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Being Still Along the Terry Trueblood Trail
The other day I was out for a walk along the Terry Trueblood Trail. It was sunny, a little warm but not blistering hot. I saw a few interesting things. This was almost like an awe walk. I saw a couple of chalk written messages on the walk. One of them was “Enjoy the Ride”…
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Mental Health Affirmations for May 6, 2026
Today is May 6, 2026 and the Mental Health Awareness affirmation for today (from the Mental Health Awareness calendar) is about Affirmations: “Affirmations can improve people’s overall well-being, help them feel better about themselves, and reduce anxiety. Pick a supportive phrase and repeat it today.” I picked one from the list of suggested affirmations: “I…
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What Questions Should We Ask on MLK Day?
I ran across this quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in my notes: “Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable… Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.” ― Martin Luther King Jr. This week we’ll be getting the two biographies of…
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Glue Myself to My Biography
There’s a reason for why I so often tell Dad jokes. In keeping with my post from yesterday about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s biographies: I glued myself to my autobiography. You may not believe it, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. We’ve ordered a couple of biographies about Dr. King. One…
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Working on a Simple Plan to Stay Fit?
I saw a couple of web resources about staying healthy and fit that seem to make sense to me. One of them was actually a YouTube video by a personal trainer advising people to stop doing certain kinds of workouts that could be unhealthy. He recommended avoiding certain kinds of weight lifting exercises, especially for…
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Sit and Rise Exercise Related to Longevity?
I just read a few news articles and saw a couple of videos on something called the sit and rise or sitting rising exercise. It’s not the same as the sit to stand exercise, which is how many times you stand up from a chair without falling down after drinking several beers. The sit and…
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Three Photos to Share for Mental Health Awareness Month
So, I have to hurry up and get these 3 photos posted for today because it’s getting pretty late. Recall the Iowa Healthiest State Initiative calendar along with my photos to share: The images are important features of events in my life or my sense of humor. I’m a birdwatcher and many different species of…
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Juggling Concentration Meditation
I haven’t done a juggling YouTube video in a while, and lucky you I made one. When the daily news gripes me or gets me down, juggling forces me to concentrate on just that—juggling. If I break my concentration for any reason, I literally drop the ball. I’m limited a little in our new house…
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Thoughts as Train Cars Visualization in Mindfulness Meditation
The Iowa Interstate Railroad train rumbles past our hotel a few times a day and it reminds me of the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course I took 10 years ago. One of the exercises the instructor mentioned was the train visualization mindfulness exercise. I don’t know if I remember what our instructor actually said…

