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Natural Awakenings Central New Jersey

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Grateful for EVERYTHING, Create an Attitude of Gratitude All Day Long

The secret to happiness and finding the enduring joy we all seek is Thanksgiving—the simple act of continually giving thanks. To realize wonderful positive outcomes, up to and including seeming miracles, do one thing: Show gratitude all day long. Seeing everything in a new light, through a refreshing prism of love and appreciation, imparts a deep inner well of peace, calm and joy, making us feel more alive.

We can feel that way every day, in every aspect of life, awaking each morning excited to create the day ahead and enthusiastic about each moment and then falling asleep at night embracing a profound feeling of gratitude for all the good we know and have. Happiness is contagious and becomes an upward spiral of joy naturally shared with others.

Start today by launching a daily gratitude journal. This single action, the simplest and quickest way to get results, will foster a habit geared to change everything forever. It fills up our love tank, sparks success and benefits everyone. To embrace better relationships, health, clarity, life and tangible and intangible wealth:

  • Set a daily time for journal writing.
  • Pick a handful of things that prompt gratitude that day. Perhaps begin with people that support you in some way. Everything counts, from expressions of beauty to basic conveniences. Eventually the daily list will grow, generating the joy of gratitude at ever-higher levels.
  • It’s important to write with love and joy, because such feelings create your world. Even if something’s a work in progress, like encouraging steps in a relationship, focus on what makes you feel good and want more of and you’ll start seeing more evidence of them.
  • Elaborate in detail about a particular thing that earns extra gratitude. This carries more benefits from intense feelings than creating a list. When we see how blessed we are with what we already have, it creates more of what we are grateful for, generating an endless cycle of gratitude.
  • Take notice of the surprises and little miracles that occur, and be sure to make note of them to evoke an even stronger level of awe and gratitude.
Robert Emmons, Ph.D., of the University of California-Davis, a leading authority in researching the science of gratitude and its impact on well-being, instructs his study participants, “Be aware of your feelings and how you ‘relish’ and ‘savor’ this gift in your imagination. Take the time to be especially aware of the depth of your gratitude.” In other words, don’t hurry through this exercise like a to-do list.

An all-day-long attitude of gratitude ramps up our awareness of life’s pleasures. It takes an already good life to a whole new zone of zest.

Mary Lynn Ziemer is a master of Advanced Life Concepts, certified life and business coach, motivational speaker and author, with more than 30 years as an entrepreneur and corporate executive at two Fortune 100 companies. Connect at LivingAJoyfulLifeNow.com.

Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

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