10 ways the world has changed since you've been in school

1. Communication technology: THE change since my school days. I remember having a class where we were taught some very basic DOS language. Now everyone seems to have a pc at home, everyone gets information from and books everything via the internet, everyone communicates via email and cell phones, connections are wireless, blackberrys allow you to be reachable everywhere via GPRS. I'm glad I'm still of the generation that caught this technology bus. My parents have no clue anymore.
   
   
2. Environment: We did not recycle. We wasted water in the summer washing cars, playing under the showering hose in the garden for hours. We had not heard of alternative energies, the Ozone layer, the melting icebergs. Now kids are much more environmentally minded than their parents.
   
3. Camera's: Taking pictures was a well thought through procedure. People were put in place for ages until the setup was perfect and one had to wait until everyone smiled before the shot was taken. Goodbye spontaneity. Now taking pictures is FUN. Shooting away when my kids are running around not having to worry about development costs is wonderful. The same goes for filming.
   
4. A child's freedom: We were constantly outside, running around in the streets, the woods. The world was a big adventure playground. No one worried about us getting dirty. No one worried about us getting picked up by strangers. We went places alone. Now kids are driven or accompanied everywhere and the media has turned the world into an unsafe place.
   
5. Safety: We rode bikes with no helmets. We sat in the back of cars without seat belts or car seats. We swam in our rivers and drank the river's water (this could also fall under my number 2). We played on the streets as there were hardly any cars.
   
   
6. Travel: It used to take hours to get to my grandparents (250 km away). There was no highway. It felt like a trip around the world for which things needed to be planned and prepared a long time in advance. Now one can get everywhere in no time. Driving, but also flying has become very common.
   
7. Choice: There used to be one or two brands for each product. You went to the store to buy washing powder and you'd take the one they had. Now your head spins from the choice of boxes and the miracles they offer to perform on your laundry. The same goes for magazines, yoghurt, coffee, cereal... you name it. Europe still has less choices than the USA (thanks for that) - we still have places where, when ordering a coffee, nobody asks you whether you want it small, medium or large, you don't have to specify which syrup or milk you'd enjoy. Coffee is still just plain simple coffee.
   
8. Geography and culture: We used to learn about far away countries and cultures without ever having set foot there. We did not know many foreigners, there were no other ethnic communities. People used to live in one place and stay there. Nowadays people move around much more freely and the world has become an interesting melting pot. You can now find international art displayed in small towns where the only claim to fame used to be the yearly fun fair.
   
9. Television: When I was in school we had just one or two tv channels of very bad quality. We were allowed to watch a certain amount of time and a selection of programs. Satellite has brought television from every place in the world to every place in the world and at the same time increased the choice of channels. The picture quality might have highly improved, not so the quality of content. Video's with barely dressed, skinny girls wriggling their butts, reality shows competing for the wildest people saying and doing the wildest things on camera, war and violence brought live into your living room, television for babies... When I was in school the only monstrous thing I had seen was Sesame Street's Cookie Monster.
   
   
10. Life: I was young, naive, restless, reckless and careless. I could party till dawn and sleep until noon. I could decide to travel, move, change my life on the spur of the moment. I only had myself to take care of. Now I am older, hopefully a bit wiser, much more peaceful, at ease with myself (mind and body), a wife to a very special man, a mother to two gorgeous boys and much, so much happier. I wouldn't want to go back to school, not for anything in the world :-)

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Mind-set matters -- Why thinking you got a work out may actually make you healthier

As the commitment to our New Year's resolutions wanes and the trips to the gym become more infrequent, new findings appearing in the February issue of Psychological Science may offer us one more chance to reap the benefits of exercise through our daily routine.

Harvard University psychologist Ellen Langer and her student Alia Crum found that many of the beneficial results of exercise are due to the placebo effect.

The surgeon general recommends 30 minutes of daily exercise to maintain a healthy lifestyle. While this may be harder for those who are required to sit behind a desk for eight hours, other jobs are inherently physical, like a hotel housekeeper. 

On average, they clean 15 rooms per day, each taking 20 to 30 minutes to complete. According to the study, the housekeepers might not perceive their job as exercise, but if their mind-set is shifted so that they become aware of the exercise they are getting, then health improvements would be expected to follow.

The researchers studied 84 female housekeepers from seven hotels. Women in 4 hotels were told that their regular work was enough exercise to meet the requirements for a healthy, active lifestyle, whereas the women in the other three hotels were told nothing. 

To determine if the placebo effect plays a role in the benefits of exercise, the researchers investigated whether subjects' mind-set (in this case, their perceived levels of exercise) could inhibit or enhance the health benefits of exercise independent of any actual exercise.

