The single greatest thing you can do to change your life today would be to start being grateful for what you have right now. And the more grateful you are, the more you get. Oprah Winfrey

What are you grateful for?

When Oprah says the more grateful you are, the more you get, shes right. And that includes more healing to help you recover from burnout.

I know what youre thinking

Can practicing gratitude really help me get over being burned out?

Truth is: yes, it can.

The organization Workplace Strategies For Mental Health cites numerous cases of people whose burnout recovery has been supported by writing daily in a gratitude journal to help them refocus their mind on the positive aspects of their life.

And digging deeper into the research uncovers some undeniable facts. Lets take a look.

Two psychologists, Dr. Robert A. Emmons of the University of CaliforniaDavis, and Dr. Michael E. McCullough of the University of Miami, have done much of the research on gratitude. A number of years ago they published an article, Counting Blessings Versus Burdens: An Experimental Investigation of Gratitude and Subjective Well-Being in Daily Life, about an experiment they conducted on gratitude and its impact on well-being.

They followed several hundred people who were split into three groups and asked to keep daily diaries, as follows:

Group 1 note events that occurred during the day without being told specifically to write about either good or bad things;

Group 2 record their unpleasant experiences; and

Group 3 make a daily list of things for which they felt grateful.

Youll be astonished at the results.

Daily gratitude exercises resulted in higher reported levels of:

In addition, those in the gratitude group:

These are all characteristics that will help you recover from and prevent a recurrence of burnout. And for ongoing support, click here to join my online community to receive weekly tips and advice.

Several years ago, I found myself in full-blown burnout. I became so focused on trying to do too much that I stopped allotting time to my many feel-good practices, including feeling gratitude for all the blessings in my life. Then, when I was struggling with burnout, I felt frustrated: Why me? Why am I so tired? Why cant I do anything?

I couldnt muster gratitude for the burnout symptoms. All I could see were struggles and challenges. Blessings were nowhere to be found.

Does this sound familiar? You look at your life, and all you see is the negative.

Then, during one of my Somatic Experiencing practices, when I began to listen to my body, but this time with an intense desire to heal from burnout, I received a message that holding on to frustration was not going to support my healing. That message was a wake-up call for me.

Just then, a book on my inspirational bookshelf caught my eye. I hadnt looked at it in more than a decade, yet it called to me. The book is titled Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy, by Sarah Ban Breathnach.

As I read through the first several pages of the book, the January 13th essay header, Gratitude: Awakening the Heart, grabbed my attention. The phrase, The more I focused on lack and on what I couldnt have, the more depressed I became. The more depressed I became, the more I focused on lack, leapt out at me.

Can you can relate?

Id spent day after day horizontal, struggling with burnout, feeling ever more depressed while focusing on what I couldnt do. I was trapped in the cycle Sarah described.

Sarah went on to say, At that moment I acknowledged the deep longing in my heart. What I hungered for was an inner peace that the world could not take away I looked at my life with open eyes. I saw that I had much for which to be grateful. I felt humbled by my riches and regretted that I took for granted the abundance that already existed in my life. How could I expect more from the Universe when I didnt appreciate what I already had?

It was as though she was speaking directly to me. I, too, wanted that inner peace. But I had been taking for granted the abundance that was already in my life.

In short, I had forgotten to be grateful.

Writings by Christine Breese, DD, PhD, further confirm that a gratitude practice can help you with your emotional well-being. According to Dr. Breese, the practice of gratitude and appreciation is a powerful way to create a positive reality. Thats what I wanted to create! I was determined to create a positive reality for myself.

As part of my healing-from-burnout journey, I began counting my blessings and choosing to refocus on being grateful for what I had, instead of what I lacked. Each day I wrote down 3 to 10 things that I was grateful for in my journal. My discovery of research showing the benefits of a gratitude practice inspired me to be consistent with my attitude of gratitude. Although it was difficult for me at first, that mental state has grown stronger with use and practice.

Through a consistent practice of gratitude, I started experiencing a greater sense of well-being. I felt less depressed, less stressed, more aware and motivated, and increasingly optimistic. Upon reflection, I now see that by giving thanks, I was also receiving that which I was giving thanks for in even greater abundance.

If youre burned out, chances are you have a Type-A personality. Youre always on the go; forever busy. You dont slow down to actually receive. Yet there is something powerful about practicing gratitude, not as yet another item on your to-do list, but as an invitation to slow your pace and receive all the blessings in your life.

With gratitude, you acknowledge the goodness in your life. In the process, youll realize that the source of that goodness lies at least partially outside yourself. As a result, gratitude can help you connect more strongly to something larger than yourself your higher power.

As you acknowledge appreciation for what youre given, the Universe sees fit to give you more to be grateful for. Youll manifest more good things in your life. This has been true for me, and I have no doubt it can be true for you too. In fact, research shows that people who are more grateful are happier, more satisfied with their lives, and less likely to suffer from burnout.

