Our healthy journey…..

Several weeks ago we made the decision that we were going to embark on a journey that would see us increase our potential for good health and 'eat to live' essentially. Life is busy and we both have stressful jobs and this translates into effects on our bodies that warrant attention. Our nutrition is compromised by the needs that our bodies require to process the stress inside of us each and every day. Nutrients are used to combat the effects of stress and if we are not eating well to begin with then the effects will be quite damaging. So we decided to make changes for ourselves that would have us invest in our own futures. Changes that include methods of stress reduction and a nutritional approach to look at what we eat. We were already eating probably at least 50-60% organic, were cooking from scratch always, had eliminated most processed foods from our diet and yet we knew there was always room for improvement. We contacted Sarah, a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and our journey began. I have an extensive background in nutrition but we wanted to do this right and have support along the way from a professional. Our goals were to lose weight and provide our bodies with the foods that would support wellness in the best way possible.

For myself I am very much enjoying the journey because I know I am doing good things for this body of mine. I can admit that I just recently turned 58 and I want to create an existence of wellness for myself that will support many more years of an active and productive life. In order to do that I chose to create this wellness path. I have a solid foundation in terms of nutritional knowledge and awareness and this has allowed me to feel relatively well for many years, but I still felt that I could feel better. I was beginning to feel a bit 'achey' a lot of the time and this disturbed me quite a bit. I felt as though I was becoming 'old'. Eeek!…..I do not want to feel that way and therefore the desire to make this change began. I had given up sugar several years ago, but it did seem to be creeping back into my diet from time to time and my biggest challenge was going to be giving up butter! I have a love affair with butter and I knew that I had to break the ties of this relationship to where we could simply be friends but no longer lovers…. lol.

We are following along with a meal plan and particular recipes currently while we work with Sarah for several weeks, but our plan is to make changes in our food choices and create a lifestyle that supports our nutritional wellness at all times. It will simply become a way of life for us. Right now we are still in the intensive stages where we have to follow along with the designated meal choices and this does require a lot of prepatory work, but if it is not done then it is setting us up for failure and that is not a choice we want for ourselves. Our refrigerator has never been so full of vegetables !

I will continue to blog about the journey and share how things are going. I truly feel that 'we are what we eat' and the effects that it has on our bodies is summed up in how we feel and move through our day. Food affects our mind and our bodies and we have no one to blame but ourselves when we make poor choices. I've made those poor choices and then regret them pretty quickly after I did. For me it's now time to make the good choices and reap the rewards.

We start our day with a hot cup of Lemon Ginger tea to help us detox and cleanse our liver which is an organ that is so important in terms of our body functioning well. I have come to love this cup of tea each morning!

Benefits of lemon include : 

• cleanse the bloodstream and liver
• aid digestion
• boost the immune system
• prevent heart disease and cancer
• lower blood cholesterol levels
• lower high blood pressure 
• stimulate the liver
• reduce inflammation

Benefits of ginger include :

• remedy for nausea, morning sickness, upset stomach, indigestion, vomiting, motion sickness and cramps
• promotes healing of inflammation 
• helps lower blood pressure
• reduces fever
• reduces cholesterol
• prevents internal blood clots
• aids circulation
• eases asthma symptoms 

*NOTE - avoid consuming ginger in large amts if you take an anti-coagulant as it can thin the blood further and taking more than 3 gms of ginger at a time can cause stomach upset. 

I simply use the juice of half a lemon and grate a 1/2" piece of ginger (use organic if possible - I don't peel the ginger then) and steep it in hot water for several minutes…..and then enjoy! Your body will love you for it each morning! 

Have a great day filled with good choices!! 

Maggie

Health information on ginger and lemons taken from Prescription for Dietary Wellness by Phyliss Balch, CNC

calm is better……..

I've been away from my blog for a while and this seems like a good moment to catch up. My last blog focused on what was going on at work and I must say that it has been a significant stressor and a huge change and since I wrote about that extensively last time I am done with that discussion.

A focus that did come out of that change though was how I deal with stress and what it means to deal with it. I felt very overwhelmed with just that particular stressor and came to realize that I needed to channel my energies so that I could have calm rather than anxiety. Having worked for many years in the field of mental health I have done extensive research on stress and know well enough the causes and effects of such and yet understand all too well that we often get so caught up in the eddy that it can create that we can get lost in it all. Some stressors in our lives will not be going away and are not in our control, but others are ones that we maybe can have control of and alter them to make them less stressful.

