Supplements and spring

"Every spring is the only spring - a perpetual astonishment." - Ellis Peters

On this first Wednesday of April, I want to mention a couple of suggestions for living well:

1) taking advantage of the good of some supplements, and

2) noticing the good of spring.

Supplements first: Quite recently I had my annual physical. Though I really liked my new family practice doctor, I was rather surprised she didn’t ask any questions about the unusual supplement I take called Azomite (stands for A to Z Of Minerals Including Trace Elements; it is inspiration for the “dirt” part of my “Dee’s Dirt” blog name). For the last dozen years I’ve consistently consumed the strange powder – that’s been tested as a fertilizer and as an animal feed supplement, but not, that I’ve seen anyway, as a human supplement – and I’m convinced it’s given me a boost in energy, emotional stability, and immunity. Maybe it is placebo effect, but I’d rather believe that the ‘dirt’ of Azomite brings a good result: because Azomite contains minerals, and minerals feed enzymatic reactions, and the body uses enzymes for almost every metabolic function, I think it does this body good!

There’s certainly other supplements that do a body good AND have been researched for human consumption. A work colleague recently shared a cool web site that makes it easier to see at a glance which supplements may be worth pursuing. Check out this visual presentation that portrays various dietary supplements in terms of the reliability of scientific evidence for a variety of ailments that they're purported to help resolve. Possibly this info will inform your health choices? Go to

http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/play/snake-oil-supplements/

[A quick help in viewing the visual: The ‘bubbles’ nearer the top have strongest scientific evidence for health benefits in adults. Size of the bubble indicates popularity based on number of Google hits. Look for the “show me” tab page right to see helps for specific needs or conditions. Toward the bottom of the page is a link “this Google Doc” that brings you to the citations. So cool!]

And now a word about spring: I LOVE spring – it makes me happier, which contributes to wellness. The new life I witness daily as spring unfolds lifts me. And spring holds moments of soaking in more sun rays (and Vitamin D), listening to bird song, seeing more green (A Swedish study published in 2003 found a statistically significant relationship between access to green spaces and reduced experiences of stress-related illnesses), and enjoying the beauty of blossoms, to name just a few of spring’s gifts.

May this spring month be for you too a reminder of all the good ‘stuff’ for our body, soul, and spirit – bodies that benefit from food and supplements, minds that recognize the benefits in everyday, and spirits that enjoy beauty and God’s lovingkindness.

May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together—spirit, soul, and body—and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. - I Thessalonians 5:23

"And Spring arose on the garden fair,
Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;
And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breast
rose from the dreams of its wintry rest."
- Percy Bysshe Shelley, The Sensitive Plant

Now spring is come

A poem on spring --

North Country

In the north country now it is spring
and there is a certain celebration.
The thrush has come home.
He is shy and likes the
evening best, also
the hour just before morning;
in that blue and gritty light he
climbs to his branch, or smoothly
sails there. It is okay to know only
one song if it is this one. Hear it
rise and fall; the very elements of your soul
shiver nicely. What would spring
be without it? Mostly frogs.
But don't worry, he

arrives, year after year, humble
and obedient and gorgeous.
You listen and you
know you could live a better life
than you do, be softer, kinder.
And maybe this year you will
be able to do it. Hear how his voice
rises and falls. There is no way to be
sufficiently grateful for the gift we
are given, no way to speak
the Lord's name often enough,
though we do try, and

especially now, as that dappled
breast breathes in the pines
and heaven's windows in the north
country, now spring has come,
are opened wide.

~ Mary Oliver
New and Selected Poems: Volume Two

In each one of us

To write that essential book, a great writer does not need to invent it but merely to translate it, since it already exists in each one of us. The duty and task of a writer are those of translator.