Its so easy to get started with a gratitude practice

Whats 1 thing youre grateful for? Write it down and make this action a daily habit.

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A Gratitude Practice Can Help You Recover From Burnout - Thrive Global

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Fort Defiance's Ashton Dove tries to break free of a Stonewall Jackson defender.(Photo: Patrick Hite/The News Leader)

FORT DEFIANCE - Dan Rolfe had been saying it since August. He had a strange schedule to begin the season.

The Fort Defiance football coach wasn't thrilled to have an open week on the very first Friday of the VHSL football season. Then, when the Indians did take the field, they were on the road two straight weeks.

Fort split those games, losing a one-point heartbreaker to Liberty Bedford before beating Waynesboro.

And, finally, on Friday night, 20 days into September, Fort got to play at home. Only it came on a day when students were out of school. So Friday was anything but a typical game day.

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Maybe that showed early in Friday's game. A couple of minutesinto the second quarter, Fort was tied 6-6 with Stonewall Jackson, a team that had lost 40-straight games coming into Friday night andhad been outscored 100-8 in its first two games of the season. It wasn't supposed to be that close that late into the game.

"I think the day off school kind of slowed us down," said Fort Defiance senior Aaron Wright. "We weren't mentally prepared. We talked about mental toughness in the locker room. And in the second half we stuck to what we knew, played together and kind of just did business."

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Fort only led 14-6 at halftime after Austin Monroe found Addison Knicely for a 14-yard touchdown pass with five minutes left in the half. Dalton Ream got into the end zone for two points and an eight-point Fort lead.

The second half was all Fort Defiance though. Jeff East scored a pair of touchdowns on the ground, Monroe hit Ashton Dove for another score. Monroe, Knicely and East all added two-point conversions. Throw in a safety and you get a 40-6 Fort Defiance win.

More: Fort Defiance's Austin Monroe discusses Indians win Friday night

The message at halftime was "execute." Rolfe told the players that Stonewall didn't do one thing in the first half for which they hadn't prepared. They just needed to shake off the sluggishness and play the way they are capable of playing.

Early, two big pass plays got Stonewall on the scoreboard. One was along the sideline and put the Generals into Fort territory. The second was a touchdown.

"Truthfully, those were breakdowns in coverage," Rolfe said.

It's breakdowns like those that keep Fort Defiance from taking that next step on defense, from good to very good. It's also those breakdowns that can be costly.

"In a game that's close, for instance the Liberty Bedford game, those are the plays that dictate the outcome of the game," Rolfe said. "So we've got to make sure that we clean that up."

Fort will have to clean those up before next Friday when they're home against a very talented Rockbridge County team. Rockbridge beat Christiansburg 41-19 Friday to improve to 3-1.

Wright said the attitude of the players in the locker room is good, but they're not satisfied after two big wins.

"We want more," the senior said. "We want playoffs, we want to win next week. Big game. We just want more."

More: Stuarts Draft gets great team win over Clarke County

More: Staunton survives Turner Ashby in overtime thriller

More: Reality check for Buffalo Gap in home loss to East Rock

Follow Patrick on Twitter @Patrick_Hite

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Fort Defiance wants more after two big wins - Staunton News Leader

Newman's torrid offensive start continued Friday night as freshman Arch Manning threw five touchdowns in less than three quarters to lead the Greenies to a 38-14 homecoming victory over East Jefferson at Lupin Field.

We wanted to show teams that if you focus on the pass that we have other players who can bring the pain, said Newman running back Joseph Pleasant, who finished with 144 yards rushing on 17 carries. Our line has been working on getting better, and tonight we showed that we're a threat on all sides of the offense. Teams have to look out for us. When we're balanced, we're hard to beat. This is a big win that shows that we've gotten better.

Manning finished 18-of-26 passing for 230 yards and threw touchdowns to four different receivers. Homecoming king and senior wide receiver Jarmone Sutherland hauled in two touchdowns including a 44-yard strike while Beau Adams, Pike Philibert and John Charbonnet each caught one.

We wanted to run the football, and that opened up a lot of things for us, Newman coach Nelson Stewart said. Joseph Pleasant was great running the ball, and our defense was great. We got a good lead, and it gave us a chance to get our young guys out there. But the way we started running the football was huge because we were able to control the line of scrimmage.

Leading 24-0 at halftime, the Greenies (3-0) put the game away on the opening drive of the second half. Newman marched 60 yards in eight plays capped by a 5-yard touchdown pass to Adams. On the ensuing drive, Manning rolled out to find Philibert for a 2-yard touchdown. The 38-0 advantage ended the night for Newman's starters with two minutes left in the third quarter.

