fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
The Empowering Realization That You Look Good for No One
By: Ruth Matthews
Tags: Feminism, Personal, Love, Self, This Happened To Me

I lay back in the surgical chair and wondered exactly what I was doing.

I hadn’t told anyone I was here. I didn’t plan to. Was what I was doing really so bad?

Getting lip fillers wasn’t a decision I had taken lightly. It had been something in the back of my mind for years. It wasn’t until now I had more disposable income that I decided to go for it.

I’d always had smaller lips, and I’d always wondered how I’d look with fillers. I wanted something natural and unnoticeable to anyone else.

Still, sitting in the sterile clinic chair, I wondered why I’d decided not to tell anyone. Was I afraid of judgment? Or of what people would think about how much money I’d invested into my appearance?

If it wasn’t a big deal to me, why had I decided to keep it a secret?

The aesthetician was kind and reassuring. She explained that she believed in working with the natural contours and size of my lips. She applied numbing cream, then explained the process to me as I waited slightly anxiously for my lips to go numb.

The process was quicker than I expected and felt more like a nip than anything else. I was quite impatient to see the results and examine how different my new lips made the rest of my face look.

I was disappointed to see that nothing had really changed. I still looked like me. My lips were a bit red and swollen. I wasn’t sure I could see a difference; in the end, I’d barely had half a milliliter injected.

It was only when I got home that I realized I had nowhere to go for the next 6 months. I was working from home, meaning no one else would see the change in my appearance other than myself.

I’d got lip fillers to sit in the house for 6 months.
Greatest Wonder In The World
By: Anish P
Tags: Personal, Personal Development, Pramukh Swami Maharaj, Personal Growth, Growth Mindset

Photo by Adam Bichler on Unsplash

To See Is To Believe

When we look at the great wonders of the world we ask ourselves a rudimentary question, “How was this possible?”. For a moment in time we reflect in awe at what we see before us, then our phone buzzes with a notification and we continue upon our day. We see many things these days that amaze us and then we ask that question “how?”, then forget the moment and move to the next. This cycle is how we move throughout life. If we took a moment to see how fleeting life is, would we not then appreciate the life we have? In COVID-19 pandemic this year we have lost so many lives, and people still carry on about their lives without a mask and without regard, why is that? Ved Vyasa writes in the Mahabharata, “What is the greatest wonder in the world? That, every single day, people die, Yet the living think they are immortal.”

A Life Immortal

His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj lived a life that seemed immortal. I believe the secret to that life was his relentless pursuit of propagating his “Why”. Each day Pramukh Swami Maharaj lived as if there was no tomorrow. He never saw something he could do today and leave it for tomorrow. He propounded this idea to us as youths but he also lived it. His Holiness was once boarding a flight to London and the seats were being prepared. In that moment while standing and waiting Pramukh Swami picked up a letter and began reading it. He used the small moments of time to make a big impact on us all. There was never a day when Pramukh Swami “slept in”. After departing London in route to Chicago the flight arrived late at night in 2000. The next morning Pramukh Swami woke up before the sunrise and did his daily puja as he always did. His discipline and fervor towards his “why” is something for us all to awe at and wonder, “How is this possible?”

A Wonder To Live By

While the great wonders of the world are by human design, my greatest wonder is one human in particular. It is the purpose of me writing these posts everyday. Many years from now people will read about His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj and ask themselves, “How was it that a person this amazing was on this earth? How was he able to do so much with only 24 hours in a day? How was his reach so far when he was only in one place at a time?” By reflecting on him I question my own capabilities, but His Holiness gave away the secret to being like him on November 27th 1968 in Mumbai. He said that his capabilities are due to the graces of his guru’s His Holiness Shastriji Maharaj and His Holiness Yogiji Maharaj. It was through following their commands and wishes that he has been able to become the person that he is. It is with this knowledge that I try to focus all my efforts towards following his wishes that he has laid out for me over the years. I have no time to waste, no day like today, and tomorrow will be dealt with if and when it arrives.
the frost within.
By: The Lemon Diaries
Tags: Personal, Seasonal Depression, Mental Health, Winter

Captured by Esther Diehl (Gurushots)

There’s something about these wintery months that usher in a coldness that settles deep within your bones. The kind that demands your surrender. I imagine it to be like slowly, expanding icicles.

I’m enveloped in warm blankets, resting against my headboard with a book in hand, seemingly oblivious to the gradual changes happening in the air around me. I’m completely unprepared for the first inkling of frost to find a home in my usually warm room. My gaze remains fastened on the words before me as long, crystalline tendrils of ice make their way closer to me. I don’t flinch when the first needle-like arms attach themselves to the far corners of my duvet. I read on, ignoring the world I’m in for the one I’ve created in my mind. Time passes but I couldn’t say how much. It could have been seconds or days. I expel a sigh of contentment. I watch my breath in a dissociated state as it manifests as a cloud of billowy, white smoke. I try to muster up a little alarm, but I’m too far gone. Where I was once swathed in warmth and lightness, I am now cocooned in harsh, bleak coldness.

