Chris Loehmer Kincaid's Blog, page 75

Derailed Again

     After the less than stellar 2019, I was hoping this year would be better. January got off to a good start, other than all the snow that fell and the power going out (one more time!) on the 2nd. Luckily it was for only a few hours that time (for a change), but it still made me kinda think – yea, 2020 is not going to be better after all.
We got through the first month of the year though, with only a smattering of deaths among friends, family that was not immediate family and many of my patients from the clinic where I work. Even got through the first two days of February before I starting coming down with a cold.
Then this Wednesday, just after I got back from lunch, Hubby called to say he had fallen on some ice and thought he broke his elbow. I thought he was being dramatic. I sighed and hemmed and hawed a moment, then told him to come on down to the clinic, to check-in for an x-ray and then I’d work him in with his doctor (because being a family member of someone who works there can usually get you an appointment when you need and if that’s not far to the rest of you who do not have any connection, all I can say is I’m sorry, but that’s life).
After Hubby had his x-ray, one of my co-workers put him in a room. I saw the x-ray before the doctor did, and even to my relatively untrained eye, I could see a fracture in his ulna bone, with a 7 to 8 mm gap between the two jagged edges of the bone. Again, with my untrained eye, I was pretty sure that would never heal without surgical intervention.
So, once again, life has been a bit derailed. Hubby will be having surgery a few hours after I post this. It’s an outpatient procedure and we won’t know exactly what the surgeon is going to put in to pull that bone together until he sees what it looks like inside. We should be home, though, by early to mid-afternoon, so I’ll post an update on Facebook then.
Until then, hope you all have had a better week than we have. He may be a goof-ball, but he's my goof-ball. 

Meditation - Natural Remedies, Part 2, Coming to the Clinic, Part 13

     When I was a kid – you know, back in the sixties and seventies – Transcendental Meditation was all the rage. I thought it would be so cool to do that, repeat your mantra or even just keep saying “ooohm” and journey in your head to a different plain. All I ever accomplished was to fall asleep.
I never figured out what meditation was, and yet here I am, about to tell you all about it.
First of all, there are all sorts of activities which can be referred to as meditation, all of which are to have the goal of getting you into a relaxed state of being and finding inner peace.
Transcendental Meditation is a trade-marked form of the practice, but mantra meditation is similar because you are also repeating a word or your mantra as a way to relax. In mindfulness meditation you just let your mind wander, supposedly, which means I’m practicing nearly all the time. That makes it sound like mediation is beyond my grasp. But luckily there are even more kinds of it.
In guided meditation, you imagine sights, sounds, and anything else your senses can conjure up to take you to a place of relaxation. I actually have used guided imagery quite a bit, so come back next week and I’ll tell you all about it.
One thing I have already told you about is yoga, which can also be used as a form of meditation, along with things like Tai Chi and Qi Gong. (I know, right?)  
So pretty much any practice which leads to a deep state of relaxation in both body and mind (without using any external junk like drugs or alcohol). But what can all this relaxation do?
Some of the emotional benefits can be:
1)     Acquire the ability to handle stress better2)     Increase self-awareness3)     Reduce anger and other negative thoughts and emotions4)     Increase imagination and creativity5)     Increase patience and tolerance
Can meditation help with physical ailments? Science has proven that many of our medical conditions are directly related to our emotional well-being, the whole mind-body connection. Some of these disorders include:
1)     Asthma2)     Depression3)     Chronic pain 4)     Elevated blood pressure5)     Heart disease6)     Cancer7)     Irritable bowel syndrome8)     Insomnia and other sleep disorders9)     Headaches
As with any other natural remedies, meditation is not a replacement for traditional medical care. Talk to your health care provider before using meditation if you have any of these conditions or other health problems. (Ok, I just have to say that to cover myself. I work in health care, so I actually think your provider might look at you like you are nuts if you ask them if you can start meditating.)
I think the key to meditation is the component of relaxation. However you do it, sit back, get comfortable, maybe listen to some soft calming music, think about whatever you need to that helps you relax, take a few deep breaths and go to your happy place. Like, really, it should be that simple. 
Try it and let me know.
For more information, check this website: https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/meditation/in-depth/meditation/art-20045858