We approached this season with the attitude of playing fast and physical on defense, Newman defensive lineman Brandon Williams said. Tonight, we showed that. This game meant a lot to us. We wanted to stop them on every possession. We really wanted the goose egg, and our first team defense did that.

East Jefferson (0-3) avoided the shutout as Jermaine Guillard hauled in a 12-yard touchdown from Arthur Oliver with five minutes left in the game. The Warriors added another score at the buzzer as Isaiah Lee caught a 39-yard touchdown. Oliver finished 10-of-28 passing for 149 yards with an interception and a touchdown.

East Jefferson coach Frank Allelo said the Warriors, who were penalized 14 times for 108 yards, simply need to play smarter.

We tend to play pretty good for 24 minutes and not a full 48 minutes, Allelo said. We need to fix that. We have to limit our mistakes. Our mistakes are just complete mental breakdowns, and when it happens, it is usually followed by four other things. We need to learn how to regroup and overcome our own adversity. We've got some really talented kids. We just have to believe in ourselves.

The Greenies outgained East Jefferson 236 to 77 yards in the first half en route to a big halftime lead. After a 22-yard Will Hardie field goal for the games first points, it was an onsides kick that ignited the Newman offense.

After the recovery, Sutherland hauled in a 6-yard touchdown catch with less than two minutes left in the first quarter.

The offense continued as Manning threw touchdown passes of 44 yards to Sutherland and 11 yards to John Chabonnet to give the Greenies a commanding lead.

While Newman's offense rolled, the Warriors were haunted by mistakes and penalties (73 yards in the first half) that killed any momentum.

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Arch Manning passes for five TDs as balanced Newman Greenies top East Jefferson - NOLA.com

Getting back up after traumatic experiences knock you down is something that the Stoke Mentor, Wolfgang Wolf, has learned a lot about.

Since having a major stroke in 1990, Wolfgang has focused on helping others overcome trauma through mentoring, coaching and public speaking in New Zealand and internationally.

This month he is the guest speaker at the Rodney Aphasia Groups meeting in Silverdale. Aphasia, which most commonly results from a stroke, affects a persons ability to communicate speak, read or write, and the Rodney Aphasia Group provides support and information for people with the condition, and their caregivers.

Wolfgang says something he always emphasises in his talks with community groups is the importance of adapting to change.

He says his childhood, which included several years in a refugee camp in Germany, created the tenacity and resilience that he needed in bucket-loads while recovering from the stroke.

You learn once you fall down, to get up and keep going, he says. One of the biggest mistakes people make is wanting to go back to their old life. No one can, because once you have had a traumatic experience, such as a stroke, things are not the same.

He says developing a positive mental attitude is key, but acknowledges that is easier said than done.It took me a long time and in fact Im still working on it, he says. Talking with people and coaching others focuses on those positive things.

His work includes coaching couples where one partner has a disability.

Your whole relationship is affected, he says. Its critical to remain a partner and not fall into the trap of being mainly a caregiver. That is difficult, and part of the solution is trying to get professional help.People are used to helping someone who is disabled, which can lead to being over protective, or helicoptering. I dont like that I prefer to do what I can for myself, but not everyone is like that.

While he adjusted to life in a wheelchair, Wolfgang wrote the book Im not stupid, just disabled,completed a Bachelor of Social Practice, and a Diploma in Community Development. He also founded Computers Against Isolation, a charity that provides computers for people who live with disabilities, and travels widely giving talks.

The Silverdale talk will cover Wolfgangs achievements as a stroke survivor but the emphasis will be on his experiences as a disabled traveller.

It is open to the public and will be held on September 26, at Rotary House, 4 Hibiscus Coast Highway, Silverdale, 1.30pm. Anyone interested in attending should email Lisa rodneyaphasiagroup@gmail.com or phone 0210 527 258.

Further info: wolfgangwolfthestrokementor.weebly.com/ Wolfgangs book is out of print, but a version is available on Amazon/Kindle. Rodney Aphasia Group http://www.rodneyaphasiagroup.co.nz

The rest is here:
Stroke mentor highlights need to keep moving forward - newsie.co.nz

THE FASHIONISTA TURNED BROADCASTER HAS RISEN SWIFTLY IN THE UK, BUT AS A NEW MUM WHO HAS BEEN OPERATING AT FULL THROTTLE FOR A FEW YEARS, SHE IS TRYING TO SLOW DOWN

Its a Thursday afternoon and Angela Scanlon is on a flying visit to Dublin. The broadcaster is here to help launch Taste the Island, a new Filte Ireland initiative aimed at showcasing the best of Irelands food and drink culture to visitors. Without being prompted, she launches into a verbal appraisal of Irelands culinary scene, namechecking the likes of cafe chain Sprout and Emilies, a restaurant in Glenbeigh, Co Kerry.