To resist its slow spread through my veins is futile. It leaves no part of me untouched as it occupies every space within me. The once vivid colours around me have lost their lustre. The foods I once craved, now seem like putrefied mounds on a plate. The sun has turned into the moon. To say everything in me has gone cold is wrong. The one thing the ice left well alone are the droplets in my eyes. Maybe it saw a kindred spirit in my tears and knew that they were cut from the same cloth. Two sides of the same coin. The tears that escape burn my numbing skin on their way down. I don’t know if I will them to fall faster and more incessantly because they’re my sole source of heat, or if it’s because they’re the only tether to life. The only reminder that I am alive and there is a heart beating inside, albeit hidden under layers of dullness.

I go outside, my movements stiff and lackadaisical, to see the outside world completely unperturbed by the coldness. People walking briskly, enjoying food that radiates heat, smiling from ear to ear. I look at my frozen hands and caress my torpefied face in mild confusion. It is at that moment I realise, the bewitching icicles with their ornate carved fingers, have touched me and me alone.
Praise Beginnings, Praise Ends
By: Nicholas Aw
Tags: Personal, Forgetfulness, 2020, Memories, Reflections

For many of us, we are, now, able to say, “My, what a year!”

We are able to look back. We have the privilege to look back, because we made it. I believe that is cause for gratitude, if not some celebration. It has indeed been a turbulent year.

And yet, we do not arrive whole.

In one way or another, we are incomplete. Some of us are in tatters; we stand at the turn of the year with our heads turned back, longing for the pieces of us that didn’t make it. Grieving, for the ones we lost. Loved, unloved, known, unknown — our fists are tight.

Losses marred the months — economic, financial, social, emotional; many of them too large for us to comprehend, but some close enough that we’ve become too occupied or tired to.

As conversations lean towards reflection, it is rare (but welcome) to hear people calling 2020 a good year of great change. Great change, yes, definitely; but good?

Fragility and impermanence were valuable, painful lessons. We learned to fight invisible enemies. We learned to accept plans that couldn’t go through. We learned to appreciate our private spaces, and the proximity of other breathing bodies. Maybe, we had to do a bit of unlearning too.

I have anger in me. This discontent surfaces and resurfaces, as I sit with myself tonight, last night, and the night before, and I don’t know why.

Maybe I envisioned this year to be the year. My year. A little foolish in hindsight, but I mustn’t discredit the peace that hope brings.

And it is with this same hope that I will hold with me, as we move into 2021, albeit with much more elasticity, grace, and allowance.

Memory will be the witness to my losses and lessons. Memory, the mother of the muses, the harbinger of both fondness and hurt; in equal intensity we are both plagued and blessed by it.

Yet we often overlook one of the greatest gifts of humanity — forgetfulness. Forgetfulness, the sister of memory, and the goddess of ease.

Forgetfulness, the great healer.

I loathe to forget; all my life I regarded my poor memory as a weakness. This year changed that.

I have come to realise that a great part of my good cheer is half-owing to the inability to conjure up certain distant memories at will. Though I must clarify — I do not go about intentionally forgetting, as if I hold no respect for any thing; in fact, I write everything I can remember into my journal, and revisit it frequently.

The night deepens as I write this, and my discontent subsides. The crickets and insect song began at dusk, but now I hear them again. They will continue all night, and they will continue tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow.

Let us mend.
The What and the Why
By: D. H. Frye
Tags: Faith, Personal, Christianity

Photo by Andriyko Podilnyk on Unsplash

“Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head — Christ.” — Ephesians 4:14–15 CSB

As the body of Christ, we are called to communicate with each other in a specific way for a specific purpose — lovingly presenting truth to each other to build up and strengthen each other. This activity can take many forms — sharing Scriptural insight, challenging misconceptions and false teachings, encouraging our brothers and sisters. In all of these things, the motivation is love, the medium is truth, and the goal is a stronger and more united body of Christ.

My intentions in writing this blog are to pursue these same motivations, mediums, and goals. I have a deep desire to share many things that God teaches me or places on my heart. Sometimes these thoughts are uplifting, other times they are challenging or convicting. In everything, I acknowledge my capacity to make mistakes or be flat-out wrong. However, what you find here is my best attempts to speak the truth in love for the purpose of glorifying God and building up His people.

Here are some of the guiding principles behind my posts:

Incorporate Scripture — the further I stray from the truth of Scripture, the more likely I am to be wrong or unhelpful. This blog isn’t primarily intended to teach the Bible directly, but all of the principles and perspectives I might have mean little unless they align with the real source of Truth. Keep it Short — I’ve read many fantastic blogs that had eye-grabbing headers and interesting content, but demanded far too much time and attention. In writing this blog, I intend to keep each post concise and make a specific point. If a topic demands more conversation, I will make a series of posts, rather than burying my thoughts too deeply within themselves.

