That moment when you realize that you have to make a change. A change for something else. A change that involves turning everything you thought you knew upside down. You have to change how you look at the world and how you perceive the world looking at you.
You have to change your attitude towards the inner child in yourself, because if you don’t your inner child will die. The change needs to start from deep within, at the very core of your being. You have to rediscover yourself, but without the prejudice you’ve brought along your entire life.
You have to find a reason to start loving yourself. The logic of your head, needs to find its way to the core of your heart. A change can only happen if you know that your feelings are misguided by your experience. The trauma in your life is not who you are, but who you are have been tarnished by the trauma you have lived through.
That moment when you realize that change can only happen if you face your fears…
Have you ever hoped for something very strongly and then experienced the disappointment that follows defeat…? I believe it happens to everyone at least once in a lifetime and probably many times to most of us! The distance between the peaks of high hope and the abyss seem unimaginable, but it’s amazing how fast you can go from one to the other… Back in the day when internet and computers didn’t exist, I imagine it would take a while to get bad news and thus the hope remained for that much longer. Nowadays, it only takes the time you need to write an email and send it, before the receiver goes from hope to devastation…
However, the point of writing this is not so much to dwell in the self pity that might follow bad news, as it is to focus on the importance of staying in the moment and reinventing yourself! The immense disappointment of receiving bad news should always be taken seriously, but it’s what you do next that makes all the difference! The process of waiting for news, whatever they may be, is very tiresome. You’re waiting for something and that something, makes it difficult to focus on everything else… It might get to the point where you loose interest in most things, simply because you’re waiting and hoping for the best! When you get the news, good or bad, it releases a lot of adrenaline and that’s when you need to be ready to act! Being able to accept disappointment, is also what will make you able to rethink your situation or change your focus…
It all comes down to your outlook on life(or situation), I guess… If you’re able to see the defeat as something that wasn’t ment to be, you’ll probably have a better chance of changing your focus and using it for something positive! The ability to let something go, is also what will make you able to refocus your mind on what comes next. The reinventing of yourself, or lack thereof, will determine wether or not your disappointment is just that or in fact an opportunity to do something completely different in or with your life! Do yourself a favor and don’t dwell too much on the why and what if’s… Instead, use all the newly released capacity to make a change and head in a new direction!
In my own disappointment, I choose to celebrate life and enjoy some pink prosecco…
Every once in a while it’s important to relax and, if you have the time, do some activities that takes your stress level down a few notches… Ever since I was a young teenager, I’ve been spending a lot of time in the kitchen and baking always relaxes me! At some point, I even wanted to be a baker when I grew up… Now a days, I try to combine my love for baking with a healthy lifestyle and that includes paying attention to what I actually put in the different batters and cake mixes. Make no mistake, I really like my cakes and desserts the way they were invented! But I find that on regular weekdays, it’s ok to avoid white flour and sugar when possible. In addition to being a good choice health wise, the whole food recipes are just as tasty as their white food counterparts!
My focus on healthier recipes has developed alongside a stronger focus on exercise and wanting to pay more attention to what I eat. Not that I had a very unhealthy diet to begin with, but it’s also true that you are what you eat! And since I’m not 25 anymore, except in my head, it’s important to be proactive!
A few years ago, I was fortunate enough to get this healthy muffin recipe from a friend of mine and I’ve used it on a regular basis ever since! The basic recipe is very easy and the finished result is only limited by your own imagination or what ever you have in your cupboards. Since this is a whole food muffin, it’s perfect as a smaller in-between meal or as a snack when you go for a hike. If you add chocolate chips to the batter or serve it with ice-cream, it becomes a less unhealthy dessert or afternoon treat.
Healthy muffins…
The recipe:
200 g oatmeal
300 g low-fat vanilla curd (mager vaniljekesam)
2 eggs
0.5 dl vegetable oil (any type of healthy oil without a distinct flavor)
4 teaspoons baking powder
4 tablespoons brown sugar
Adjust the batter with whole wheat or other wholemeal of choice.
Add-ons to the recipe can be: Apple, cinnamon and nutmeg; Chocolate, cottage cheese and raisins; Frozen berries (blueberries,redcurrants, blackcurrants etc) and rapsberryjam; Etc…
Baketime: 20-25 minute / 200 degree celsius in the middle of the oven
Approx 8 large muffins
Wether you decide to bake muffins or not, enjoy your Monday and make sure you find your own stress relief 🙂
Did you know that there might be close to 3000 different types of chili peppers? According to this webpage, there are 25 varieties growing in the wild and between 2000 – 3000 varieties cultivated across the globe. I’m sure you’ve heard of the most common chilis, such as habanero, jalapeño, poblano and cayenne… A more complete list can be found here.
The fascinating thing about chilis, are the enormous varieties in which they come… I’ve always heard that size matters, meaning the smaller the chili the hotter it is! The heat of a chili is measured in SHU – Scoville Heat Unit – and the Carolina Reaper is currently holding the record for being the worlds hottest with as much as 2,200,000 SHU. In comparison, you’ll find the average jalapeño between 2,500 – 8000 SHU.
Homegrown chili – Hot Banana variety
Much like chilis, human beings are very different as well… We come in all shapes and forms, some have a hot appearance & others a hot temper. Skinny, heavy, tall, short with different sexual orientations and various racial origins. Born into poverty or richness, depending on where you’re from. Fortunate to be born into a peaceful and democratic country or growing up knowing nothing but war and tragedy! Regardless of these variations, every human being is born equal and should be treated as such!
It’s been said that 20 % of the worlds population consume 80% of it’s resources! In other words, the lifestyle we have in the industrialized countries exist solely because of the lack thereof in the third world countries. It comes down to people thinking better of themselves and in doing so, degrading others based on religion, race and geography. If you look at Africa, you’ll find that as little as two countries are considered never to have been colonised – these being Liberia and Ethiopia. The actions of our predecessors are haunting us today and continues to be a strong divider between us and them!
The big question is how to change it and make this world a better and more equal place to live? I believe that prejudice is something we learn from early on and this is supported in research.
“Social learning theory suggests that prejudice is learned in the same way other attitudes and values are learned, primarily through association, reinforcement and modeling.” Diane Maluso, Associate Professor of Psychology at Elmira College
This means that every human being also shares the responsibility of what they give to the world, first and foremost their children and others close to them. With this knowledge, we’re all accountable for whatever prejudice exist in our local community, country and ultimately the world.
So what type of chili are you? Maybe that’s the wrong question to ask since it appears that chilis, unlike us human beings, don’t have prejudice!! They just appear with the strength Mother Nature gave them…
Ordflom 