In many ways, there is no better woman for the job. Over the years, Scanlon has established herself as something of an unofficial poster girl for all things Irish, fronting campaigns for quintessentially Irish brands like An Post and Kerrygold. Its a phenomenon that Scanlon describes as lovely but also weird and a bit mental.

Like many Irish people who move abroad, she says being away from Ireland has given her a renewed sense of Irishness. Its kind of embarrassing how I come home like, Wow, it really is green and the people really are friendly, she laughs.

Irish people have this sense that home is always home. No matter how long youve lived abroad you will always reference coming home as coming back to Ireland. I think that is quite a uniquely Irish thing. That sense of being fiercely protective over our Irishness. That idea our accents might soften and the shame of it.

Originally from Ratoath in Co Meath, Scanlon first made her name as a stylist and fashion journalist. She became a fixture on Irish television, appearing on the likes of Xpos and Off the Rails, as well as Channel 4s Sunday Brunch. Soon she was tipped as the Irish heir apparent to the British trendsetter Alexa Chung. Vogue dubbed her as one to watch for 2013, and wrote that she was known for her humour, directness and upbeat cheerfulness.That year, she presented Oi Ginger!, a light-hearted one-off documentary about growing up as a redhead in Ireland.

It was around this time that Scanlon made a conscious decision to move away from fashion and focus on her nascent broadcasting career. She landed a co-hosting gig on the RT/BBC Northern Ireland travel series Getaways, and fronted her own documentary series for RT called Angela Scanlon: Full Frontal.

In the meantime, her career in the UK began to take off. Scanlon upped sticks and moved to London in 2014. She caught the eye of the BBC and has since become one of its go-to presenters, landing plum hosting gigs on the likes of The One Show with Alex Jones and Matt Baker, and Robot Wars with Dara Briain. More recently, she has hosted a property makeover show called Your Home Made Perfect, as well as a weekly radio show on BBC Radio 2.

In other words, her rise has been swift.Facebook recently reminded her that it had been four years since she fronted BBCs coverage of the T in the Park festival in Scotland. It was her first ever live television gig. Im like, Wow is that only four years ago? she says. Because it feels like so long ago and in another way it feels like only yesterday, which is quite a cliched thing to say.

Scanlon attributes her success to a sort of relentless hustle on her part. When she arrived in London, she says she approached things with a kind of fearlessness and recklessness.

When you first start out, there is a sense that you have literally nothing to lose, she says. I was like, I dont know anybody in telly and I dont have a clue what Im doing, but I quite fancy that.

There was a real power in that that I only appreciated in hindsight. That ability to arrive at things and go, Maybe this is a good idea. Can I email the head of the BBC and say Im really kind of great, you should meet me in this way that youre not really supposed to do, apparently.

The momentum and enjoyment I got out of that hustle did make things happen quite quickly, and it felt that there was progression, for sure. But I also worked my proverbial balls off for a really long time.

Alongside the likes of Aisling Bea, Sharon Horgan and Nicola Coughlan, Scanlon is part of a cohort of Irish women who are killing it in British television right now. The broadcaster believes Irish women these days carry themselves with a sort of confidence and swagger that may not have been there previously. Irish women historically have not had the best of times, she says. There was a sadness and shame, and theres a real defiance now.

That sense of defiance was on display during last years campaign to repeal the Eighth Amendment. Such moments instil a sense of national pride, Scanlon, says, while also standing in stark contrast to what is currently happening in the UK.

Its bittersweet living in the UK right now, because in a way the exact opposite is happening over there, she says. There is a poignancy to us having these milestones and changing and using those moments to define a new era of Ireland.

After a few years of operating at full throttle, Scanlon is now trying to slow down a little bit.

That drive and ambition is useful in an industry that is pretty tough, but you also realise that theres not very much joy in that relentless pushing of yourself, she says. I am trying to get a little bit of balance back into my life.

Despite appearances to the contrary, Scanlon says things havent been all plain sailing for the last few years. What we dont see behind the highlights reel on Instagram are the cancelled shows and the dream gigs that got away. Recently, she has tried to be more open about this.

Theres a fear in talking about your failures because its like, Ooh maybe its contagious, she says. Maybe if you didnt get one thing someone will see and youll never get anything again. Theres a denial. Lets not talk about it. Lets pretend it never happened. Lets pretend everything is great.

She recalls one particular low point, right after she gave birth to her daughter last year.

A few days after I came back from the hospital, I got a call and was told that a show that I had worked on wasnt being recommissioned, she says. I dont know whether it was crazy hormones or the fact I had a new human and was quite unsure about what the hell to do . . . but I wept. It was honestly as if my whole world had fallen apart. It sounds so dramatic, but it was purely because, you know, youre a brand new mother.

