The BIG C....That is Cancer

Purchase the "Shack"

I guess you're asking me, "Why are you writing about CANCER if this is a blog about the Best Loved Things?".  Well, I am here to tell  you that if you have cancer or know someone who does, LOVE THEM and YOURSELF the BEST! Don't give yourself or them a death sentence.  It is a wake up call to love better and deeper than you ever have in your life.  Here is my take.  It is all about your mind and your GOD over matter.  Don't carry having cancer or knowing that a beloved one has cancer as a sign of pending disaster. Know that once you  have settled it in your mind, you can handle having cancer or supporting someone who has cancer! Now, hand it over to GOD because at this point it does not matter.  God is the ultimate healer.  Now let's begin to work on doing some of the things that will make us feel better.

1. Pray and find your spiritual center
          Start by saying... I am too blessed to be stressed. Another good one to start the day is, Don't tell God  how great the storm is... Tell the storm how great YOUR GOD is.
Spiritual Quotes

2. Surround yourself with positive energy and people with WINNING attitudes
Winning Quotes
Successories Winning Quotes

3. Understand the importance of food and nutrition.  Junk + Junk = 2 much Junk
    There are 10 Foods that you must incorporate into your diet.  Every day at  least three of these should           be consumed!
    GARLIC
    BERRIES - Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries
    TOMATOES
    CRUCIFEROUS  VEGGIES - Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus
    GREEN TEA
    WHOLE GRAINS - Oats, barley, brown rice, whole wheat
    TURMERIC - can also be  found in Indian curry
    LEAFY GREEN VEGGIE - Greens (Mustard, Collards Kale), spinach
    RED GRAPES - A glass of red wine or red sangria is great too
Great Cancer Fighting Foods
Health.com's 6 Cancer Super Foods

4. Educate yourself.  Understand your condition. Don't  be afraid to ask questions or say you do not understand what you are hearing.
MD Anderson News

5. Get a second opinion.  Doctors are human. YOU know your body. Confirm the confirmation!
Cancer Centers Of America

Mature Love

This is MATURE LOVE!

No matter your political preference what resonates is the love that this couple share for one another.  I actually cried when I saw this embrace.  Real or imagined via this picture, this is the type of love that we all dream of having.
I am a little older now and what I once considered ideal love, I have found not to be so  ideal.  I have an older  sister and have posed the question to her, "What is really important for you to have in a man at age 60?" What I do know is that my thoughts have changed over the years. Let me see if I can recap by age.
Twenties:  College educated, good looking and a job. I can remember that a good looking man with a job was a catch.  In my twenties, I was thinking about starting  to have children  so great genes were important because God forbid  that I would have an ugly baby and a job meant that we could pull together to buy the things that we wanted and could have a social life.  Basically we both are broke.
Thirties: College educated, ok looking and a career. Hey, baby making was done.  Genes weren't as important.  A career meant that we could start empire building and acquire bigger and better things. Meaningful conversations  and family became more important.
Forties: Where I am now, Smart, financially savvy, and healthy.  Big difference now.  This is where maturity starts to kick-in.  I know now that a degree does not make a person.  I have learned that there are many millionaires that are successful without a college degree. Having someone who is intelligent is far better than just looking for someone with a college degree.  Finances are important.  It is more prudent that a person knows how to effectively manage money and is able to plan for retirement.  I know a lot of financially corrupt  and bankrupt millionaires who lost fortunes and will have to be on a job while on their death beds. Having someone who is healthy and in shape is more important than just being good looking. When you are thinking about traveling and enjoying a retirement, it will be a bummer not to be able to enjoy life because of health issues.  Being healthy also means that a fulfilling sex  life is possible.  Any forty year old woman will tell you that she is in her sexual prime and sex is important.  At forty all of the sexual hang-ups seem to disappear.
I believe that mature love  begins when we are in our forties.  Life experiences have taught us what is important.  We have learned that we cannot fight every battle.  We are self assure and we understand who we are and have determined our core values.  Pure and mature love is possible.  Our old love has grown or new love is found.  I am not sure what the Fifties will bring but I know that I want what I feel when I look at the picture above of Obamas.

Here are two links to books that have helped me to mature:

His Needs Her Needs

5 Love Languages

Another Great Book - "The Conversation" by Hill Harper

I am always one for a great book so when I read one, I love to share that knowledge.  Hill Harper does an excellent job in this book discussing how men and women, particularly Black men and women, can build loving, trusting relationships.  I will tell you that he left NO stone unturned.  There are great conversation points that will definitely add a spark to your next dinner party.  I particularly loved the quotes that started each new chapter.  Some of my favorites are: "Patience is a secret weapon that forces deception to reveal  itself.", " The relationships that I have taken most seriously are the ones that progressed from A to F to I...Acquaintance to Friendship to Intimacy.",  "Wise commitments do not bind us; they free us.  To the spiritually immature, "commitment" is a very scary word because it is internalized as bondage. But to the spiritually mature, commitment is the equivalent of freedom because it bestows authentic happiness that cannot be taken away.", and last " Love seeks to satisfy others at the expense of self.  Lust seeks to satisfy self at the expense of others.  WOW!  This is what I call great stuff!  Read "The Conversation" for yourself and tell me what YOU think.

Wisdom From Foolish People

I guess everyone should be given the benefit of the doubt...even the fool.  I am rereading "The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder" by Vincent Bugliosi. What caught my attention as a profound thought is an analogy that he gives.  He states, "If Winston Churchill said something about WWII, and a bum in a Bowery gutter said something quite the opposite,whom would you believe? There's really only one answer to that question, and it's not the one that 99 % of people would reflexively give - Winston Churchill.  The only proper answer to the  question is , I'd have to hear what they had to say.  This is obviously true since we know that just as a wise man can say something foolish, a fool can say something wise."  WOW!  This is a thought to ponder.  How many times have we dismissed people for who we perceived them to be.  I really had to take note of just how I handle information from people whom I have deemed foolish.  It even sounds acute to even admit that I consider some people foolish.  We must be very careful.  It may be just that one time that we choose not to  hear out the fool that he or she gives us wisdom.  What about you? How do you handle info that comes from one whom you have deemed the fool?

http://www.amazon.com/Prosecution-George-W-Bush-Murder/dp/159315481X