No one is exempt from the stressors that modern day life brings to our lives. It is everywhere and all around us readying itself to take from us if possible. The key is how we navigate through all of what is presented to us and how we let it effect us. I've had many years of stress from my childhood to single parenting and recognizing that taking on stress is only half of the equation. The other half is all about how we deal with it so that it doesn't take over our lives and render us ill from all of the effects that it can have for mind, body and spirit.

 I have come to know one way that works for me and how this is woven into my life. My home is my sanctuary and safe place in the world and inside of my home I have a special place too. I have my meditation room that is devoted to quiet and peaceful reflection. It may be where I read or maybe I write. I might listen to some quiet music or I might meditate. Our altar is located in this room and I can smudge as well as reflect in prayer. My affirmation and tarot cards are kept in the meditation room and our drums also hang here to be used when we feel like sharing in drumming energy. There is only good energy that exists here in this space that is devoted to peace and calm. It is a sacred place for us.

We all need a place that can afford us the peace and quiet that we deserve after a long day or as I often do, it is a place where I begin my day. Our lives are busy, hectic and overrun with so many demands on our time and energy and knowing that I can either begin my day or come home and enter this space is a relief for me. I know that the world around us will try to take from us constantly and rather than end up in a bankrupt state of mind we can add back by spending time in this special space dedicated to us. Even if you are not able to dedicate a room such as this, then maybe you can create a corner or space in an existing room and make that your 'special' place where you can reenergize yourself from all the demands the world puts on you. We must look after ourselves and it is never too late to start if you haven't already. Blessings to you all………

Maggie

no longer a true nurse…...

I am in the midst of change in my work world. This is not something new for any of us that put in our 37.5 hours per week and generally speaking we all roll with it. It's inevitable that in the course of our lives professionally we will encounter change and we all know the mantra of 'change is a good thing'. And, yes I believe that change is a good thing but we need to be very careful with what we change and what the outcomes of that change will be because there will be both positives and negatives with any change.

I am a nurse. I have been a nurse since 1976 and have worked in different settings but my current position is on an acute medical unit and has spanned 23 yrs. I am an RPN and the importance of mentioning that is that all of those 23 years were directly spent at the bedside of my patients providing care. During all of those years I have seen many changes in both healthcare and at my workplace, some of which have been beneficial and others have been not but we endure. The latest change that has been implemented is big, in fact it is the biggest of big that I have seen so far in my career. This initiative involves ten hospitals in my area and will cost $26.1 million to implement over the next 3 years. So I will say it again…..this is big folks!…. and with a cost like that it's not up for discussion at this point and it's not going away.

So herein lies my need to accept change as my work world is no longer resembling what I have know for so many, many years. There have been changes in the past that I have accepted and others that I have been resistive to. Those that I resist generally always directly relate to how it may affect the patient care that I provide. I chose my profession because I have a desire to offer and care for persons who require assistance in a medical setting. I personally have always provided care from a holistic perspective for my patients so that their needs are attended to as a 'whole'. Our wellness triad of 'mind, body, spirit' is not separated into silos, but instead all of the sum of these parts need to work in concert with each other to create the symphony of health that will allow us to live our best life. My understanding of this has been my philosophy of care in all the years that I have stood at the bedside. I have provided the medicines and dressed the wounds, but a large part of nursing is also the psychological and emotional support that we provide. I have witnessed the anxieties, the sadness, the worry, the loss, the disempowerment in the eyes of patients and also in family and/or friends that I cannot simply walk away from and instead offer support and encouragement where and when it is needed.This folks is beginning to change.

In my 38 years I have adapted to change and re-invented myself as a nurse several times. This by far represents the biggest change to date. It is a hospital optimization system that is going from 'paper processes to electronic technology'. I won't get into details except to say that I will be in front of  a computer screen most of the day and the pt will be witness to this as I must at times wheel the computer system right to the bedside so that I can administer medications and 'scan' their armband with my laser scanner. As a side note…my exposure to the electromagnetic field of the computer screen has now probably more than doubled or tripled….. but this 'change' is not an issue I'm sure. In reference to arriving with the computer directly to the patient I actually had someone say to me that this technology was going to bring me to the bedside more than previously and she thought this was a 'great thing'! …..oh my. I will add that this person was not a nurse who made that comment ….. interesting.