I was already grappling with the idea of how my identity was going to change with being a mother, and being defined by that. Now suddenly I was unemployed. It was awful.

Obviously that was contrasted with being able to look down at this brand new human and gaining a bit of perspective. But it was moment to moment like, How am I going to provide for her? and Hang on, who gives a sh**? Ive just created a life and this show is not that important. Maybe thats the biggest change for me with motherhood, apart from scheduling. That sense of perspective.

Next up for Scanlon is a new podcast series called Thanksa Million. Each episode will see her interview a well-known personality about the moments that should have broken them, but ultimately taught them something new or sent them on a different course and for which they are ultimately grateful.

Scanlon, a proud consumer of all things woo-woo, is a big fan of gratitude. Ive done therapy, she says. Ive read every self-help book under the sun. Ive tried everything and gratitude, although it sounds so fluffy, is one of the things that Ive found is such a quick fix.

Basically, I write gratitude lists and I change from being negative and pessimistic into somebody that is actually quite badass. Its the thing that I consistently go back to.

I remember reading that you are the best teacher of the thing you need the most, she says. This podcast is essentially a free way for me to get therapy, and to learn a positive attitude from people.

Continue reading here:
Better balance: Angela Scanlon on the trade-off between work and motherhood - The Irish Times

Britain's Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, along with their infant son, Archie, are set to take their first official tour as a family, starting Monday in South Africa, whose president says women and children are "under siege" by violence. South Africa is still shaken by the rape and murder of a university student, carried out in a post office, that sparked protests by thousands of women tired of abuse and impunity in a country where more than 100 rapes are reported every day. This is "one of the most unsafe places in the world to be a woman," President Cyril Ramaphosa said Wednesday. Empowering women is one of the problems Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, will address on a 10-day, multicountry visit, along with wildlife protection, entrepreneurship, mental health and landmine clearance -- a topic given global attention by Harry's late mother, Princess Diana, when she walked through an active mine field during an Africa visit years ago. Some in South Africa said they are happy to see the arrival of Meghan, who has been vocal about women's rights and is likely to speak out again. The government has reported that more than 2,700 women were murdered last year as well as more than 1,000 children. It also reports that one in five women over age 18 has faced physical violence from a partner. Despite the recent unrest, the royal family likely will focus on the positive. Harry and Meghan also will visit the oldest mosque in South Africa and meet with Nobel Peace Prize winner and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. A "rare privilege and honor," Tutu and his wife, Leah, said Thursday.

Madeleine Albright said during a Missouri speech that democracy worldwide "appears to be in retreat." The 82-year-old former secretary of state who served during President Bill Clinton's administration spoke Thursday at Westminster College in Fulton, the site of Winston Churchill's famous "Iron Curtain" speech in 1946. Albright said the United States should engage with the world, not isolate itself, adding that President Donald Trump is helping to dismantle a world order embraced by presidents of both political parties since the end of World War II. "Because Missouri is the Show-Me State, I feel I must be blunt: Today we have a president who has become a source of comfort to anti-democratic forces across the globe, instead of rebutting and challenging them," Albright said to applause. Albright said current U.S. foreign policy echoes its post-World War I attitude, when many "embraced protectionism, downplayed the rise of fascism, opposed help to the victims of oppression and ultimately endangered our world's security."

A Section on 09/21/2019

Print Headline: Names and faces

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Names and faces - NWAOnline

Samm Coombs, Special to The Desert Sun Published 11:55 a.m. PT Sept. 20, 2019

Forget the world's problems, as the Coachella Valley has plenty of its own concerns to confront, writes Samm Coombs.(Photo: Illustration by Al Franco/The Desert Sun)

Lets for the moment forget about Californias problems, Americas problems and world problems.The Coachella Valley has enough of its own to keep us busy.

Heres a sampler of issues we face:

Our air quality:Seems the air that we breathe is among the worstin the U.S. One cause is fixable, the other is built-in to our geographyi.e., Los Angeles spews pollutants into our valley through the funnel provided by the San Gorgonio Pass. Prevailing winds add to our problem kicking up dust daily. A century of agricultural pesticides now being exposed by the dying Salton Sea already exacerbate the problem and promise to make it worse unless various governmental bodies bite the bullet to do something monumental, such as refill the sea with Gulf of California water.Dont hold your breath. (Actually, youll soon need to hold your breath to survive!) Every resident in the valley should raise a stink (pun intended) with county, state and federal authorities pointing out a multi-billion dollar fix today is infinitely cheaper than exponential economic losses as this crisis spirals.

Palm Springs future: The citys raison detreis (or was) its village-like atmosphere, a quality that's fast disappearing. Whatever quality you might assign to the current building boom, charming it is not! Theres no going back. What we have now is a commonplace urban environment in an uncommon setting. Sad.