I hope that whatever you find here is a blessing to you!

Daniel
I QUIT!
By: Anish P
Tags: Personal, Motivation, Pramukh Swami Maharaj, Personal Growth, Growth Mindset

Photo by Jackson Simmer on Unsplash

Easy Way Out

The easiest thing to do in life is quit, but its effects last longer than intended. There are so many quotes that try to give motivation for one to not lay down and stop fighting, yet the mind still looks at quitting as an option. The consequence of quitting is that we chip away at our fortitude and ultimately make the mind weak. With a weak mind we can never reach our true measure and each goal will be 50% complete. Anything we decide to do will always be hard. Why? Because the act of doing requires effort in some form. There will be obstacles on any path one chooses, it will be mental dexterity that can push a person past the pain. One of the most interesting sports in the world is CrossFit. It is interesting because it is a sport that makes one completely uncomfortable. The top athletes in the sport all have one thing in common, they never quit and go to a place in their minds where the uncomfortable becomes comfortable.

“Suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret” — Jim Rohn

Living In The Uncomfortable

His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj lived his entire life in the uncomfortable. From the moment he left his home to become a Sadhu until he took his last breath he experienced the uncomfortable. He never uttered the words “I QUIT!”. It was never even a thought. When he left his childhood home in Chansad to meet his guru His Holiness Shastriji Maharaj to become a sadhu, he was taken to 3 different cities, overcame a nasty fever, and heard words of doubt about the path that he was about to embark on. While this doesn’t seem like much to overcome, we should think about when we go to India today and have to overcome a simple fever it is difficult and we are ready to leave and come back to the comforts of our home. There is incident after incident in His Holinesses life in which he overcame discomfort. One of the ones that comes to mind is in 1985 despite a constant fever Pramukh Swami toured the Kanam area, visiting 95 villages in 20 days, doing over 700 padharamanis (spritual home visits). These tours didn’t stop for another 25 years. Doing all of this he never had a doubt to stop what he was doing.

The Only Way Is Forward

I am fortunate that a few people read these posts of mine. One person asked me, “Is this not going to be hard?” another said, “I don’t think you can do it.” While I hear what they say I choose not to listen. With laser focus on my objective I will have to overcome many obstacles. What I am taking on is far from easy and I acknowledge that, but I am only following someone who have blazed the trail. There might be some down trees and a few trenches along the path, but I have to map on how to overcome each deterrent. The real strength will come from my mind, having the ability to hold on and not let go when ever ounce of my being says that it is just easier. This opportunity is a once in a lifetime chance, and the means justify the ends. So no, I will not be quitting anytime soon, or really ever.
PERSPECTIVE
Tags: Personal, First Post, Life Lessons, Self-awareness, Mindfulness

PERSPECTIVE

We are living in our own worlds and mostly unaware of it, we are our own world due to our perspectives.

Life is all about perspective. A cliché but vastly true, you hear these flowery words and it can easily be understood but when knowledge is transcended to wisdom there is acceptance.

Perspective changes your personal and individual universe, it’s unique to everyone and you are and only ever will see the world through your perspective.What’s special is it’s impermanence, as we grow and widen our intake, as everything fluctuates, our perspective shifts simultaneously with us. This can actually occur unconsciously or manually.

Our perspective impacts us on a daily basis and way more than we are aware.Perspective coexists with our values which then results in our decisions and concludes with our beliefs. From mere things like sight to consciousness all depends on our perspective, it rules us, our human thinking mind and it’s equivalence to our perspectives.

The way you see and interpret a sunset can feel similar to someone else’s experience, you may both feel calm and serene, but how the colours on the projected sky mesh, the exact space your eyes land upon, the thoughts that flow through your mind, the feelings that arise awoken from thus, that singular sunset that someone else is looking at beside you has easily become both yours and their distinctive sunset and whilst you aren’t taking any ownership of the same thing, you’re experiencing something simultaneously, together, but receiving it differently, somehow making it each other’s sunset.
About Me — Logan Daley. While many of my readers assert I can…
By: Digitally Vicarious
Tags: Personal, About Me, Cybersecurity, Career Paths, 100 Words Project

Remind yourself to stop, breathe, and relax

While many of my readers assert I can make the most complex or obscure technologies understandable through my writing, I’ve always struggled to do the same with myself. Instead of sharing every nuance of the long-winding road that is my life, I’ll simply share a selection of points and invite further discussion. I think we’ll get along very well, so thank you for dropping by!

I come from the land of ice and snow. That’s what it’s all aboot, eh?

I am Canadian / Australian, having moved to Australia in 2011 and becoming a citizen of this great country in 2016.

Sydney Harbour Bridge and Ottawa Senators Cap

I speak English and French fluently although my French is declining due to a lack of use.