Love, love, love and love

    The month of February, and one day in particular, seems to be devoted to love. When we think of love, especially around February 14, we think of romantic love, a couple in love, wine and roses and all that nonsense. In the Bible, however, there are four different kinds of love. Eros, Phileo, Storge, and Agape.  
Since there are four Sundays in February, I thought I would write about each one of these types of love each week. After spending an hour on-line last night, reading various websites and looking up a bunch of Bible verses containing the word love, I came to a dead-end. As happens sometimes. So here’s the Cliff-notes version and I’ll see if I’m feeling the love next week.
Eros is the type of love, as mentioned above, that we think of as romantic love or even sensual love (and so does the Bible which is where I really came to a standstill. Just read Song of Solomon sometime). Yes, it is where we get the word erotic comes from.
Phileo is brotherly love. Think of Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love? That’s where that comes from. Phileo is our love towards others, our caring and compassion towards all mankind. From a Christian perspective, of course, towards fellow believers. "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another." (John 13:35, NIV)
Storge is the love we feel for family, our parents, siblings, children and anyone else in the family fold. I think of it as the momma-bear feeling I get if anyone messes with my kids, right?  
Lastly, is Agape, the unconditional immeasurable, incomparable, pure love which God feels for us. Definitely the strongest type of love, the one we should strive for, but we can’t do it on our own. Only through the Holy Spirit can we ever love like this.
So, what do you think? Willing to read more about this whole love-thing and what the Bible has to say about it? Let’s see what I come up with this week.

Flash-Forward Friday

Do you ever remember something from your past with such clarity that you sometimes think you made it up? I do that a lot. A Lot!
But there was a day when I was in sixth grade, when, for some reason, in some class, we learned about the ancient temples of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. I was beyond fascinated. I told myself that someday, somehow, I would go there, I would see this place in person.
Here comes the Flash-forward part. I’m going there in the fall!!!! I found a volunteer trip for adventurers 50-years-old and older, and my friend who has gone to Kenya with me twice already is game to tag along.
In addition to seeing the many tourist sites in Cambodia, we will experience Cambodian culture first-hand, by immersing ourselves in the Khmer culture, experiencing life in Cambodia with the locals, learning about the history of Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge era, and assisting locals with learning English as well as basic farm work that will benefit the community. Yikes! Sounds like a full two weeks!  We signed up shortly before Christmas, and though I’ve told quite a few people already, I’ve been holding out on making an announcement. But I couldn’t wait any longer!
As usual, whenever I get this kind of wanderlust, Hubby is immensely supportive, as attested to by my surprise Christmas present. Thanks, Honey, for always supporting me.
As the time gets closer – I’ll be leaving in just less than eight months – I’ll share more details. Wish me luck! 
Here's the website again of the group we are going with: https://www.projects-abroad.org/projects/khmer-culture-project-over-50-cambodia/ Hope you check it out. 

Yoga - Natural Remedies, Part 1, Coming to the Clinic, Part 12

     Two weeks ago, I brought back everyone’s favorite series of blog posts. On that particular post, I was giving you hints for getting a good night’s sleep. I see now that I hadn’t mentioned yoga at that time, so decided to discuss it now.
We all know that searching the internet can give us all sorts of information, some accurate and some not so much, so I try to go to more reputable websites such as WebMD or Mayo Clinic’s for my info.
Some of those websites say that the benefits of yoga include:          1)     Improve quality of life     2)     Reduce stress, anxiety, and depression     3)     Relieve back pain     4)     Lower heart rate and blood pressure     5)     Improve fitness, strength and flexibility     6)     Strengthen muscles and endurance     7)     Help with weight loss         8)     Increase energy and may decrease body aches     9)     Increase positive feelings, coping, and well-being      10)  Enhance alertness and enthusiasm    11)   And yes, help with insomnia
Can yoga really do all of that? As with anything else, it depends on the individual person, the other things they are doing in their life (both good and bad habits), their commitment to practicing their yoga, if they can do it via YouTube video at home or attend a regular class, current medical conditions, etc. In general, though, you are not too old or too young or too out of shape (or have too round a shape), to give yoga a try.
As with anything you do to yourself, start slow, listen to your body and if you have a medical condition, check with your health care provider first.
I started doing yoga off and on about three years ago and for the last year have made it my morning ritual nearly every day. Does it help me with all those things? Probably not, but at least it generally makes me feel better most days.
I’ve checked out a few different yoga channels on YouTube, but by and far, get the most out of Yoga With Adriene. If you are going to go that route, or even if you rather attend a class, choose the right one for you. There are different types of yoga as well, some are more physical and some are more relaxing, so again, do your own research based on what you want to get out of it.
Also, it is one of the cheapest forms of exercise. No special equipment required. It took me a year to buy a yoga mat and I usually wear my pajamas. You can find YouTube videos for free and classes don’t cost much, you can sometimes find free ones too.
[I feel I need to add a side note. On Sundays, I write a devotional blog and the four books I’ve written are for a Christian audience. I don’t like to be preacher, but I also won’t deny that I love God and live for His Son Jesus. With that being said, some people may call me a hypocrite for promoting yoga as it was originally based on ancient spiritual practices with connections to Hinduism and Buddhism. I think of all the other things I could be doing – and that other people do, sometimes in the name of Christ, and I just can’t see this as a problem. I pray while I’m doing my yoga and when the instructor says things like “namaste”, I say to myself, “God is good.”]