Homelessness: This is a multi-faceted problem i.e., mental health, addiction, economic, etc. so there can be no sweeping cure-all. Current help seems to addresssymptoms more than causes. The good news: Sacramento has stepped up to the plate (in lieu of the county!) and provided $10 million in one-time homelessness funding to Palm Springs. We can thank Chad Mayes, R-Yucca Valley, for this largesse that will pay for much needed shelter and services.

CV Link: Two missing links make the original intent unattainable, thank you, Rancho Mirage and Indian Wells, for your not in my backyard attitude.

Police shootings: What with 11 police shootings in the valley by early August,one might see our constabulary as a bit trigger happy.While that might be unfair, the fact remains that Riverside County has among the highest per capita rates of police shootings in all of California. Some fatal shootings were no doubt justified, as when a suspect has a gun in hand. Others seem to be over-reactions i.e., were officers truly at immediate risk when a man with a kitchen knife is 15 feet from an officer took one step forward?There needs be more training to assure any shooting is the only recourse available. The recently enacted California Act to Save Lives is a giant stop in the right direction.

Residential vacation rentals: This is a city-by-city matter.I am not qualified to say how many is too many, although it would seem that point will soon be reached if it hasnt been already in Palm Springs.I believe neighbors should be the priority of residential neighborhoods, not short-term visitors.

Earthquake preparedness:The so-called big one is long overdue.As our valley sits astride the San Andreas Fault, we are apt to be the epicenter. With all exits inaccessible, survival depends on individual preparedness.Are you ready? Next week may be too late.

Samm Coombs(Photo: Courtesy)

Samm Coombs of Palm Desert is a retired adman, publisher and author. Email him at scoombs@dc.rr.com.

Read or Share this story: https://www.desertsun.com/story/opinion/contributors/valley-voice/2019/09/20/coachella-valley-neighbors-forget-worlds-woes-and-tackle-ours-valley-voice-samm-coombs/2387091001/

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Valley Voice: Coachella Valley neighbors, forget the world's woes. We have our own to fix - The Desert Sun

Rei Germar is one of those pretty, thin, young and rich girls we see a lot on Instagram. But we sat down with the 23-year-old, who has over 1 million subscribers on YouTube and over 700,000 on Instagram, and came out with a different impression.

As Rei tells it, she created a YouTubechannel because she likes talking to people about her day.

Im very passionate about sharing thingswhen I come home from school, Im so excited to tell my mom how my day went.Ive been watching YouTube since I was in high school and I loved IshaBorromeo, Kris Lumagui and Anna Cano. I thought I could have my own channel andshare with people my love for shopping, my love for makeup and, eventually,lifestyle and travel.

Reis journey from aspirant to YouTubesuperstar hasnt been difficult, she acknowledges. This gratefulness is onething I noticed about this girl. Im so used to seeing jaded 20-year-olds thatit is refreshing to see someone talk about what she does with passion.

I was actually overwhelmed that I alreadyhadif my memory serves me right100,000 followers after a year. I didntexpect it.

She sees YouTube as a platform for her toshare things about herself and inspire people. Of course, with the fame camethe haters and bashers. Once again, Reis attitude about this impressed me.

I realized that no matter what you do, theywill have something to say about you.At first I would reply, but Idont anymore. I realized that as long as I dont step on other people, walana, dedma na [I dont mind it]. Mental health is veryimportant. I dont think I could keep on doing this if I wasnt in the rightmindset. I need to protect my mental health.

Rei doesnt mind attacks on her physicalappearance, or on her being privileged (example: All you do is shop). Whatshe objects to is when people assume things about her and put words into hermouth. One of the things Rei loves about being a content creator and onlinepersonality is being able to connect with people.

Its being actually able to inspire people.In the beginning, messages like You inspire me didnt really affect me. Itwas when I started knowing their stories and getting messages that they wantedto give up but watching my videos made them feel like they could go on. Thiswas what made me realize that I had a purpose. Thats when I started beingvocal about my advocacies. I want them to fall in love with themselves. I knowthat it is not easy but I am hoping that in my own way, I can help.

We talked to Rei during a shoot for Pandoraslatest campaign, for which she is one of the muses. There is a pink wallemblazoned with the question What Do You Love?

The centerpiece of the campaign is thePandora O pendant, which takes on charms just like the bracelet did, but can beworn in a variety of different ways. Pandora is banking on muses like Rei tointroduce the brand to new kinds of customers.

Rei wears her O pendant with three charmsthat include a leaf, which to her represents a family tree.

Im very close to my family. When I am withthem, I try not to be on social media because theyre really not into it, saidRei, who is the third of four siblings.

The other muses of the campaign are Bettina Jose, Janina Manipol, Christiana Collings, Kaila Estrada, Jess Connelly, Valerie Chua, DJ Kat, Issa Pressman, Janeena Chan, Aryanna Epperson and Gabs Gibbs.

