Circus Animal Abuse

     As an animal activist and pet lover I am inspired by the ever expanding popularity of animal-free circuses.  Our present intoxication with  computer generated images of animals performing incredible feats is  relatively innocuous compared to the subjugation of animals in performing acts that are unnatural to them solely for our pleasure.  a good example are tigers forced to jump through fir hoops even though tigers naturally fear fire. Is it not possible to dazzle human beings without exposing animals to a life of tortuous enslavement in the circus?
      It has been reported that more than 17 European countries, nine Central and South American countries, all of India, Singapore, Taiwan, and Israel, have banned the use of some/or all wild animals from performing in circuses.  In the United States, more than 50 local governments have imposed restrictions on the use of pain in animal training.  Hardly enough!
      America needs to  arrest such cruel practices like the use of  electrocution prods,  piercing implements, shackles, whips, bullhooks and/or employ the custom of imprisoning animals in darkened rooms endlessly,  as well as similar "techniques",  to break their will.  Do you know that less than 100 U.S. Department of Agriculture Inspectors are assigned to monitor the 12,000 circus-related facilities in America?  Sadly, much of a circus animals life is spent in a cage during transport.  It is unconscionable to permit individuals to earn a living  by abusing animals. They do have a voice. We should speak for them but we refrain.  They do cry but many of us choose to ignore the plight of the innocents.  An honorable citizenry can challenge the above mentioned  pernicious practices by refusing to patronize  circuses using animal performers. Our attendance condones innumerable heinous  behaviors and  creates a  demand for more of the same abuse.
     Although it may be argued that some trainers treat their animals better than some pet owners,  the animals themselves have not chosen the life of servitude to which  they may have become accustomed.   We need to mobilize our elected officials so they become aware of our desires.   Animal shelters have reported  the ill effects suffered by  animal residents  who were rescued after surviving lives "on the road'.     Apathy will enable this affliction to endure .  To do nothing is a choice.  It promotes status quo.   We  are  compelled  to do everything in our power to commit  to the end of animal injustice.  Too many innocent souls have  sacrificed their short lives for the sake of an  archaic form of amusement.    Certainly the success of all-human circuses like Cirque de Soleil proves that the use of animal performers is totally unnecessary.  I will leave you with something  to ponder.  Every major circus in some way has violated the Animal Welfare Act in the United States.  The abuses perpetrated are too numerous to be covered in this blog!
     Enjoy the circus?  The animals don't!

Bottom Line:  How can we be happy with ourselves  if we  tolerate the suffering of innocent animals  for the sake of our amusement?

Anger Management

     What do you do when whatever you have chosen  doesn't work out the way you planned? What happens when you express your needs and you are rejected? You can curse the heavens or sit on the pity pot but nothing will be resolved and you won't feel one bit better.  Isn't that the goal?  To feel better?  Unresolved anger can give rise to depression and to other negative affects. Below are some  strategies you might employ to manage your anger.

• Absent yourself from  toxic individuals manufacturing all the drama. Remove the cause and the effect will dissipate.   If you stay with negative people it over shadows the positives in your life.  Seek out the company of those who are pleasant, kind and thoughtful.  
• Suppress your frustration  and redirect your energies in the pursuit of those activities that bring you joy and inner peace. Stop thinking about your anger. Long walks, reading a book, listening to music, following a hobby, chatting with a friend are examples of behaviors that can serve  to make you feel better.  It will help you to calm down and lead to rational thinking.
• Simple relaxation tools like deep"gut" breathing while repeating a calm word or phrase or employing some slow less intense yoga stretches may help.  Meditation and yoga have seen me through some dark times.
• Change your thinking and you can change your life.  "The world is out to get you" is an example of an irrational thought.  Recognize overly dramatic thinking as an obstacle and redirect your thoughts to more rational ones like reminding yourself that its normal to feel frustrated, disappointed and hurt when you don't get what you want.  
• Accept that there may not always be a solution to your problem so direct your energies into facing the problem. Make a plan to deal with a situation you can not change.  Do whatever will not stir up your anger. Sometimes stepping back for a time and having some distance is helpful.  Progress may be slow but logic will eventually prevail.  Give time time.

     The way you choose to handle your anger will vary in each situation but the end result should lead to a logical way of dealing with your problem.  Mahatma Gandhi once compared holding on to anger  as similar to holding onto a hot piece of coal. It serves no purpose other than to burn you.  Human beings make mistakes.  Some will let you down but  others who  lift you up. Some will be out of control.  Just move on for you own sake.  Anger is necessary and there will always be events and/or people that trigger it.  You can not  eliminate pain, frustration and loss but you can change how you let anger affect you.