Strength of Spirit

    I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:16-19 New International Version (NIV)
I chose the word “strength” as my word of the year and have also, it seems, chosen it to be the word of this blog for Sundays during the month of January.
As is often the case, there really isn’t much I can add to the verses above. I’m thankful, though, for the reminder that not only does Christ Jesus strengthen me, but also that His love is wider and longer and higher and deeper than I can imagine.
Lord God, thank You for sending Your Son to be my Savior, my Strength and my Friend. Amen.

Flashback Friday - The Baby Birthday Boy

This past Wednesday, the day after my son turned 34, I posted pictures of him from just after his 18thbirthday to the present. Today we go way back, starting in January of 1986.
Let’s start by sharing his many moods.   Peacefully sleeping  Happy Nick   Crabby Nick   Angry Nick   I-know-something-you-don't-know Nick Either Gassy Nick or Nick about to make a political statement   Now maybe trying hard not to make a political statement   Huckleberry Nick  First Dog   First Mug Shot   Dare Devil Bike-rider   First time he made his little sister cry  Haircut (not his first) But saved my favorite for last, crossing the road with Grampa when he was just 18 months old

The Birthday Boy

Yesterday, my son celebrated his 34th birthday (I think. Hey, Nick, is that how old you are now?)
There are so many stories to be told about him, all the adventures he’s survived. I keep thinking about writing another memoir of my life, but Nick is the one who should write a book. But those are his stories to share, and not mine. All I have instead are pictures, in no particular order. 

The Strength of a Bull

Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty,    but from the strength of an ox come abundant harvests. Proverbs 14:4 (New International Version)
When I posted last week’s Bible verses about strength, I couldn’t decide if I should use the picture of the horses pulling what I believe was a hay rake or this picture.  
Dad said once that when he was on the farm (before he married Mom) he had a big ol’ bull named either Pat or Prince (he told me this story probably fifty years ago). Anyway, whatever this bull’s name was, Dad would call him by that name and the bull would come running across the field. I’m not sure if this is that animal or not, but I don’t think I’d want to mess with him.
But getting back to the Bible verse. Oxen aren’t the only ones who need strength to get stuff done.
We can sit around and be like, I can’t do this or that, because I’m not strong enough. Guess what, we can do whatever we need to do. We just have to pray to God for the physical strength, or more often, the inner strength. And then just give it our best shot.
Thank You, Father God, for granting us the strength of spirit to get through the difficult days. Amen

Flashback Friday - Stop complaining about the weather

I’m starting to weed out my old photo albums, get all those pictures scanned into the computer and throw out the albums. Clean up the clutter.
This past week, I emptied out an entire album, dated 1978 to 1980. I evidently liked to take pictures of the weather. And these shots, from May to May one year, will attest to the fact that here in northern Wisconsin, we’ve always had snow for way more months out of the year than we would like.  May 5, 1979, my parent's front yard September 1979, I must have thought these were colorful trees
September 1979, my dad's dog, Mac. Not quite fitting the theme here, but he was such a pretty dogAnd here we go. October 23, 1979 The woods behind my parent's house One of my trails through the woods that October March 1980, heading into Spring May 1980, yup, finally Spring 

*I should add to Wednesday's post that it is also important to use a good mattress and comfortable pillows to get that good night's sleep.