I’ve worked in Information Technology for nearly 30 years, and full-time for the last 21; nearly all directly related to cybersecurity. Before that, I worked many jobs as well as IT including in warehouses, office equipment sales, service stations, and as a fisherman.

I ride motorcycles although I don’t have one right now. I prefer sport bikes and my last ride was a Honda CBR1000RR

I miss this ride. It was stolen weeks before I moved to Australia and was planning to take it with me.

I’m a die-hard hockey fan and a fan of the Ottawa Senators in the NHL.

I like to travel although I haven’t seen as many places as I want to yet and while I don’t have a “bucket list”, I’ll figure it out as I go.

Rome is pretty cool if you take your time and just savour the experience.

My favourite vacation is cruising and I love it so much, I approached the cruise directors on my last cruise about being a guest lecturer. I was given the opportunity to join a 12-night cruise to Fiji from Sydney in July 2020, but of course COVID happened and I hope to get the opportunity again one day.

I love writing and speaking and can’t wait for conferences and trade shows to return to normal. Zoom, WebEx, and Teams are just not the same

I love sharing my passion for cybersecurity

I’m extremely passionate about technology and cybersecurity, especially the impact it has on people and how they use and abuse it.

I wouldn’t consider myself an out-of-the-box thinker because I don’t believe a box exists to begin with; we place limits on ourselves and effectively box ourselves into “societal norms” (whatever that means)

Participating in forums, especially concerning privacy, is something I enjoy

I tend to overthink things a lot because I don’t like to upset or offend people and while I can easily stand up for what I believe in my career, I struggle to stand up for myself.

I started using the hashtag “#humanitynotmachinery” as I believe technology should complement and not replace our connection to others.

Stay safe out there!
Elitism
By: Anish P
Tags: Personal, Motivation, Personal Development, Pramukh Swami Maharaj, Growth Mindset

Photo by Alexander Awerin on Unsplash

Am I better?

We have an inbuilt system in which we look at others, judge them, and determine if they are worthy of our time, if we we are worthy of their time, or if we are equal. We incorporate a number of factors from appearance to intelligence. Based upon this we internalize a rank for another human. Yet when this is done to us we see it as an injustice. How is it possible for us to want to be treated equally but we do not treat those around us as equals? The warped sense of elitism is what keeps us from treating our fellow humans as humans. We lack tolerance, we lack empathy, and we lack humility. If we looked deeper at a person, saw them for who they really were and not the superficial ranking system in our mind, the injustices of this world would cease to exist.

“Look beyond what you see” — Rafiki

Looking Towards An Example

The life of Pramukh Swami Maharaj was magnanimous. His magnanimity was due to the fact that he never judged a person from the outside he always looked at them in a deeper way. I believe that his selflessness and humility allowed him to talk to anyone and everyone with the highest levels of respect. He would speak to The Pope and a lowly farmer exactly the same; with the same love, the same attention, and the same regard. What he saw was beyond the scope of outwardly vision. This is exemplified in the incident below.

“Once are group of five of Harijans (impoverished villagers) were called by His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj to come towards him. Confused, they thought that Pramukh Swamiji must be calling others. Again His Holiness called our for them to come closer. The boys replied shyly, “Swamiji, we are all Harijans!” Pramukh Swami spoke out of compassion for them, “Even we are Harina jan (God’s people).” In response, the youths ran towards Swamiji. And His Holiness affectionately blessed them by placing his hands on their heads. The youths felt immensely happy and proud.”

It is because Pramukh Swami sees God in all people that he is able to navigate the personalities of the world. He sees them all beyond the cover of the book.

Looking Inwards

I have to look into my heart and find the judgments that I make upon others. To reverse this thinking I would need to see humans as His Holiness saw each one. He saw them as equal, because it God’s eyes all are equal. Pramukh Swami overlooked flaws and only saw the good in others. He wanted to know more about others not to make himself seem greater but to help others find the greatness they could reach. I was never worth his time yet he always gave me his time, I was not equal to him but he treated me with such respect as if I was. It is by practicing this kindness that will make me truly elite like Pramukh Swami was.
Start | Love letter to 2020/21.
By: Nikki Faye
Tags: Motivation, Start, Personal, 2021

In 2020, I didn’t feel like I quite lived — or so, what I previously defined as living. In previous years, I’ve distracted myself with quite a few highlight reels — Coachella, summer vacations, three day trips here and maybe a few, too many brunches. Yep, you guessed it — there were no distracting highlight reels this year.

This year felt like a standstill, and a year of appreciation of the small things…

I feel lucky and privileged for my home, health, family, friends, boyfriend and stable work. I am blessed during a terrible time, and I cannot be more grateful. And, I feel guilty that despite the great things I’ve listed, I crumbled.