Four weeks later, the researchers returned to assess any changes in the women's health. They found that the women in the informed group had lost an average of 2 pounds, lowered their blood pressure by almost 10 percent, and were significantly healthier as measured by body-fat percentage, body mass index, and waist-to-hip ratio. These changes were significantly higher than those reported in the control group and were especially remarkable given the time period of only four weeks.

Langer writes, "Whether the change in physiological health was brought about directly or indirectly, it is clear that health is significantly affected by mind-set." This research shows the moderating role of mind-set and its ability to enhance health, which may have particular relevance for treating diseases associated with a sedentary lifestyle.

###

Psychological Science, published by the Association for Psychological Science, is ranked among the top 10 general psychology journals for impact by the Institute for Scientific Information. For a copy of the article "Mind-Set Matters Exercise and the Placebo Effect" and access to other Psychological Science research findings please contact Catherine West at (202) 783-2077 or cwest@psychologicalscience.org.

Contact: Ellen Langer langer@wjh.harvard.edu

Association for Psychological Science

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Why you should walk barefoot more often

Feet should be free and unfettered for at least 10 hours a day - Tourles


When was the last time you walked barefoot? Probably this morning from your bedroom to the bathroom.

When was the last time you walked barefoot in the sand? Probably on your last summer vacation at the beach.

When was the last time you walked barefoot on grass? You might have a garde, but do you walk barefoot on your lawn?

When was the last time you walked barefoot on stones, in mud, in the woods, on the street? Some of us have probably never done this.

Well we should!

I surfed through a few sites and just kicked off my shoes, went into the garden with my kids and walked on the grass :-) Lovely.










Have a look at these:

Society for barefoot living


Barefoot hikers


Parents for barefoot children


Natural and healthy barefoot activities - The German version of this site lists barefoot paths and trails in Europe


Reflexology Paths of Europe


You walk wrong - NYmag


Get your socks off - Guardian


Running Barefoot

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10 favorite time wasters

If life is a waste of time and time is a waste of life, lets all get wasted and have the time of our lives.


10 favorite time wasters

I think we all agree that sometimes we spend a lot of time just wasting time, doing nothing, achieving nothing.  

The theme of favorite time wasters in itself is already contradictory because to me 'wasting time' has a negative connotation and 'favorite' a positive one. But anyway, here we go.

1. Watching television: THE time waster. But if you enjoy it, is it a waste? Probably, because you could have spent this time DOING something more productive, creative, beneficial... instead of sitting lethargically on the couch. However, I sometimes learn things from television. Yes, that happens. Yesterday I learned about the existence of artificial glaciers in the Himalayas.
   
   
2. Surfing the internet: Whenever I want to write a post, I sit down at my computer and read my emails first, then respond to the comments on my blog and visit a few blogs regularly. I have the bad habit of being deviated from my initial goal (writing a post) and the internet just swallows me up. I get side tracked by blogs, news articles, book recommendations etc. But then again, sometimes I find a topic that I have something interesting to say about and it triggers a post. So there...
   
   
3. Books: This is my favorite time waster. I can spend hours in a library. I can spend hours on amazon. I can spend hours surfing book sites and blogs about book recommendations. Is reading fiction a waste of time? Is reading non-fiction not? I don't care. As long as I have books to read I am a happy person.
   
   
4. Sleeping: It isn't until you have kids that you realise what lack of sleep is and come to appreciate mornings when they don't wake up at 6 am. Although I would agree that sleeping until noon is a waste of the day, I am a fervent adherent to afternoon naps. Just 20 minutes give you a boost of energy. So when the kids nap, I do too.
   
   
5. Grey's Anatomy: I used to like Friends until my life did not look like theirs anymore. Then I somehow got hooked on Grey's Anatomy. Trust me, my life is nothing like theirs either, but I like the way each episode tackles a topic and tries to learn a lesson for life. A good excuse to waste a wee bit of time.
   
   
6. Painting: Trust me, I am no Van Gogh. I just like to paint. And whenever my son draws something, shows it to me and asks 'what is this mommy?' and I don't see what it could be (he is 2!), I tell him it's art. Because if someone likes it, it's art, and I like what he draws. Painting is soul soothing. I like to have it on my fingers, put it on canvas and see what happens. And time just flies.
   
   
7. Cleaning up: With two toddlers, I feel that I am constantly cleaning up after them. From half eaten sandwich crumbs, over sticky milk stains to all-over-the-house toys. When I am done I feel good, the house is clean and clutter free for an evening. Until they get up in the morning and within seconds the place looks like a tornado just passed through.
   
   
8. Watching my kids: I could spend hours watching them play, sleep, run around. But you can only do that when they are not aware that you are watching them. As soon as they notice, the magic is gone and the claim your presence and participation.
   
