedded in the snake. Each snip of the erosion control blanket freed the snake more and more. It sometimes wiggled violently even striking me out of fear when given the chance to reach my hand. Startled, I tossed the snake but couldn't walk away from the challenge. I couldn't walk away from the opportunity. What kept me there? Remember, I really don't care for snakes.

Tangled snake mess in plastic netting.

It is no mistake that my soft heart was formed with this intense compassion and empathy that I cannot shake. It is no coincidence that I'm compelled to action even for a snake. There is not a single doubt in my mind that I was built in His image carefully and wonderfully made in the exact way He intended. My parents are not animal lovers. They are what I'd call animal tolerators. Yes, I probably made that word up. But any who, no intense bond with their pets. No real need for companionship at all, really. I share this because I think it is important to note. This trait is embedded deeper than how I was raised or what experiences I was exposed to. It's ingrained in a way I can hardly verbalize. I'm emotionally moved by it and even sometimes irrational because of it.

This intensity I feel is minor compared to that of our mighty God. But it reminds me of an intensity so supreme I can't even fathom - this is how I imagine that I am loved by Him. The magnificent love is what held Him on the cross. He is perhaps frustrated by my lack of appreciation or understanding for how big this love is, what it means, and how it can transform. Just as the snake bit me, we bite Him with dishonor. He loves us still. I wiggle away but I'm still sought. Even if I get caught in a tangled web, He can set me free. He seeks our hearts and minds so that we can be imparted with joy filled living here on Earth and ultimately, freedom. Freedom from sin. For the sinner who surrenders to follow, who longs for Him rather than wiggling away, oh how sweet it is to be loved by Him.

Freedom.

Will you seek opportunity to show love and respect today? With a snake, a stranger at the grocery store, your neighbor who makes different life choices or maybe even for yourself?

#iamsecond #Rachelmindset #onlylovetoday

J

Eat Your Meddies

Well, I'm back! I know you were holding your breath waiting for some more knowledge to drop. Humor me, would ya?

So recently I fell ill to who knows what - the ick. A co-worker was clinically diagnosed with influenza A, sinusitis & tested positive for strep. Yeah, she didn't feel so good. I continued on with my self medicating as I usually do during flu season around the pharmacy: warm honey-lemon water for my "coffee" in the morning (fabulous local honey from Bee Boys, I might add), rest, and plenty of vitamin C from foods. This go 'round (with her triple whopper in mind) I added a newbie to my arsenal. Garlic. Lots of it. I roasted garlic in our toaster oven in the pharmacy break room. The aroma was wonderful! I consumed whole cloves of garlic for days & offered them to my co-workers.

I did get sick. I felt genuinely ill for one day. I had a low grade fever, chills & was greatly fatigued. Who knows if the duration or severity of my illness would have differed? I don't. I do know, however, that we depend on food far too infrequently as our medicine. That leads me here to you! Let's talk about 'Food Medicine'.

You know I like those 'what if's' right? What if we handed out a prescription for education (from my last blog post here)? So...what if we made our dinner plate based on what we needed & not what it would taste like? Can you imagine? I know. It is hard. We westerners are so consumed with self fulfillment that we forget sometimes (okay, almost always) that food was actually meant to live by and not for. You know, 'eat to live, not live to eat'. Here's some inspiration to get you on my wavelength.

Decidedly, I made dinner for myself and the girls that evening with looming illness in mind. We humans are instinctively attracted to colorful food aren't we? I think so. Checking out my cold storage options I chose: grilled chicken tossed in a quick honey & lime juice mix, asparagus with peppers and garlic, and a side salad. So let's dive in to that plate!

My top three pieces of proverbial body armor are:

Asparagus

• rich in folate, a B vitamin essential to cell regeneration
• contains protective glutathione to keep free radicals in check
• fat soluble vitamin E makes a show here also (heart benefits)

Sweet Peppers

• among the most nutrient-dense vegetables you can buy, especially when it comes to vitamin C and beta-carotene (converted to vitamin A in the body), which plays a key role in keeping the immune system healthy
• potent antioxidants to fight free radicals
• contain substances shown to prevent clot formation (even more so in chili peppers)

Garlic

• excellent source of vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)
• good source of manganese, selenium, and vitamin C
• contains allicin, among other sulfur-containing compounds, which has been shown to be effective against common infections such as cold, flu, and Candida yeast

Bonus: This meal also created some compost materials as I snapped the asparagus.