For the first 3 months, I was working +60 hours per week from Monday — Saturday, within the close confines of client offices and small conference rooms. So at first, I thought — maybe, the pandemic was a great way to rejuvenate myself and perhaps working from home(wfh) might help with my overall mental health. But, I struggled — I’m still struggling. There’s not much barriers between me and my thoughts, and the loneliness of staring at a computer all day within my room. I missed thriving on daily, friendly and trivial interactions that wasn’t purely about work or forced.

I still struggle with separating my job and life, and vice versa (i.e. how to forget about work/work feelings after shutting off my computer.) Each passing day feels the same. Some days, it’s worse when I cry because of quarter life crisis, impostor syndrome, self-disappointment and Sunday scaries. But I’m coping, and learning to thrive under these circumstances.

As I reflect on 2020, as mentioned above, I wasn’t quite living.Days went by — so fast, what a blur. Yet, there were feelings creeping in of the months fleeting, and no ending of this in sight. I was — am — having an internal identity crisis and a quarter life crisis, with the same repetitive questions and no definitive answers (I’ll save that for another time).

Though I struggled through 2020, I had a few silver linings in 2020 to keep me going — passing my CPA exam, playing many a board game, getting promoted, going to Massachusetts for two weeks to meet my boyfriend’s family and Thanksgiving karaoke night. It wasn’t typical highlight reels, but this year gave me time for introspection, and appreciate the things I used to take for granted. I used to think brunch and bars were hobbies, but now I bake, finish puzzles… and I really wanted to write. I’m scared to write & for the world to mock my writing, but I tell myself even if I do a crappy job the first time, I’ll get better over time. It’ll be better over time.

So for 2021, I’m going to start — learning, writing, reading… It’s a start, and I’ll tweak it as I go.

shout out to my family & my lovely friends (y’all know). thanks for keeping me going.
Letter #1
By: Kylee Warren
Tags: Personal, Love Yourself, Love, Love Letters, Personal Development

You were young, carefree and naïve. You didn’t know what you were getting yourself into when you met him. He was the boy at the bar that called you on your sass and had the nice arms. You were swept away by him and his wit. You didn’t know that, that conversation in the dark dive bar would shut it down and end with a kiss on the corner standing on the streetcar tracks.

Ryan Alaska would be your first love.

The one who made you think about forever. The one who you would dream about. The one who would make you slowly start to doubt yourself and your worth. You had ambition, passion, strength and laughter. You felt like you could take on the world before him.

You loved him and were too scared to say it before he left because you didn’t know what love was. It was a connection that you had never experienced. The butterflies. You were desperate for the love you felt for him back. When you ended up telling him how you felt about a year after meeting and didn’t get the “I love you” back, it crushed you. You pushed the disappoint and sadness aside, you didn’t want to appear weak and you held onto the possibility.

It is okay that he didn’t have those feelings for you at that time, and didn’t just say it because you did. What was not okay was the proceeding 3 and a half years that was a rollercoaster of him coming back into your life. You were worth so much more than the ease in which he strolled in, like he belonged there. You gave him the space in the hope that his feelings would develop and change, because that was you, always hopeful — even it if it was to the point of self destruction.

You, girl, didn’t deserve someone who held onto you for comfort. You didn’t deserve being the safe space for someone else and not getting that in return. You didn’t deserve being cheated on. You didn’t deserve being amounted to the almost goodbye that didn’t happen when he left Portland.
MY YEAR IN REVIEW
By: Folagbade Oluwatimilehin
Tags: Personal, Bussiness, Growth, Covid 19, Entepreneurship

I have been trying to write for days, but words seem to elude me. I simply want to pen down what I feel about this year of my life, but my muse has decided at this moment to flee.

I open my diary and I can’t help but wonder- What a year!!! COVID 19, #ENDSARS, and I not finishing my Masters this year I am very pained.

But something did not change about my year, as usual, I stared at my diary pages and realized that I AM NOT THE BEST AT WHAT I DO- academics, business, relationships, and everything you can think of. In fact, my brother thinks I’m a failure when it comes to business, not that he ever says this to my face, but his action says it all. Not that I do not take concrete actions, but things do not seem to add up for me or the time is not right yet, (as I am still in the learning phase, but I just want to be done with this phase ASAP!! I have overstayed my welcome).

Another thing I have come to realize is that people complain about the size of my dreams and goals, like seriously

source - makeameme

“Timi your dream is too big, scale it down, doesn’t it scare you, reduce it.”

What is wrong about being ambitious, what is the problem in wanting more from life than those around you, what is wrong with wanting to build a global institution that will last hundreds of years after I bid this world farewell?

As for me, my dreams are valid and I am not backing down on them.

For the last seven years, I have not been able to achieve up to half of what I have penned down in my diary, this year was a little different though as I achieved more than the usual.

I got accepted into an incubation program and was given a grant of $15,000, I built an app, website + API, partnered with a financial institution to help bring my idea into fusion.

I got lots of rejection letters and some resounding Nos. will I give up? hell No.

The bottom line is I could have done better, achieved more, but we move.