-Marcel Proust, novelist (1871-1922)

Source

Images of water have been on my mind. A spiritual friend shared an image of floating on clear calm water. It’s Lent and I’m reading in the gospels about living water. And some other New Testament words - “welled up” - have reminded me lately of one of my favorite watering spots. There’s a place where pipe reaches into underground springs and water gushes continually: it is one of my favorite spots in our family’s favorite campground of Temperance River State Park. That fresh cold water always delights me - I love the idea of drinking water filtered by God’s good earth, and the constancy of its flow thrills me. The seemingly endlessness and purity of the water gives me great joy, and reminds me of the importance of Source.

The following quote also reminds me of importance of Source, and of my desire to be sourced in the Divine. (Oh, that I might be in God's love and joy!)

"Once I “know” God, that is, once I experience his love as the love in which all my human experiences are anchored, I can only desire one thing: to be in that love. “Being” anywhere else, then, is shown to be illusory and eventually lethal...

...the saints... knew with their heart that outside God nothing is, nothing breathes, nothing moves and nothing lives...this makes me aware that the basis of all ministry rests not in the moral life but in the mystical life. The issue is not to live as well as we can, but to let our life be one that finds its source in the Divine life.” – Henri Nouwen, P 49 Gracias

True teachers

True teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross; then, having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create their own.
-Nikos Kazantzakis, poet and novelist (1883-1957)

Christ in...

Better give at least a shout out to St. Patrick on this St. Patty's Day. Here's a portion of a much longer prayer attributed to him --

I bind unto myself today
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three…

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me.
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

Into a quietness

Now,

O Lord,

calm me into a quietness

that heals

and listens

and molds my longings

and my passions,

my wounds

and wonderings

into a more holy

and human

shape.

Who is they?

“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” -G.K. Chesterton

They -

- felt 25% happier than the others

- were more optimistic about the future

- reported fewer health complications and fewer symptoms of physical illness

- spent nearly 1.5 hours more per week exercising

Are you wondering who they might be?

“They” are some of the participants in a 10-week study (Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 377-389. PDF) randomly assigned to one of three tasks. At the end of each week, the participants were asked to describe either

1) five things they were grateful for that had occurred in the past week, or

2) five daily hassles from the past week, or

3) five events or circumstances that affected them in the last week without accentuating the positive or negative aspects.

"They” - those with the positive outcomes listed above - were group #1 who recorded the things they were grateful for.

In a second similar study, participants were divided into the same three groups, but asked to reflect and record daily for two weeks. The results were similar with the exception of no effect on physical symptoms or health behaviors (possibly due to the short nature of study?) but with the self-reported effect of increased helping of others in comparison with the hassles participants.

This fascinates me. The simple act of recounting and recording that for which we are grateful has significant benefit! It seems simple: but remembering to count our blessings is not always easy. We need to choose to do so. We need to choose to lean into recognizing (this is gift!), and receiving (I’ll accept and appreciate this gift!). G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936) is cited as a model of this recognition of gift; he wisely wrote

“the test of all happiness is gratitude...around every corner is another gift waiting to surprise us, and it will surprise us if we can achieve control over our natural tendencies to make comparisons, to take things for granted, and to feel entitled.”

In addition to a gentle reminder to remember that we have been gifted with much (especially many of us in the US), I also want to invite us to do more than remember: to increase in helping, allowing our gratitude to move us in sharing our gifts. My daughter Rebekah recently wrote a blog post that both discomforts and inspires me. In her challenge I am challenged; she describes a Guatemalan family who finds happiness in the midst of extreme little, and then encourages us to let them teach us gratitude, AND to not let our justification of “but they’re happy” stop us from seeing their great need and giving out of our great abundance. She says,

“In really seeing the miracle in their ability to live with less and choose happiness I was challenged, and hope others would feel the same, to do more to serve, live with less and still be 'happy'. Their ability to have perspective and find joy doesn't negate my responsibility to ALSO live with deep perspective, as if their happiness somehow justifies their daily injustices.”

“To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven.” – Johannes A. Gaertner

For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it is received with gratitude. – I Timothy 4:4