“Crash” and life
Oct 31, 2008 Movies, Thoughts, me
I recently watched the movie “Crash”, and it totally solidified something that has been on my heart for a while now.
You see, each one of us has such a complex life, full of joys and struggles. And for each of us, these things that make up our lives are so big to us. One thing I think we often forget is that each person we see, even if just in passing, has a world of joys and struggles as well.
Watching this movie brought another angle into the equation. You see, even though we all have such big, life-sized thing going on all the time, we are also such an integral part of each others lives. I think a lot of times, we don’t even know it.
In the movie, you see several different characters dealing with all kinds of crap that life brings you. They all end up interacting with each other, and that plays a big role in how life turns out for each of them.
Take me for example. I have finally decided to improve my health all because I read someone’s blog a few months ago and it inspired me to do so. Carlos will probably never know that he helped save a life, but he did. His actions have changed the outcome of my life, and who knows, maybe I have inspired some else.
I know this post is all over the place, but hopefully you kind of get what I’m saying. As consuming as life can be for each of us, we are all so much more connected and have influence than we usually think.
Make sense?
Random trip to Underground Atlanta
Sep 3, 2008 Grab Bag
One great thing about being a single dude with almost no responsibilities on the weekend is that I can randomly decide to do pretty much whatever I want (within reason, of course).
For example, this past Saturday I decided I would take Marta (Atlanta’s mass-transit system) down to Underground Atlanta.
Underground Atlanta is a cool little place downtown with a bunch of street vendor-type shops set up, restaurants, clubs, and other kinds of entertainment. It is a pretty cool atmosphere. Anyways, I hadn’t been in a long time, so I hopped on the train, went down, walked around for 30 minutes or so, and then came home. Some things that were worth mentioning about the trip (in no particular order):
1. First of all, here is a shot from inside Underground:
2. Also, like I said, there were some street vendors:
3. At one of the train stops, this guy just stood by the door and stared in. It was a little creepy.
4. There was a cowboy with a mountain bike that got on at one point. Awesome!
Anyways, I know this is a random post, but I thought it was worth sharing. O, the single life!
30 Ways to Reduce Your Risk of Heart Disease and Stroke
Jul 23, 2008 Health
Heart disease is something that unfortunately runs in my family. Until recently, I really never thought about the implications of what that means. If you have been reading this blog for the last few weeks, then you know that getting healthy has become a priority of mine.
There are always the obvious ways of getting healthy and reducing the risk of the above-mentioned items. Eating right, exercise… that’s pretty standard. Well, here are several other ways to take preventative measures against health-related disease. For example:
2. Eat a piece of dark chocolate several times a week. Believe it or not, several small studies suggest dark chocolate could be good for your heart! The beneficial effects are likely due to chemicals in chocolate called flavonoids, which help arteries stay flexible. Other properties of the sweet stuff seem to make arteries less likely to clot and prevent the “bad” cholesterol, LDL, from oxidizing, making it less likely to form plaque. Dark chocolate is also rich in magnesium and fiber. But steer clear of milk chocolate, which is high in butterfat and thus tends to raise cholesterol.
5. Tape-record yourself at night. If you hear yourself snoring (or if your sleeping partner has been kicking you a lot), make an appointment with your doctor. You may have sleep apnea, a condition in which your breathing stops hundreds of times throughout the night. It can lead to high blood pressure and other medical problems, and even increase your risk for heart attack and stroke.
6. Go to bed an hour earlier tonight. A Harvard study of 70,000 women found that those who got less than seven hours of sleep had a slightly higher risk of heart disease. Researchers suspect lack of sleep increases stress hormones, raises blood pressure, and affects blood sugar levels. Keep your overall sleeping time to no more than nine hours, however. The same study found women sleeping nine or more hours had a slightly increased risk of heart disease.
Several other (27, in fact) ways are listed, and all of them seem easy enough. The point they make in the article is that these are small changes, but if implemented in your life, they can help you avoid these life-threatening diseases.
Tags: death, Health, heart disease, life, stroke
If you love someone, let them know today
May 22, 2008 Current Events, Music
Last night, some tragic news came across my Twitter feed. 5-year old daughter of singer Steven Curtis Chapman passed away after being struck by a vehicle in the family’s driveway. I won’t go into any more detail, but you can read about it here.
The thing to remember in this situation is that life is so fragile and unexpected. In a split second, someone that is very close to you can be taken from you so unexpectedly. My heart goes out to the Chapman family because they have lost their little girl. Sure, they’ll see her again one day, but until then, it’s going to be pretty hard for them.
So please, if you love someone, let them know today. In the event that there isn’t a tomorrow, you will be glad you did.
And please be in prayer for the Chapman family!
Tags: life, steven curtis chapman