My birthday is just a few days from now and all I want for this new year is to be successful on anything I lay my hands on, majorly my business. This is my wish.

This year, I am not only writing my goals in my diary but also writing them in the sands of time, by acting on them.

All I want to do is build a world-class team and partner with institutions that will help me achieve my crazy goals and dreams plus I want to have the taste of real success badly.

No more doubling down, but we push harder towards achieving those dreams and aspirations while chasing strategic partnership and align ourselves with those who are going the same way as us.

I pray grace smiles on my team, so cheers to a fruitful and eventful year ahead.
Ways to avoid anemia using natural medication
By: Robe Solado
Tags: Health, Personal, Healthcare

simulation image of anemia

Anemia is an irregular health situation which happens when the amount of red blood cells or the quantity of hemoglobin in your blood is condensed. It results in a reduction in the capability of blood to take oxygen to cells of the human body…Read the original article here

Since the cells don’t have adequate energy, they are not able to carry out the normal functions thus many significant bodily processes slow down and turn out to be not as much capable. It is a symptom of additional problems and isn’t conversely considered an ailment in itself.

The main reason for having anemia is the deficiency of iron, which takes place when the intake of iron is insufficient or after a lot of blood has been lost. It is frequently the first indication of a countless number of problems that include joint pain, infections and major diseases such as cancer.

Herbal supplements can help in keeping a check on our health. Amongst herbs and fruits, cabbage has been in use since many years to ease anemic ailments. It has high iron quantity; still its chlorophyll amount is the most efficient in increasing the hemoglobin count of the body by building up blood cells. Spinach is highly nutritious food and is commonly put to use in combating exhaustion, increase energy level, augment brain functioning and to decrease age-related problems. It is also a high-quality source of Coenzyme Q-10, the effects of which bear a resemblance to that of vitamin E.click here to know more

In fact it can be an even more powerful antioxidant as compared to vitamin E, as it has an important part in the manufacture of energy in the cells of our body. This helps in appropriate blood circulation, stimulating the immunity system, increasing tissue oxygenation, plus it has anti-ageing effects. Also it’s said to be helpful in easing the momentary symptoms of asthma and other associated ailments.

Asparagus root is an herb with high amount folic acid, so it is necessary in the creation of fresh blood cells. It is very useful in avoiding anemia. It is an exceptional diuretic, as it helps in increasing cellular activity taking place in the kidney, escalating the speed of urine creation.

Also, it is effective in reimbursing sediments present in our bladder and it also helps to dissolve the deposits of uric acid, in this manner an excellent way to take care of gout, and it’s particularly useful during hypertension, when the quantity of sodium present in the blood exceeds the current potassium level. click here to read more
The Christmas Letter 2020
By: Nick Richards
Tags: Personal, Letters

Without a doubt, like many of us, I would not have gotten through this year without my friends. After starting the year at what can only be described as a grown-up, civilised evening of games, gin and good company (especially when compared to the 2018/19 rager), friends have continued to be an important source of strength and support for which I am immensely grateful. Firstly, my colleagues are the best, most supportive team I could ask for, I am so lucky to work in a team that gets on as well as we do and going into school during lockdown really cemented that. Next, the Wantage crew; having the long-awaited and much-discussed London meet-up just before lockdown hit was so much fun, as were the super cliché Zoom quizzes we managed to keep up for far longer than any of us really expected. In the summer, when we were able to see each other in person, we went to various people’s gardens and went on various walks (gotta love those sunsets), and it felt so good to have human contact again! Last, but certainly not least, as they have already threatened me about what would happen if they weren’t mentioned, Millie, Sasha and Sarah, who are most supportive ex-colleagues and current friends with whom I can discuss all the teacher-y bull that no-one else would find interesting, and Hamilton, of course.

I was very proud this year when I was able to be a proper adult and get a new car, entirely funded by myself. So long Pedro, hello Paolo.

I was very lucky early in the year to manage to get abroad, before Covid was really a thing that people were worried about. I went to Canada (which I still regard as my spiritual home btw) to go skiing. It was so much fun, and considering I had only done it once before, I think by the end of the week I was getting reasonably OK. I could get down a blue run by myself without sh*tting myself too much so that counts as a success I think. Oh Canada, I will be back! I was also due to go to Corfu for Easter, that got cancelled because of, you know… and so we changed our plans to Christmas in Iceland, that got cancelled because of, you know… Next year will be the one I’m sure *touches all of the wood just to make sure*.
Phantom Memories
Tags: Personal, Life, Life Lessons, Memories, Reflections

Memories are the most fascinating tricksters. Don't get me wrong, I have been a faithful slave of this trickster as long as I can remember. In fact nothing makes me secure like wrapping myself in the warmth of some memories. However, these days I find myself questioning the veracity of these memories by juxtaposing my own experience with the experience of those who have been with me. It is an interesting experiment.