I feel the nurse part of me slowly dying. The tasks that I am now expected to carry out are now shifting the balance of hands on nursing vs. documentation dramatically. I am really no longer a nurse. I have been morphed by the healthcare system into what I will call an MCT….. a medical computer technician for the most part. If I have a moment of time to provide nursing care then that may be a good day……. for both of us. My heart is sad that the reason why I chose this profession is no longer at the forefront of healthcare. We have come to much of this because of the litigious society that we live in. It's the fear of being sued. It comes from us living in a state of paranoia. We have created this over the years and now this is where we have arrived. I know I will 'catch on' to the processes that I need to know to now do my MCT skills. I might be older, but I can be taught. But I can honestly tell you that I will never 'catch on' to letting go of providing the balance of holistic care that my patients are entitled to and yet those people running the system will tell you that patient care is #1. I have come to understand that 'they' say one thing and mean another. This is infinite wisdom that you will be witness to if you watch and listen closely. I'm always offended when this occurs because 'they' obviously think that I am gullible enough to believe it.

So once again I have to regroup, reinvent and reposition myself in my career or maybe I need to seriously consider retiring and letting someone new and fresh take over for me. Maybe their philosophy is more aligned with this new healthcare paradigm as opposed to the philosophy that was such an integral part of my training so many years ago.

All of this makes me feel sad, defeated and disappointed in our system. There is no advocacy for nurses. We are told what to do and how to do it……end of story. My heart truly feels that I am no longer a nurse. I am being told to be something else and if I want to keep my job I will simply be obedient and follow the rules. I am so thankful that I am on the downside of my career and will be able to retire sooner than later. I can't imagine beginning my career now, but I guess I have to remember that students are taught a different philosophy than I was all those years ago and the need to desensitize will not be necessary for them as much as it is for those of us who came up in a different time.

If I don't have time to hold your hand …. I'm sorry. If I don't have time to sit and listen…. I'm sorry. If I don't have time to wipe your tears ….. I'm sorry….. and to the family member who just lost a loved one….. I'm sorry I may not have the time to spend with you in your moment of loss. This just all breaks my heart and makes me feel an emptiness inside of me where I used to feel pride in my work. I turned to my partner the other night after a day at work and with tears in my eyes said 'I can't be the nurse that I've always been.' I wept quietly as I realized that I had to let go of this part of me.

Blessings to all,

Maggie

Weather & Gratitude…..

It has been a tough weather week here and it seems like it's not quite done yet. Even though the snow is not coming down the temperatures and the road conditions are creating havoc for us all. Yesterday I awoke and the windchill was -41.7! Never have I in my 57 years heard of such a thing in Southwestern Ontario. Wow…. I had to work and when I got into my car to warm it up the sounded like a tin can upon opening and when I sat in it there was no movement at all ……. it was a solid brick of cold. When I turned the key in the ignition the sound that emanated from it was like a pathetic squeal of some sort and even once it was running it didn't sound happy about it but it got me to work and home again without any problems. We also had our sump pump pipe freeze and burn out the pump and since this all happened on a Sunday when resources were at a minimum it took us into Monday to get it fixed. UGH…..but you deal with it because there are no alternatives. So chin up it was! Oh and did I mention that the locks on my car door did a funny thing on Monday morning due to the extreme cold and locked when the door was closed and the car was running so as to warm up in these cold temperatures! Oh yes, and had to call CAA to come and open my car. So there have been lots of things getting in the way or our regular routine and we often don't deal with it very well.

I'm hearing so much frustration with the weather events of the last few days and I know it's a struggle at times but I have to wonder if the worst of it is the fact that we have no control over our lovely Mother Nature. She will do as she choses and we are the recipients of such. Long ago in years past we had the same type of weather conditions but I think we have gotten off easy over the past many years and therefore we tend to forget what they were like. And of course some of you were probably not even born yet! In the 1970's the weather created many challenges and I remember being stranded at my job in London. Yes, stranded 'at' my job, not at my home! Big difference. Who wants that! In the big storm of 1978 I remember finally being able to drive home and the snowbanks were at least 3 times higher than my car! It was incredible! This week the buses have been cancelled for the local schools for the last 3 days and remember the kids have not been back to school yet since the Christmas break if I am correct in thinking that. People are scrambling to find alternate child care as they are still heading to work and this can become complicated and stressful but sending large numbers of children to school in huge buses that will be skidding on ice is probably not a good idea either. To put bus drivers and children in imminent danger makes no sense. My partner drove to work in London this morning and she said the roads were all ice! No salt will melt this at these temperatures so I hear.  I am always seemingly being taught lessons of patience and I have to wonder if this is yet not another one of those grand lessons. For me it might very well be a time to sit back and really realize just how ok all of this is.