   
9. Traveling: By that I mean getting from one place to another. Wasting time at airports waiting for or inbetween flights. Getting to work in the morning by car. There is not much you can do in your car besides driving and listening to the radio. Maybe I should combine this one with my point 3 and get into audio books from Audible.com for example.
   
   
10. Worrying: I dwell on the tiny problems. I sweat the small stuff. In a way I am a perfectionist although you'll never have me admit it. I like things to be orderly (goes with point 7), well organised, run smoothly. I like to be prepared. Don't get me wrong, I do like surprises... - nice ones like flowers (because I am organised and have a vase to put them in). I fret about what to wear in the morning. I worry about forgetting to put an item on the groceries list (and then I completely forget the bloody list!). It clutters my brain and often keeps me from living in the NOW. What would Eckhart Tolle have to say about that, huh?

What are your favorite time wasters?

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From a certain point of view our real enemy, the true troublemaker, is inside - Tenzin Gyatso, The 14th Dalai Lama

The enemy inside

Inside

things I don't want to see

things I dont' want to show

Inside

a mirror showing the real me

a mirror not making me glow

Inside

the enemy speaks to me

the enemy hinders me to grow

Inside

a battle between the enemy and me

a battle I'm not always willing to owe

Inside

the worst and the best of me

the worst I would like to stow

Inside

the real me should be set free

the real me should be able to flow

Inside

it seems logical to always be me

it seems not always easy though

(c) Mindful Mimi -May 2008

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How much of human life is lost in waiting - Ralph Waldo Emerson

WAITING

Waiting for your life to begin

Waiting for your team to win

Waiting for the bus to arrive

Waiting for your kid to strive

Waiting for the rain to pass

Waiting for the bell after class

Waiting for the job of your dream

Waiting for things to become what they seem

Waiting for inspiration to come

Waiting to become rich and then some

Waiting for a person to change

Waiting for motion to become a range

Waiting for a bad mood to disappear

Waiting for your head to clear

Waiting for your boss to see your worth

Waiting for heaven on earth

Waiting for what is your due

Waiting for a cue

Waiting for someone to understand

Waiting for your enemies to be banned

Waiting for the world to get better

Waiting for that liberating letter

Waiting for something that will never come

Waiting for things to become undone

Waiting for wisdom to teach you

that waiting is just loosing time to get through


(c) Mindful Mimi -May 2008

Thanks to Weekend Wordsmith for triggering this post about Waiting.

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Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts

You don't choose your family, you are born into one.

No matter how hard they try and even by doing the best they can, your parents are very likely to f**k you up (see also the book 'They f*** you up' by Oliver James). Some of us realise this sooner, some later. And it isn't until we realise this, that we are able to distance ourselves from them as adults, to become our own standalone selves.

When we become a parent ourselves, we become a little bit wiser. We also start to understand a few things about our own parents. Because: being a parent is not easy. It is hard because the moment the offspring is born and you start to love them to pieces, you also have to start letting them go.

And I guess parents can never entirely let their children go. My dad is the best example of that. Even though I am married with two kids, he still likes to 'meddle' with our lives. Not in a bad way - he always means well - but it feels a bit invasive at times :-) He is very much a DIY kind of guy. He can make something out of nothing, repair everything and if you ask him for a certain tool or item you can be sure he has it in his workshop (he keeps and stores EVERYTHING). That's why we like him.

What we like less is when he comes to our house unannounced to take away our garden furniture in order to sand and paint it.

What we do not appreciate is when he goes into the garden and puts all the pieces of the to be mounted swing-set on top of each other in a corner so that the grass does not go yellow underneath. For the record: these items had all been spread out neatly by number and in the order they were supposed to be mounted and we had to spread them out all over again...

What we find annoying is when we notice after he left that he has moved things in the garage - just because he thinks it is better to put them there instead of here.

What bothers us is the fact that he just does these things without asking our permission. We would probably have said yes to the sanding and painting of the garden furniture. But him taking it, just ruined the whole idea.

What irritates us is that by doing things a certain way, HIS way, he indirectly tells us that OUR way is wrong.



I do not come from a family that talks much - I mean, we talk, but not about the really important things like problems, feelings etc. So telling my dad that these gestures were not appreciated and why, was a major step for me. I first called my mom to let off some steam. Then I let a few days pass. Finally, I confronted my dad.


What can I say...? It's like he shuts down to this kind of conversations. Yes, he heard me. Yes, he will ask in the future. But did he understand why? No. And will he stop doing the things he does? Probably not.

I know he is probably not going to change - not until he understands our point of view. And he is just a stubborn kind of guy that won't admit he can be wrong. It runs in the family :-)

But I am glad and a bit proud that at least I am now able to talk to him about these things.

Thanks to Sunday Scribblings for triggering this post about Family.

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