Martin Holman Jr.'s Blog, page 2

How can I have more joy? February 2

How can I have more joy? Want more joy in your life?  Each day of this year, we are offering you a quick action you can do to find joy in the reality that is your existence.  You, my friend, are not alone!

Process one great thing that has happened today

You were the best Brady! Including Marcia!

Good News for the rest of the NFL and for his many fans who knew this day was coming:

Tom Brady has officially announced his retirement!!!!

In a carefully worded instagram post, Brady shared his many thanks to the Bucs, the fans, the organization, coaches, and executives!  He thanked his family and his friends. He was in no uncertain terms, the best.  He was the GOAT.  I am a huge Pittsburgh Steelers fan and hated when he beat us, which was often.  So I’m thankful for this announcement.  It is good news and he is going out almost at the top of his game, which is incredible for a 44 year old man.

Thank you Tom Brady for your incredible work ethic, accomplishments, game knowledge, throwing accuracy, and everything else you brought to the table.

In a weird note, you forgot to thank the Patriots Organization and fans who rallied with you for 20 years, most of which cheered you on even when you were with the Buccaneers.  But let’s ignore that for today, because the good news is Tom Brady’s amazing football legacy.

And also that his competition doesn’t have to play against him anymore.

Give a Hug Right Now

In the middle of the pandemic, one thing we’re not talking about is the lack of touching one another.  I don’t mean in any kind of sexual way, but simply a handshake or more specifically, a hug.

As of last May, 30% of all adults were experiencing some kind of anxiety or depression, and that was the lowest percentage it had been since March 2020.  Younger Americans between the ages of 18-29 were almost at 60%!  Women, people of color, and adults who had not graduated from high school also reported a higher percentage of anxiety and depression disorders.

It is no coincidence that one of the reasons for the skyrocketing statistic is the lack of human interaction many had, particularly in the early days of lockdowns and quarantines. Healthy Human interaction is vitally important to our mental health, and we must fight for it, not only in our own lives, but also for those who can’t have it.

Enter Hugging.

Wash your hands.  make sure you’re not sick.  And find someone to hug.  It is important.  It is healthy for you, when you or the other person is not sick.  And when you hug for at least 20 seconds, it releases the feel good hormone known as Oxytocin which creates a stronger bond and connection between the huggers. It has also been shown to boost the immune system and reduce stress.

I recently saw a short YouTube clip of a young baby playing on his lawn and some funny member of his family dressed up like Michael Myers, the infamous mass murderer from the Halloween Movies, knife and mask included in said costume.  The intention was to scare the little toddler.  Ignoring for a second the ridiculous reasons someone might have wanted to scare a child like that, the child turned around and stared at the Michael Myers wannabee.  After about 10 seconds, the child opened his arms and hugged his family member, and it made for a very cute video.

This morning over breakfast, one of my sons lost his temper because he wanted something he couldn’t have.  He sat next to his older brother, who after some time, offered the angry one a hug, and the child immediately calmed down.

So take a risk as soon as you can.  Get out there and give someone a hug.  It will make them feel better, but it will also make you feel better!  Change the world, one hug at a time and let’s see if we can lower these mental health statistics by giving hugs freely and often.

How can I have more joy? February 1

How can I have more joy? Want more joy in your life?  Each day of this year, we are offering you a quick action you can do to find joy in the reality that is your existence.  You, my friend, are not alone!

Give someone an extra long hug today!

The Fine Art of Love and Humor

This weekend I posted what I considered a hilarious facebook post.  I wrote:

“The irony of an early 70’s hippie rocker trying to censor someone is not lost on me.”

It was a subtle nod to Neil Young’s statement to Spotify that if they continued to host Joe Rogan on Spotify, they would like him to take his music off of their streaming Service.  Young said it had to be Young or Rogan, but they couldn’t have both.

This stemmed of course from Rogan’s podcast where he has hosted hundreds of guests of all varieties about a ton of different topics.  Apparently two or three guests were anti mask and anti vax and Rogan’s critics accused him of spreading “dangerous misinformation” because of these guests and his lack of calling them out.

So Neil Young decided to do something about it.  Good for him.  He’s used his power and fame and platform to try to make change and to stop Rogan’s platform from any more “dangerous misinformation.”  However, I thought it was funny and ironic that he was attempting to personally use that platform to do all that since when he started, a group of people attempted to stop him and his like from the messages they shared in the early days of rock and roll.

So I shared that irony on Facebook, and instantly two of my more progressive acquaintances, one who I hadn’t seen in 5 years and one who I hadn’t seen in over a decade, came at me and shared why Rogan was a wrong and why Young was right.  Notice in my above quote I never said one was right and one was wrong.  But they were going to let me have the truth, from their perspective.  One even went personal with their criticism of my humor.

So I’ll say this:  I love humor and I love joy.  I love Jesus more, but rarely does my humor and joy get in the way of my love for Jesus.  In my writing and in my reports here and in everything I do here on this site, I want it to focus on laughter and joy.  If someone doesn’t think it’s funny, I’m sorry.  I truly am.  But it is.  It is to someone anyways.

Do I want to have a conversation with someone who doesn’t think it’s funny?  Absolutely.  But don’t make it personal.  It’s not.  I didn’t bust on you or even Neil Young.

Maybe you don’t like misinformation?  That could be.  Everyone does, and yet every point of view risks a certain amount of misinformation.

Maybe you lost someone because of covid?  That sucks, and I understand the feeling.  My dad lay on a ventilator for over a month and almost died because of it.

But none of those reasons mean you have the overall and correct perspective on life and medicine and climate change and everything else.  Get over yourself.  Not everything is so pressing and divisive.  Sometimes things can just be jokes.

So like Dave Chappelle said, “we gotta let some air out of the bag.”  And we do.  Breathe in.  Breathe out.  Have some joy.  Have a conversation.  Laugh together. Love harder.  Be good, my friends.  And if you can’t be friends, unfriend me.  I should probably not take things so personally either, even when insults are hurled at me personally.  Because after all, that person probably is going through something I’m unaware of.  Let maybe they had a appendectomy recently.

Maybe we’ll see each other someday and decide to have a beer in real life. (Although I hate beer, but maybe I’ll have a chai tea instead). Either way, let’s let love win the day, shall we?

How can I have more joy? January 31

How can I have more joy? Want more joy in your life?  Each day of this year, we are offering you a quick action you can do to find joy in the reality that is your existence.  You, my friend, are not alone!

FaceTime a friend or family member and tell them how much joy they bring you!

How can I have more joy? January 29

How can I have more joy? Want more joy in your life?  Each day of this year, we are offering you a quick action you can do to find joy in the reality that is your existence.  You, my friend, are not alone!

On your way home today, rolls own the windows, turn up a song, and sing it as loud as you can.

How can I have more joy? January 28

Want more joy in your life?  Each day of this year, we are offering you a quick action you can do to find joy in the reality that is your existence.  You, my friend, are not alone!

Teaching you joy today:  Write down two things that made you really happy this week.

Teaching you joy today, January 27

Want more joy in your life?  Each day of this year, we are offering you a quick action you can do to find joy in the reality that is your existence.  You, my friend, are not alone!

 Teaching you joy today:  Sing (to yourself or out loud) the first “church” or happy song that comes to your mind.

Teaching you joy today, January 26

We’d love to teach you joy every day for the next year, in case you’re struggling with finding it.  So here’s some help:

Write someone a text and let them know you are thankful for them.