     Life is too short to waste time and energy on unproductive activities.  Obsession robs you of happy moments.  Pick yourself up and move forward with like minded souls.  Forgive where and when  necessity for your own sake and allow yourself to evolve and become a better person.  Change your mind and you change your life.

Bottom Line: "The best fighter is never angry" ~ Lao Tzu

Finding Yourself At The Movies: One Step At A Time

     There are those who attribute their  shortcomings to the past which serves to entangle the believer in a quagmire of inactivity giving birth to depression.   In this instance,  there is little to be gained from analyzing  the past.  I recently saw the movie "Wild" that reminded me of the futility of extreme soul searching.  This flick is based on a book penned by Cheryl Strayed (not her birth name)  about her  internal as well as external voyage.  In this tragic tale, she takes a 1,100 miles hike across  the Pacific Crest Trail  along mountain ranges of the Mojave Desert into Washington State. Her humongous back back weighs her down and represents her past mistakes and hardships.  She carries it everywhere  immersing herself in intense pain symbolized by the body bruises they inflict. Initially, her purpose is  penance for sins  committed as a consequence of past hardships and to honor her mother who was a naturalist and an expert on the PCT. Eventually she learns that everything in her life has had a purpose or maybe not.  She learns to giver up he obsession with the past  and get on with her life.
     Cheryl, played by Reese Witherspoon,  is no super hero with any special skills.  She represents anyone whose screwed up badly and lost their internal compass.     We share her  past perceptions and her journey.  We learn about her resourceful mom Bobbi, played by Laura Dern, who left her physically abusive husband. Bobbi supports herself and her two children on a meager salary and food stamps and then dies from cancer  two months shy of earning her college diploma.  Shortly afterwards, our  protagonist begins a four year decent into heroine abuse and numerous extramarital affairs resulting in divorce and chronic depression. All background information is provided to us by the use of flashbacks which are Cheryl's remembrances.   Cheryl's inner spirit is so low she has nowhere to travel but up and so her introspection proceeds one painful step at a time.  After a lengthly examination of the past she then fast forwards those  thoughts and revelations  to bring herself to the present moment.

     "Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment."- Buddha

        At the risk of redundancy,    there is very little benefit  analyzing  the past.We need to perceive who we truly are one step at a time without putting obstacles in our path. You can not un-ring the bell.   Hopefully, your survival made you stronger, wiser, resourceful. resilient  to withstand the challenges in life.  Let go of your preconceptions,  of comparisons with others, and have the fortitude to fight for the life you want!  You have been presented with a unique opportunity to live ever mindful of who you really are to yourself.  No longer judge yourself harshly and  forgive your shortcomings.  Heal and look forward eagerly to the infinite possibilities in your life.  
     The Dalai Lama said,  There are two days in the year that nothing can be done.  One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow, so today is the right day to love, believe, do and mostly live."

Bottom Line:  Celebrate the life you have and not the one you lost.  Live in the present.

    

Happiness Is

     Happiness can be elusive yet everyone continues to search for it.  The journey is idiosyncratic and never ending and the methods by which we hope to attain it are infinite. Here are some thoughts to ponder from those fellow travelers who consider happiness in various ways:

• Sweetness, in whatever form, helps to make challenging times bearable.
• I don't drown my sorrows, I suffocate them in chocolate.
• Coffee keeps me busy until it's acceptable to drink the hard stuff. 
• Life is short.  Buy the shoes.

   In line with some of the above thinking,  I would like to provide you with one of the ways I seek a little bliss.  Some favorite recipes serve me well  when life challenges every fiber of my being and I need to take a time out.  How about something that satisfies a sweet tooth?    Happiness is a state of mind, so change you mind and indulge in  guilt-free goodies that have some redeeming value.  I try to add something healthy to a decadent snack.    Below are two samples of my "time out goodies".  The first is a simple blueberry jam but you can substitute whatever berries you like should you care to improvise.

             

                                         Raw Blueberry Jam

                                          4 cups blueberries

                                          2 tablespoons raw honey

                                          2 teaspoons chia seeds

                                        

Soak chia seeds in 4 teaspoons of water for 10 minutes.  They will begin to gel in the water and provide a thicker consistency for the jam.  Blend all ingredients and refrigerate for at least an hour or more then enjoy on some really good artisan bread or whatever you heart desires.  I love it on Quinoa pancakes with a few dark chocolate chips!

     My second recipe takes a little bit more time and some effort but totally worth it.It is a chocolate brownie made with black beans but you'll never know they're there--seriously!  The upside is they are very satisfying, the downsides are the  baking times and the thickness of the batter.  The solution are: 

 Make them while streaming your fav movie, series or exercise class ;-)

Use a heavy duty food processor to mix the ingredients really well.

 Canned beans are softer and easier to blend than fresh but the choice is yours.