Kelly and I spoke last night of our gratitude in being inside of a warm house with all of our amenities and to instead think of how the homeless population must be struggling so much more than anyone else is right now. We have the gift of a front door that opens with our own key. The homeless do not. They may never own a door with a key. Hopefully warming stations in the area are able to handle the needs of this population. We are also aware of the stray animals that roam and in particular the one cat that our neighbour feeds from her porch has not been seen in a few days. I hope it's ok. Our feathered friends are flocking to our backyard to feed voraciously at all the bird feeders we have out and the heated bird bath we have so they can preen and drink. We spotted a squirrel having a big drink the other day too!  Our bird food budget is expanding but that's ok.

I have to think that these kinds of experiences are sometimes meant to shake up our world a bit and make us realize that life can throw us a curve and we are able to manage it well. The stress that people are feeling is not something that will always help us to navigate through these challenges in a positive way. People become frustrated, agitated and then it can all start to go wrong. Having that negative energy in us and around us is something that will drain us for sure leaving us feeling even worse. If you are warm and safe be grateful. Maybe a day of gratitude is what we need to get us back on track because even with all of these weather challenges there is still much to be grateful for.

So on my day off today I choose to sit quietly with my pot of tea and a clay mask on (ha! so glad you can't see that!) enjoying sharing my words with you. I hope you are warm and safe and looking forward to what the rest of your day will bring and maybe even what the rest of your winter may bring. We live in a country where seasons come and go and this winter season right now seems to be speaking up loudly at the moment! Let it speak and listen carefully. A lesson may unfold.

Warm blessings to all,

Maggie

coming to an understanding…….

I have slept and still I ruminate so I need to blog. I sit with my tea this morning and think back to my experiences this past weekend at work and how they have left me empty in so many ways. It is not a new feeling, but it surfaces from time to time and we all feel it. It eats at us for a few days and then we accept it and move on because we know that nothing will be different except in how we deal or reckon with it.

I won't get into detail except to say that the conditions that we all worked under this weekend were ones that stretched our abilities to the maximum. What we are expected to deliver as a health care professionals under normal circumstances, we were not capable of over the past several days.
The frustration set in early on Friday and I recall standing in front of a co-worker and my eyes filling with tears while I said "I know I'm not doing a good job today as a nurse". And it barely got much better over the next two days.

We all have standards that are both professional and personal regarding our careers and mine personally mean a lot to me. It's what lends me to be the nurse that I have become over the past 36 years. I'm not naive to know that there will be days that are more difficult than others and circumstances that will challenge us. We are trained to deal with all of that and yet this past weekend we found ourselves in situations that took us even further.

My biggest let down is the lack of support that I felt from my own organization. Nothing that filtered down to me the nurse on the front line. For me this could have gone a long way in letting me know that they knew just how hard we were pushing to keep things going so that our patients were being looked after. But I wasn't allowed that privilege even once.

As I thought about all of this after a well deserved rest I was led back to a book that I read so many years ago. A book that I have bought at least 4 times and keep giving it away to someone who might need it more than me. A book that has been so much on my mind lately that when I ordered a Christmas gift online I tucked this little book into the order with it. The book is called The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. The basis of this little book is simple. There are four agreements that we can use in our lives to help us to navigate through life in a more understanding fashion. They are as follows :

1. Be impeccable with your word.
2. Don't take anything personally.
3. Don't make assumptions.
4. Always do your best.

Three of the four, and maybe even all four apply following my weekend of work.

There is a part of me that wanted to be less than impeccable and scream at someone about all of this and yet I know quite well that my efforts would have been less than well received and there are times that I believe proper delivery of word is key to getting your point across. Sometimes even less words have more of an impact than too many.

There is a tendency to 'take this personally' and this is often the tough one to let go of. I have to remember that decisions made at a level above me are not directed at me 'personally' and not even as a collective group, but rather are made from a completely different perspective. One that I may not feel is right, but then remembering that I have no control over that.

I had the silly 'assumption' that when we were working under such extreme conditions that it would have been nice for someone to have come along and showed or expressed just how much our efforts meant. Once again I only need to re-read # 3. "Don't make assumptions" because in assuming I will inevitably be let down…… and I was. So feeling let down is my own fault.

Now # 4 is the biggie! Always do your best even when its under difficult conditions. This can be a challenge because a person really has to focus on what is happening in the moment of delivering patient care and forget about how frustrated you might be. Just do the task at hand and do it well. It is with this understanding that I do my best that I am able to leave each shift and go home knowing that I did the best that I could given the circumstances that I worked under.

