Top Five Regrets

I just received this email, and, against my 'time is money' nature, I actually read it. I am really glad I did.

"Food for thought……..

Top Five Regrets By Bronnie Ware

For many years I worked in palliative care. My patients were those who had gone home to die. Some incredibly special times were shared. I was with them for the last three to twelve weeks of their lives.
People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality. I learned never to underestimate someone's capacity for growth. Some changes were phenomenal. Each experienced a variety of emotions, as expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually acceptance. Every single patient found their peace before they departed though, every one of them.
When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the most common five:

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me
This was the most common regret of all. When people realize that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people have had not honored even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.
It is very important to try and honor at least some of your dreams along the way. From the moment that you lose your health, it is too late. Health brings a freedom very few realize, until they no longer have it.

2. I wish I didn't work so hard
This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children's youth and their partner's companionship. Women also spoke of this regret. But as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.
By simplifying your lifestyle and making conscious choices along the way, it is possible to not need the income that you think you do. And by creating more space in your life, you become happier and more open to new opportunities, ones more suited to your new lifestyle.

3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings
Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result.
We cannot control the reactions of others. However, although people may initially react when you change the way you are by speaking honestly, in the end it raises the relationship to a whole new and healthier level. Either that or it releases the unhealthy relationship from your life. Either way, you win.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends
Often they would not truly realize the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying.
It is common for anyone in a busy lifestyle to let friendships slip. But when you are faced with your approaching death, the physical details of life fall away. People do want to get their financial affairs in order if possible. But it is not money or status that holds the true importance for them. They want to get things in order more for the benefit of those they love. Usually though, they are too ill and weary to ever manage this task. It is all comes down to love and relationships in the end. That is all that remains in the final weeks, love and relationships.

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier
This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realize until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called 'comfort' of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content. When deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again.
When you are on your deathbed, what others think of you is a long way from your mind. How wonderful to be able to let go and smile again, long before you are dying. Life is a choice. It is YOUR life. Choose consciously, choose wisely, choose honestly. Choose happiness."

Green Smoothie - Simple Saviour

I know I have blogged about green smoothies before, but I feel like I have just stumbled onto one of the simplest, tastiest ones ever.

I always reach for my blender when I am feeling under the weather because green smoothies are packed full of revitalising feel-good nutrients. This morning, after a series of sleepless nights, and too many refined and processed take-out overindulgences, I reached for it once again.

Smoothie making usually requires a bit of creative flair, with just the right mix of seemingly random ingredients - anything ranging from an array of nuts, seeds, whole grains, sprouts, vegetables, and fruit, to power packed extras such as cocoa, spirulina, maca powders, or herbal extracts like ashwaganda, ginseng, and ginkgo biloba.

But, when I looked in my larder this morning, I was met with empty shelves and 0 inspiration. (I really should have done some shopping last week!). This resulted in the use of 4 seemingly 'boring' ingredients - all the healthy stuff I could find really. However, the end product certainly is worth blogging about.

4 Simple Ingredients
a handful of spinach from my garden (store bought is great too!)
1 over ripe pear
1 over ripe banana
2 generous tsps peanut butter
(and approx. 100ml tap water)

I call this one Simple Saviour.

In under 10 minutes you can make your own Simple Saviour. The perfect shade of green, not too rich, but with a really refreshing just-sweet-enough taste to cure that 'morning after' feeling. All you need to do, is keep your kitchen stocked with these 4 healthy ingredients, and get yourself a blender!

A note on peanut butter:
I always have peanut butter in my cupboard.
- I only buy peanut butter made from pure lightly roasted peanuts. Lightly roasting peanuts is actually a good idea, because they are legumes, not nuts, and this makes them more digestible.
- Most commercially mass produced peanut butters have added sugar, vegetable fats ('yummy-trans fats!'), and other stabilizers etc. Natural peanut butter can be purchased from whole/health food manufacturers, or health shops.

A note on spinach:
Spinach has long been a staple part of my diet.
- It is much greener than other leafys like lettuce and cabbage, which is indicates that it contains antioxidant flavanoids and magnesium rich chlorophyl. It is also a good source of Vitamin A, C, B6 and folic acid, potassium, calcium, and iron - A cocktail of nutrients that are linked to healthier skin, eyesight, and energy levels, with anti-cancer properties!
- It tastes great in everything: raw in salads, as well as cooked. I like to add it raw into smoothies because the blender breaks down some of the fibre, thereby liberating nutrients for better absorption by the body.

Corn Silk for Bladder Infections

When ever I hear the Mealie Lady call out “Mealiemieleeeeeee” on the streets of suburban Johannesburg, I run outside to purchase some mealies from her. I have noticed her swollen ankles as she pushes her trolley packed full of fresh mealies around our middle class neighbourhood, trying to make an honest living.



So while this article is a shout out to all our locals to support this women by lightening her load, it is also to educate you about the therapeutic wonders of this fine 'local' crop.

Our Mealie Heritage:

The mealie, also known as corn and maize, depending on where you are from, originates from Mexico where the Mayans and Aztecs began cultivating it. From there it spread throughout the globe, and a long line of cross breeding resulted in many different versions of the original crop. Here, South Africans found it to be an economical crop to farm and it fast became a national staple food.

Preparation:

The mealies I buy from our local Mealie Lady are a large white starchy variety, unlike the bright yellow sweetcorn that is available in most supermarkets.

When I first tried it I wasn't quite sure how to prepare it, as it is not sweet like sweetcorn which is ideal straight off the cob. After a few bights off the cob, a familiar taste sensation reminded me of the samp and beans (http://www.ivu.org/recipes/african/gnush.html) that my mom used to make when I was younger. I also discovered that it works very well in potjies (stews), or dusted with herb salt if eaten straight off the cob.

Traditional Medicinal Uses:

This local variety has the most beautiful soft golden threads surrounding its cobs. This typically comes from female flowers (the stigmas) and is known as corn silk. Corn silk is not only a fun, tactile delight, but it may be of interest to those who have ever suffered the discomfort of a bladder infection.

Corn silk naturally contains anti-inflammatory, healing and soothing compounds that are found to relax the muscular lining of the urinary-genitalal system and relieve the discomfort and irritation associated with UTIs (urinary tract infections), cystitis, urethritis, and prostatitis. Corn silk is also an antiseptic, which may help treat infection in these areas.

It is found to be diuretic (increases urination) that helps flush irritants, deposits and toxins from the kidneys and bladder, and contains high levels of potassium, which may help counter the loss of potassium that is usually associated with many other diuretics. Generous levels of potassium along side this diuretic affect, is why corn silk is often brewed for fluid retention, PMS (premenstrual syndrome), gout and arthritis.

Corn silk has been used to help relieve carpel tunnel syndrome, lower blood pressure, and support digestion by increasing bile production. It has also been used topically to aid the healing of wounds and ulcers on the skin. It contains high levels of vitamin K, which may support clotting factors in the blood.

Corn silk is sold in health shops in dried form, but can also be used fresh.

How it is used: One cup of corn silk tea is taken three times a day during times of need. For topical use, a poultice can be made.

Warning: Check with your health care provider before using herbal remedies on yourself. There may be contraindications depending on your individual needs.

Bibliography:

http://www.appliedhealth.com/nutri/page8287.php

www.phytochemicals.info/plants/cornsilk.php

Prescription for Herbal Healing, By Phyllis A. Balch - Avery(2002)