                                              Clean & Fudgy Brownies

                                              2 cans of black beans

                                              1 1/4 cup pitted dates

                                              2 teaspoons raw almond butter

                                              1 teaspoon vanilla extract

                                              1/2 cup organic cocoa powder

                                              1 teaspoon ground chia seeds

                                   

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees.  Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Start with one ingredient at a time and process each until smooth.  Most ingredients are very dense. Use a well oiled 8"x8" pan.  Bake for 90 minutes and you will be rewarded. I sometimes use parchment paper which makes removal from the pan a bit easier.

Bottom Line:  Never say diet! Improvise your way to health and happiness in a tasteful way!

Quick And Free

     Within each of us is the power to be well and stay well.  A friend once told me a story about a farmer who lived on a somewhat profitable farm with his family.  His farm was equipped with a stream, cows, wheat, chickens and so on somewhere in the world.  Sadly, this wasn't good enough so he left his family and exchanged his farm for a diamond mine which proved to be worthless.  Years later, penniless, he visited the home of the farmer who purchased his farm and discovered the largest diamond he had ever seen on his mantle.  When questioned,  the farmer declared  he had found this diamond and many others  on the farm.
      Like the farmer, many of us don't realize the diamond mine within us.  We have the potential to be creative, joyful, productive and healthy.  We  can make a difference in ourselves and  in the world if only we believe.  It might be tough going initially but the rewards are infinite when look within  to evolve toward a higher state of being in both mind, body and spirit. So why do we look elsewhere like that pathetic farmer?
     Pharmaceutical companies and drugs dealers have set us on the wrong path.  They arouse our belief in great expectations that they can never fulfill. These are the  obstacles that prevent us from realizing  our inner  strengths.  Substance providers are doing well at our expense. They  have had the most profitable businesses during the last millennium.  Their business plan relies upon our desire for a quick fix to feel better and/or  be happy rather than exert the effort or time needed to get or stay well.  We have yet to disappoint them.
      Ads that promote anything that is "quick and free" is analogous to the flame and the moth.  Our rational mind should tell us  if something seems too good to be true it most definitely is. There is no free lunch.  There is a price to pay and many do pay dearly.   Drugs, both legal or not, are dangerous.  Putting the medical profession on a pedestal is unrealistic. You have only research the side-effects of most pharmaceuticals to realize that you are placing yourself in harms way.  Drug profits soar as we fail to thrive.
     If you have the ability to make yourself well and stay well why would you trust an economic vampire to drain you of your physical and financial well-being?   Each of us have diamonds in our own backyard.  Dig deep and take the time to gather them.   Your  self esteem and your quality of life will sparkle.  How can you settle for less?

Something Fishy

     I love salmon  but it is so fishy smelling and I hate the clean up but it is a treasure trove of tantalizingly healthful ingredients.  Salmon is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, thiamine, niacin, vitamin B6, phosphorous, vitamin B12, selenium, choline, pantothenic acid, biotin and an excellent source of protein.  The estimated Glycemic Load is zero as compared to the daily allowance which is 100/day. Salmon contains 0% Carbs,  54% Fats and 46% Protein.  Since it is sooooo very healthy I wanted to find  a way out of this odoriferous dilemma  ...... TODAHH!  Enter aluminum foil!
    

Side Note:  I only buy wild caught salmon, never farm raised, for reasons you can check out in my previous post "Supermarket Sweepstakes".  I recently discovered during my research that sockeye salmon are also wild.  It seems that because of their mating routine they can not be farm raised.  This is good to know!

      Below is my recipe for foil-proof salmon, pardon the pun!  Prep time is minimal, maybe 10 minutes, and clean up is a painless and swift and hence, less smelly. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  This recipe makes 4 servings.

                              

                                             Asian Foiled Wrapped Salmon

                                        2 lbs. sockeye or wild caught salmon

                                        1/4 cup raw honey

                                        3 cloves organic garlic

                                        2 tablespoons Liquid Aminos (natural soy sauce alternative)

                                        1 tablespoon rice vinegar

                                        1 tablespoon grated ginger

                                        Black pepper to taste

                                        Chinese Five Spice to taste

                                        1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds

Marinate the salmon for 1 hour to make it more flavorful.  Wrap the salmon with all ingredients and enclose on all sides in foil making a packet.   I would add an extra piece of foil on the baking sheet in case of leaks.  Place the foil packet on a baking sheet lined with foil in a preheated oven at 375 degrees and cook for 20-25 minutes, depending on the thickness. Open the foil packet with caution.  Really hot steam will surge out and can burn you, so take care.  The fish will be flavorful and moist. I like to pair this salmon with quinoa and stir-fried veggies.  Enjoy!