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Rei Germar on being herself and what she loves - Dinna Chan Vasquez - Business Mirror

At Lutz Elementary School in Fremont, Ohio, principal William Krumnow took to the public address system to deliver an important message. It was April 1990, late in the school year, but Krumnows announcement couldnt wait. Over the intercom, he declared there would be a ban on T-shirts featuring Bart Simpson, the rebellious breakout star of The Simpsons.

Specifically, Krumnow was concerned with a shirt that featured Bart aiming a slingshot with the word underachiever emblazoned in quotes above him. And proud of it, man! Bart said. This, Krumnow felt, was an unnecessary bit of subversion in a place of learning.

"To be proud of being an incompetent is a contraction of what we stand for," Krumnow told Deseret News in May of that year. "We strive for excellence and to instill good values in kids the show teaches the wrong things to students."

Krumnow was not alone. School district administrators in Florida, California, Michigan, Illinois, and Washington, D.C. were cracking down on the surge in Bart shirts, fearing his status as a miscreant would be the wrong kind of role model for kids to emulate.

The apparel ban was a result of the success of The Simpsons, which had premiered months earlier on December 17, 1989 and featured a dysfunctional nuclear family consisting of Homer and Marge Simpson and their children, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. It was an immediate hit for the fledging Fox network and led to a number of merchandising deals.

While the entire cast of the show was marketable, it was 10-year-old Bart who became the licensing phenomenon. An estimated 15 million Bart shirts were sold in 1990 alone, and there was no mystery as to why the character appealed to kids: He loved skateboarding. He hated school. He was a mirror image of millions of students across America. But unlike many of those students, Bart refused to censor himself, wielding a sharp tongue to match his spiky hair.

Eat my shorts, read one of the shirts. Im Bart Simpson, who the hell are you? asked another.

While some of the shirts, which were priced from $11 to $14, werent as inflammatoryBart urging Dont have a cow, man was the top-sellerthe more incendiary designs were what upset school officials. The language was inconsistent with what school districts considered to be appropriate attire, and several dug deep to justify prohibiting students from wearing them. They cited concerns that other students might find the words objectionable or offensive and believed Bart's rogue attitude was incompatible with a respectful environment.

At Memorial Junior High School in Lansing, Michigan, principal James Shrader got on the intercom to inform students the shirts would not be allowed. At Burnham Elementary in Burnham, Illinois, district superintendentor, as Ralph Wiggum might say, district Super NintendoAl Vega was pleased no students had even attempted to wear the shirts.

Hopefully its because parents feel the same way I do, Vega said. Why would parents allow kids to wear those to school? I, as a parent, am not going to let my kid wear that to school.

Not all parents were on board with the ban. Orange, California's Jeannette Manning told People she was considering buying a shirt for her son on principle. Another mother, Maira Romero, couldn't understand why her 11-year-old son Alex was being reprimanded for wearing the shirt. "Id much rather have him wearing a Bart Simpson [shirt] than one of those rock and roll T-shirts with the skull and crossbones on it, Romero said.

Child development experts werent so sure, either. Some pointed out that when something is labeled off-limits, it becomes more attractive to teens who are prone to rebellion. Ignoring it and dismissing it as a fad was a better option, some said. At Wells High School in Chicago, principal David Peterson dismissed the idea the shirts had any kind of negative influence.

Its like a kid saying, I hate school, he said. Am I going to suspend him for that? I dont think so.

Students caught wearing the Bart shirts faced a variety of repercussions. At Brookwood Junior High in Glenwood, Illinois, teachers ordered students wearing the shirts to call their parents and have them bring a change of clothing. Other schools forced kids to turn the shirts inside-out. Some had teachers cover the offending words with tape. The controversy grew so widespread that by the summer of 1990, retail chain JCPenney decided to take the underachiever shirts off shelves in kids sizes. What some had dubbed the Bartlash had reached new heights.

Matt Groening, the creator of The Simpsons, thought the shirt prohibition was silly. I have no comment, he said when asked about the backlash. My folks taught me to respect elementary school principals, even the ones who have nothing better to do than tell kids what to wear. But Groening couldnt resist pointing out that the word underachiever appeared on the shirt in quotes, indicating that it was his (fictional) school officials who had given him that label. Bart was simply playing the hand he had been dealt.

He didnt call himself an underachiever, Groening said. He does not aspire to be an underachiever. If youll recall, this last season, Bart did save France. (In The Crepes of Wrath, which aired in April 1990, Bart is sent to France as a foreign exchange student and exposes his two winemaking hosts who spike their product with antifreeze. He learns French in the process.)

While The Simpsons has gone on to broadcast another 30 seasons of television (and counting), observers who considered the shirts to be fads were correct. The furor quickly died down and kids found new iconography to wear. By June 1991, Simpsons shirts had been discarded in exchange for the cast of Foxs other hit series, the sketch comedy In Living Color. (Homey the Clown was a bestseller.)