So maybe this all happened so that I will sit down again with this little book and read it once more. These four simple agreements are good mantras to keep in mind on this journey that we call Life.

May your day be filled with love & light.

Maggie

my tea party…...

I've done it for years. It is my normal routine to get up for work early enough that I can do it, and even if I am not working I take the time for it ……. a tea party that is. A tea party for myself to begin my day. I love the quiet solitude of early morning and for me it lends itself to beginning my day in balance
which then in turn sets me up to have a good day. Now, it doesn't always follow through that way but I at least begin each day the same. I'm never rushed since I get myself up early enough to allow for it and all the other things that need to happen on a work day especially. Some people would rather sleep, while I would rather have this time to myself. I know some of my friends or co-workers think I am a bit crazy to do that but it's important for me to have this time and it starts my day off perfectly. As much as I am physically alone I most often will be reading so in fact there is usually someone invited to my tea party. Any number of authors have sat in on my tea parties and over the years I have learned much and shared in many stories. I love to read but my days leave little time to share in that so early morning is my 'reading time'. Books are a passion for me and to have a book in my hands is a wonderful thing. I don't think that I would ever own a Kindle or reading apparatus such as that because the tactile experience of having a book in my hands is not something that I would want to give up. Ok, I admit I have a kindle app on my phone which I thought might be a distraction while waiting for an appointment or such, but I usually forget that it's there and end up reading something interesting in a magazine instead. Maybe I was a writer in a former life as I love the ability to put words to paper and create something that someone else would enjoy. Words can be such a powerful thing. I read a lot of non-fiction and this feeds my constant desire to learn but I try to squeeze in a bit of fiction from time to time to allow myself to escape and be entertained also.

I remember in my younger years as a mom that I would get  up early and have my then coffee party (I don't drink coffee anymore) before any of the children awoke so that I could have some time to myself before the busy days of motherhood took over. I also treasure the memories I have of the tea parties that I had when I owned my bookshop and I would sit in my cosy chair in the shop and be amongst all those books! It was heaven for me! I could walk up to any shelf and pull a book and open up to any page and read. Sometimes I would take my tea party on the road and find a coffee shop where the atmosphere was of good energy and I would take my book there and sip on my tea. Most of my tea parties are now in my home which is my special place on Mother Earth.

Invited to my tea parties lately has been author Carolyn Myss as I am re-reading her book The Creation of Health that is also co-authored with Norman Shealy. Two amazing people that bring so much knowledge to the world of health and wellness. But I may have to share in my morning authors as I have a book waiting at the library for me by Jenna Woginrich called One Woman Farm which chronicles her transition from city cubicle to rural homesteading. Should be a great read!

My tea parties always have a special mug or tea pot which have changed over the years. I recently acquired a special set, on sale of course, and I'm sure it will be with me for years to come. It's tea party perfect!

 I think I will always make time for a tea party in my life. It's just that special to me. I hope you find the time to spend a few quiet moments for yourself before you begin your day. Namaste…….. Maggie 

childhood soup….

It's a funny thing because there is little that I remember from my childhood for various reasons that would relate to a completely different blog post, but one thing I do remember is my mother making us homemade tomato soup that was absolutely delicious! As a matter of fact until I was an adult I never tasted a tomato soup other than this one. When I made this soup for my first husband he quickly said "this doesn't taste like tomato soup at all", because he was used to Campbells soup! I remember being so disappointed at the time but I understood what he meant. It dropped of our menu sadly. As a child we rarely had soup out of a can and I can truly say that I was raised on amazing soups! I was never given the recipe on paper and only learned from watching her make it time after time.

I made it just the other day for our dinner and served it simply with a baguette and some cheese and it was wonderful! All you need are flour, butter, tomato juice, water, a little salt and pepper and this time I added some cream and you will have the most delicious soup ever. I am lucky enough to have my own canned tomatoes which brings the summer flavour home in the cold winter months. I also this time used a few sage leaves that I dried from the garden to sauté in the butter and then added them again while it simmered at the end and the flavour was delicately tinged with the sage and yet did not overpower the tomato. The cream added at the end made it perfect! I wish I could give you the ingredient portions but that is not to be. It is only in my head and depends on how much tomato juice you have. 

I wish you could share in a bowl with me as it's also made with 'Love'……

I hope your day is filled with wonderful flavours and that they might be reminiscent of a time gone by.

Maggie xoxo