What about those memories that we don't have any witness? We have drifted away from the people or we went through that experience all alone. How can we tell ourselves that we experienced that for sure? On days when my mind is not clouded by romanticism, days when I don't take any nonsense from myself or others, I can sense that there is something wrong with the way I conjure those memories.

The point is when we sprinkle a lot of nostalgia on some plain memories, it looks like an exotic dessert which is still vanilla underneath. There is an instant deception which most of us do not seem to discern. When I feel lazy and do not want to dwell on the counter arguments inside my head, I ask myself "What is so wrong with such harmless phantom memories? It is just in my head and I am not taking any action based on them." It is an excuse to go back to them because such memories are comforting. When I am being rational, I know that it is still tricking me to stay in the past.

I started questioning doesn't mean that I have decided to let go of those memories. It is a tug of war even now. May be some day the more rational part of myself will win or it may be the dreamy self. Nobody knows for sure. Until then, whenever I catch a whiff of nostalgia in the air, I might try not to look through my rose tinted glasses.
The Pains of Being Alone
By: Ana Rosa Sanchez
Tags: Personal, Depression

Traversing through what will take my mind off things I came to the conclusion that loneliness was essential. Yet, it wasn’t enough for my mind to clear it’s own mess up. I never thought that living a life with many people could harbor so many broken promises. People will come and go, that’s the sad part, yet the untold promise that those that stay will make your life better is sometimes never lived.

Throughout life I have learned to love an appreciate those around me. There is nothing more important than the love of someone that has seen you grow or has recently met you. There is a difference, however. The difference lies in that the history that shaped you also shaped that person alongside you. When I say people come and go, for the most part, it feels like waves. Like there is so little to be done because sometimes life will carry something out that wasn’t meant for you. Other times, you forget and people fade, although they don’t necessarily leave. Therein lies the issue. Who stays and who goes don’t take away the feeling that there will be an empty spot where they once stood.

This idea that happiness comes from certain parts is as preposterous to think that medication will fix you. It doesn’t work like that. Sometimes loneliness doesn’t even exist, it just is. Feeling alone isn’t a product of being alone. It is a product of feelings that could have long been forgotten or just the depression that won’t let you go of its grip. It’s the deeper emotion of the inability to attain something that you want, but don’t know if it’s what you need. The more you delve into the intricasies of what you like the more you will sometimes notice that those things will come and go in whim. Loneliness doesn’t care for you, it will never understand you the same way you will never understand it.

It sometimes feels like wanting to take action and being unable to move, to think, to enjoy. Probably one of its worst symptoms is your inability to communicate. The work, the values, the things that make you yourself. The words that could come out of your mouth will never really make their way to someone else’s ears because they are ears that won’t listen. You will have people around you and you will have the least desirable thoughts because of them. Without them, loneliness feels like any other day, any other time, any other feeling.

The sluggishness of existing becomes more real when everything you do seems like something new to lose. A limb, a soft caress, all things that seem to be menial, but are really more consuming than you ever thought. The taxing disadvantages of existing are surely to take you under now. There is nothing else left for you here. Just let the waters ebb, let them flow. There is surely something better than this.
Facebook No More
By: Jason R. Holt
Tags: Personal, Change, Blog

Well, as of today, my Facebook will be no more. Over 13 years worth of content, numerous rants and raves, and an almost daily deluge of angsty-but-heartfelt posts. Today it comes to an end.

One of the health issues I discovered a few years ago was anxiety attacks. Didn’t even know I was having them until the doctors ruled out everything about my heart, lungs, and brain and came up with the recommendation: “Maybe it’s not your brain, but your mind. We’d like you to see a psychiatrist for a diagnosis of acute anxiety disorder.”

After all the syncope episodes, shortness of breath, and dizziness, we traced it back to a simple issue with uncontrolled anxiety. The more I tried to hold it in, the worse it got. I was originally of the, “Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” mindset for this sort of thing. That if I just grinned-and-bore it, then I’d get passed it.

That wasn’t the case.

In fact, it kept getting worse.

So, after some good prescription meds, a good diagnosis, and two years later, I can say that I’ve had exactly two major panic attacks without any loss of consciousness that used to previously follow them.

And what was at the bottom of all this anxiety?

It turns out that spilling all my angst and frustration and outrage in a public-echo-chamber didn’t actually result in an “emotional pressure release” as I attributed to my writing. Instead, it worsened my anxiety by forcing my mind into constant cycles of rumination on fatalistic and cataclysmic thoughts. The outrage was just for show…mostly ;)

My doctor suggested I stop with social media altogether when I first started seeing him; but then we examined some of the positives and we decided that maintaining FB presence would be helpful for me to maintain some sort of contact and communication with those not directly connected to my household.

Thus, I went on these last two years to curb the negative habits of my social media posts. Avoiding the political rants, ignoring trolls, and absolutely not getting into debates with strangers in my feeds. Those are the worse.