Today, you can find vintage Bart shirts on eBay or online clothing shops like The Captain's Vintage, which offers a classic Bart "Who the hell are you?" shirt in white for $89.99.

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The One Where Jennifer Aniston's 'Rachel' Haircut on Friends Became a Phenomenon - Mental Floss

I was a college freshman when Herbert Benson published Relaxation Response, a mass-market book that swept across the country, initiating millions to the basic principles of transcendental meditation. A lonely, stressed-out young man, 2000 miles away from home, I took refuge in the space that Bensons book opened up in me. I would go deep within for an hour every day, sometimes two, to escape from the challenges of a high-stakes, high-pressure academic life.

After college I desperately wanted to complete my escape from reality and live in a newly established ashram in Pune, India, led by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (later Osho), whose spiritual teachings and open attitudes to human sexuality spoke to my heart. Bhagwan was all the rage in the seventies, no doubt in part for his willingness to go toe-to-toe with religious and political authorities. He spoke to the rebellious young man in me. As it turned out later, his organization became a cult. Im grateful that I dodged that bullet.

The desire to be on a path of purpose and meaning continued to burn deep inside me, however. As I continued my meditation practice, strange disassociations occurred. I heard voices, whispers of the universe. I watched the world from an elevated place. I flew in my dreams. I thought I was losing my mind.

I prayed for these experiences to stop, but they did not. Instead, they intensified. Finally, no longer able to function like a normal person in the real world, I asked for forgiveness for not being able to take the next step into whatever awakening was occurring.

I became an advertising exec in New York, then eventually a husband and father, and confined the deepening of my spiritual practice to the Episcopal traditions that I had known since childhood.

Thirty years later, because I would not go to India, India came to me in a series of bizarre events. First, I got my fat, toxic, road-warrior ass into yoga and other forms of exercise. Down twenty, I got naked, resumed my meditation practice, and really opened up. It was then that the universe really got to work.

To help me on my journey, a series of spiritual advisors showed up. A pre-cognitive psychotherapist, who used to train TM trainers in Switzerland. A demanding, but loving female guide (who is also a world-class tri-athlete). A former Ogilvy exec expert in the research on the mind-body-heart connection. An inter-spiritual mystic traveling the world, and close friend of Ram Dass, dropped into my life. A beloved Episcopal monk welcomed me into silence and solitude. WTF?

The pinnacle of the succession of these spiritual peaks occurred in the Carmel Highlands where I found myself on retreat with an Indian mystic from Arunachala who had relocated to the US and was convening a group of gurus and some laypeople. I felt like Forrest Gump in the presence of the fifteen others. At his feet, the infinite blank flat screen of the eternal present opened up and forever changed my life, blowing apart my mind, body, and soul. After the smoke cleared, it became apparent that a cycle of great duration had been completed.

Having wandered through a great many spiritual practices over the decades, heres what I learned that might be useful.

There is a Great Awakening going on now in our country. People of all ages are throwing themselves into a smorgasbord of spiritual disciplines, creating an exotic, intoxicating fusion of practice in search of meaning. An inter-spiritual approach is fine, but its hard to execute, and in my opinion, it must be grounded in a single practice that requires a serious ongoing commitment, at least in the beginning, with an advisor or a community to help guide you.

Otherwise, I can tell you that you will wake up someday to discover that you have spent an enormous amount of time engaged in spiritual self-deception, blissing out. It feels good, but there is no real connection or union with the divine.

Secondly, I personally believe that the world needs us to engage not retreat from it, and thats what this Great Awakening is all about. While regular detachment from the world by going on retreat is essential in order to maintain a space where consciousness can unfold, the world needs us to remain present and engaged in it, using our hearts, minds, and bodies to lift up others.

Third, the real challenge begins when you come back from a retreat. Opening a space for daily renewal and spiritual growth is a tall order in our busy, distracted, over-committed lives. I believe that it is especially problematic for men. We are not hard-wired to remain open so that Spirit can descend and take root. We are much better at taking action, making shit happen. In addition, millennia of traditions regarding what it means to be a spiritual male are no longer serving us well. They need to be reimagined, incorporating the sacred feminine.

However, heres the opportunity that is being offered to us as men. When we finally get naked, surrender, become vulnerable, opening up an interior space where the universe comes shining through, we come fully into our gifts. Our lives begin to have meaning.

We become brave, strong, bold, and creative in ways that we would have never imagined. We finally reveal who we truly are, and engage with the world to the great benefit of others.

In short, we become Everyday Mystics, the embodiment of the sacred feminine and divine masculine, at one with the universe and those around us.

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Everyday Mystics - The Good Men Project