Double bonus: You know what else happens? Monkey see, monkey do. My oldest says "I want to try that" the minute I sit down with my colorful meal. Perfect. I love sharing.

Be an example worth mimicking.

So go forth in the world this week and make your plate with "meddies"! I challenge you to pack on nutrients instead of simple taste. Train your brain & your body to value nutritiously dense food. Choose to fight disease with body armor on your plate! I would love to hear about your defense or even to see your lunch box or dinner plate pics as we finish out cold & flu season!

Ta-ta,

J

Pharmaceutical Fab-less-ness

So ironically (ahem, I'm a pharmacist), I'm not a huge fan of licensed pharmaceuticals right now. How can that be? I do value the utility of nearly every prescription class of medication. I have seen the vibrant smile on the face of a child one day after starting antibiotics. That same child was crippled by exhaustion and discomfort one day earlier from a relentless ear infection. I have witnessed quality of life improvement many times over with anti-inflammatory drugs, even life saving treatments that have gifted years to a patient with hepatitis. But more than that I have watched prescription complacency become commonplace. Or maybe it always has been and I was too naive to see it before. Either way, I don't like it.

Pharmacy Cheeseburger

Would you believe that customers pull through our drive thru window to receive service....WHILE EATING??? Maybe I'm strange but that just tops my list of poor etiquette. This occurs at least once per day. There are so many microbes on that clipboard alone, not to mention the pen - you get the picture. Gross right? As they prepare to give their last name sipping a drink from the very inflated cola's served these days so that they can quickly wash down that bite of grease to mutter their name, I can't help but reflect upon the irony of the situation. (Yes, I know that was a run-on sentence. See my writer disclaimer.) One patient recently even dropped a mustard-ketchup glob on the clipboard, swiped it up with her finger & licked it. Maybe that's only cringe worthy if you've taken a microbiology class. 

Source: Googled images, "evolution of soda size" - but we all know this to be true so does it matter if this image is 100% factual? You know, imagery to drive the point home.

Sick vs. Half Well

So here comes the manifestation of my resentment. Much like you enable a drug addict by repeatedly lending them money, overlooking the warning signs of their apathy, or giving them a place to stay when they didn't pay their rent --- aren't pharmaceuticals doing the same thing for many a man? I don't know how many people immediately consume prescription medications rather than pursuing lifestyle changes when they are diagnosed with a treatable condition. Does the number even matter? I do know it is far too many. After 16 years in the field, I've seen enough grocery carts and prescription pick-up combos to know this is a relevant issue. If the drugs weren't there at the pharmacy month after month, would they put different food in their grocery cart? If the drugs weren't there month after month, would we choose to walk rather than drive? Would we teach our children different habits? How much would change without the crutch? Of course this is over simplified. I realize that. But the point is that as long as we enable with 'prescription fixes' the less likely it becomes that most people will rehabilitate the underlying cause. I've pondered what might happen if instead of going to the doctor and receiving a prescription for lowering cholesterol, for example, the patients received a prescription for disease state education. This should be a requirement! Why isn't it? Am I that off base? For some individuals their way of existing is truly due to lack of knowledge. For others, it may be lack of motivation to learn or act, it could be hereditary dyslipidemia, or maybe it is simply just easier to continue living how they wish & take a pill (dare I say lazy). Those who wish not to comply could continue as they are, no harm, no foul. So I want to hear from you. If you take maintenance medication for a common health condition such as Type 2 diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, or hypertension I would like to know what category you fall in? Or tell me about your wellness journey. Would you or have you taken the proverbial reigns guided by wellness education to avoid or discontinue a prescription drug?

    

An apothecary has historically been a place for the sick. Antibiotics for infection, tincture for cough, & even cocaine for extreme pain. With that said, some evolution is imperative. However, new age pharmacy has evolved into a place for the half well. Some of the most commonly dispensed medications are still antibiotics & pain medications. But alongside those are countless blood sugar medications for diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol lowering agents, antidepressants and stomach acid reducing agents in unreal quantities. At least that's the synopsis if you drop a pin here in my rural town. 

In my next installment (don't hold your breath), we'll delve a little deeper into the latter mentioned agents. For now, do me a favor and ponder a US medical system that dispenses a prescription for education. 

 Ta ta,

J