I stopped using Facebook last month after I read an article how evil in the world was being spread and perpetuated via social media. Social media was being weaponized and used for psychological warfare and the biggest platform, Facebook, was doing little to curb it. Instead, it took the hands-off approach to inflammatory content when it was from someone who was famous, wealthy, or politically connected. To me, curbing the speech of the everyday citizen is one thing; but refusing to do it for the powers that be was even worse.

So, with that revelation, I decided I was done with Facebook forever.

For the time being, this shall be my blog.

Welcome everyone, hope you stay for a while :)
Merry Christmas To Me
By: K. Exum
Tags: Personal, Merry Christmas, Present, Blog, Piecesofkblog

Weekly Thoughts 81: Merry Christmas To Me

In my spoiled mood, I have to just say I miss my Mac. It’s so uncomfortable using this dell. I’m not even motivated like that on this dinosaur. I know it’ll all be worth it, but it’s really annoying right now. My whole setup has changed. It’s at a shop and I hope something wakes it back up. I haven’t made a new spoken word in months. I haven’t written one in weeks, and it’s killing me. I feel so defeated.

How was that review on Friday? I don’t think I write excellent reviews. Part of the reason I stopped doing book talks is that I don’t think it’s that good. I’m still studying book reviews. I wanted to give my opinion without telling the book that I so desperately wanted to tell. I wanted to tell what I learned and how it changed my writing. While also baiting the audience into reading this book to have an enjoyable moment like I did. Check that blog out and tell me how you think I did. 1st to die by James Patterson.

December 18th, I awakened from a nap to hear a truck outside. The type of truck that would make any kid jump out of bed to buy some ice cream. Yet this truck didn’t sell ice cream. It delivered packages to the adults. This package today was my MacBook, all fixed up and ready to go. After being in the shop for a couple of days. The joy I felt when I saw that logo pop up on the screen. Yesterday was a good day.

This week was kinda hopeless until Saturday arrived. I couldn’t get in the mood to create anything until then. Now we’re back to our scheduled programming after 8 long months. I’ll never take this machine for granted again. Still through it all I stayed blogging and kept going no matter what. I blogged through the word press app on my phone for a couple of months. My sister allowed me to use her computer for a couple of months. We were damn near swapping turns every day. My dell got fixed along the way, then that became my main computer. For my spoken word journey. My friend allowed me to use his MacBook for a couple of months. I never gave up. Thursday I had some doubt, but I came back to my senses as I released a book talk on Friday.

For this week, I can say we’re back. Hope you all enjoy your Christmas this week coming up. I’ll be back next Sunday for another weekly thoughts. We have been growing the last few days. Looking at 286 followers now. Would be sweet to hit 300 followers by the end of this year. Anyway see you all next Sunday. Merry Christmas To Me.

If You Haven’t Done So Already…

Stream & Download My New Spoken Word Single https://songwhip.com/k-exum/goodbye-text
To Write Freely
By: Ana Rosa Sanchez
Tags: Personal, Writing

Unfortunate to understand that the times I spent in silence were actually to produce some words. But my brain is hardly neat enough to think up the things that I really want. It’s more than often just stuck where it shouldn’t be. The more I think about needing to write, the less I understand what I could possibly create. There hasn’t been a moment in around 2 years where I feel like my imagination has sparked. The time that I used to spend in a college classroom were filled with ideas and potential projects. But now that I’m able to do them, those thoughts don’t even seem to be able to come back. I’m not able to bring them back. Working a full-time job has really taken a toll on my imagination. I use my brain for technical things, for problem solving, but not for creating. I miss the days when I would feel more elation toward the idea of creating something. Being in a place where you feel your writing can be effective makes a difference in the way you think about writing and efficiency.

I can’t begin to understand what it was like, but being there, in a place where the people around you were also thinking up ideas for creating words, analyzing texts, understanding their importance… That’s something you can hardly get from people’s words online. Although I am an advocate of finding ideas in the little things, I can’t truly say that I’ve been able to practice it even a little. Even if I tried, it all seems to fall short someplace. It all seems to not be enough for me to publish or even re-read. Usually it’s just ramblings. Studying to be an editor also took out the ideas from right out of me. I was so focused on having my sentences be perfect, that I hardly looked at the ideas behind them.

Creating things was usually never a hard thing for me. The more fiction I read, the more connections I would make, the more the writer’s voice would be in my head leading me toward the place they wanted me to. However, having these things floating in my head wasn’t enough for the most part. I could try my best to connect ideas to words, but it was hardly the case when I tried to convey them. Now, now I just write for myself and it’s probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.
Me in short
By: Zak Mudie
Tags: Personal, Bio, Politics

I am an 18-year-old Northerner from the UK. I’m a political individual, and it’s safe to say I’d classify myself as a classical liberal, not a neo-liberal, I’m old school. Oh, and before I forget, Star Wars is the best thing since sliced bread, and no matter what you say you can’t change my mind.