Fighting a Cold with Chicken Soup, Humor and Optimism

I have a cold. Optimist or not, having a cold sucks. Actually “blows” (in a bad way) would be a more appropriate description. I generally have a good immune system, but it’s been a little stressful at my house lately. Stress lowers one’s resistance to illness. One of the advantages of being an optimist is the “half-full glass” bunch suffers from fewer colds.

But, alas, optimism can only take you so far. When I wasn’t looking, some cold germs flew up my nose and took up residence there. Since Thanksgiving was coming, the cold germs invited all their friends and family to live in my nasal membranes. Some have migrated to other areas and I’m trying to cough them out of my sore throat. My itchy eyes are trying to drown them in tears. They laugh and multiple in spite of doses of Echinacea, juice and ibprofen.

Through the years I have tried different home remedies to relieve cold symptoms. I think it’s ironic that after all the advances we have made in science, that we can’t find a cure for the common cold. The best we can hope for is relief from cold symptoms.

If my mom or dad were alive I would be slurping chicken soup.

For years scientists and doctors didn’t believe chicken soup had any medicinal components at all.

But, the Jewish mothers of those doctors finally won out and now there is evidence that there is some benefit to the chicken-soup-as-medicine theory. Either that or they realized it was fruitless to argue with your yiddisha mama or Bubbe.

A friend of mine suggested a hot bath with vinegar in the water. I tried this but it made me want to roll in a patch of salad greens and brush my skin with olive oil. Somehow I can see a chicken soup dinner with a salad made with vinegar and oil dressing in my future. Too bad I won’t be able to taste it.

As unfair as it may seem that we are all vulnerable to colds, it is a sad fact of life. No matter how good, kind, careful or honest we may be no one is immune from the four sufferings: birth, sickness, aging and death. By the way, the IRS says taxes are another of the mandatory sufferings too, but Buddhist scripture doesn’t address that topic. I try not to talk about the IRS either. I don’t want to piss them off. I may be an optimist, but I’m not stupid. I tell people if they have a good lawyer they may be able to get away with murder (minus the karmic retribution that is governed by a higher set of laws) but no one gets away with cheating on their taxes. Ask Al Capone.

Some pain is inevitable. However, we can reduce our negativity about the problem and reduce our suffering. That is why my co-author, Jackie, and I wrote this oft quoted phrase from the introduction of our book, Erase Negativity and Embrace the Magic Within.

It is impossible to go through life without encountering difficulties. From a baby’s first cry to the last dying breath, the human experience involves a series of struggles. While encountering challenges is an inherent part of life, it is not so much the problems, but the attitude you take while facing these difficulties that shapes how you view the world.

So yes, I am suffering from a cold. I don’t like it, but I have to move on. I’m resting, drinking more fluids and experimenting with over-the-counter remedies. My friend, Michele, suggested Zicam, so I’ll blog in the future as to how that worked out.

The one bright spot in this saga is I have the opportunity to tell three of my favorite jokes and puns. Here they are:

You think it’s a booger, but it’s snot.

What’s the difference between a booger and a mushroom? A kid won’t eat a mushroom.

Last, but not least.

Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Ach.
Ach who?
Bless you.

And bless all of YOU this holiday season. If you do get sick, be sure to rent a few funny movies, tell a few jokes and, of course, buy multiple copies of our book, Erase Negativity and Embrace the Magic Within. It won’t cure your cold, but you can always use it as a large coaster for a bowl of chicken soup.

The Wrong Bus is a Step in the Right Direction

I just read the book, The Wrong Bus, An Urban Christmas Story, by John Noel Hampton. I highly recommend it. Check it out at www.JohnNoelHampton.com or www.amazon.com. I enjoy reading, but it’s difficult for me to find a book, especially fiction, that I enjoy. When I find a novel that captures my interest I become immersed in the message and it becomes a part of me.

Because of this intimate connection I have with my reading material, I have to be choosy. Depressing books darken my mood, thrillers make me anxious, but inspirational books lighten my soul.

The Wrong Bus is realistic, but hopeful. Here is a synopsis:

When Ida, a wealthy older optimist, sets out to complete her Christmas shopping, little does she know the dramatic turn her life will take when she decides to go by bus to save a few dollars and becomes the victim of a brutal assault. Her luck takes a three-sixty turn when Junior, a young African-American student from the wrong side of town with troubles of his own, comes to her rescue-or does it? Christmas in Los Angeles can bring out the worst in some, but it can also spin misery into miracles and just maybe restore faith.

In my own book, Erase Negativity and Embrace the Magic Within, I caution individuals to pay attention to their daily intake of information. If we surround ourselves with negative people, listen to an onslaught of gloomy news reports, fill up our free time with depressing music and read books with dark messages, it only makes sense that it will affect our moods.

That doesn’t mean we have to be oblivious to world events, but I do think it’s important to balance the flow of negative and positive in our lives. For instance, the very nature of journalism is to put a focus on scary, depressing or horrible events. The old adage, “If it bleeds, it leads” is as true now as it has been for decades. So if one is immersed in dismal news stories, you could believe the entire world is bad, crime-ridden and without hope. However, predominately negative stories are being covered, and the reason they are stories in the first place is because of the negative and depressing nature of the event.

But that is not a realistic look at the world.

I believe there is a lot more good than bad. We just need to pay more attention to it. It’s one of the reasons I make a conscious effort to start my day reciting things that I’m grateful for. It can be as simple as seeing the sun shine, having the strength to get out of bed, thinking about the many people in my life who I care about and care about me, as well as having a roof over my bed and enough food to eat. These are simple things for most of us, but they are luxuries or non existent for others.

But back to the book, The Wrong Bus.

We make choices in our lives and one is what we choose to read. John has not only written a realistic, but heart-warming tale, he is donating $2 from the sale of each book (now through Nov. 30, 2010) to charity. I hope you will go to www.Amazon.com or to John’s website and get the book. In my opinion, The Wrong Bus is the right choice for a good holiday read.

Erasing Illness

I am sick. I caught some sort of virus and it has resulted in body aches, lethargy and a mild fever. The worst part is when I had chills (imagine wanting to wrap up in a blanket when it’s 110 degrees outside.) Thankfully, that part of my malady only lasted one day.

Other than migraines, I rarely get sick. I have an upbeat attitude, a good immune system and bugs and viruses generally avoid me. But this time I was not so lucky. Worse yet, I know why it happened and I only have myself to blame. I was a crab. Germs like crabby people. Some germs even look like crabs and I bet they like hanging out with their own ilk.

This is more than a passing thought. There is a lot of evidence about how people who are optimistic and full of gratitude are healthier and happier. I’m too sick to look up all the statistics, but it’s pretty much common knowledge about the happy and healthy connection. It was even a topic of discussion on one of the radio blogs I was on (Gab With The Gurus) a few weeks ago.

So how did this happen to me? How did the author of Erase Negativity and Embrace the Magic Within fall victim to illness? Well, for one, I was exposed to a sick kid, my great nephew. I knew he was sick and I probably wasn’t as careful as I should have been. But I think the real reason is my immune was suppressed because I had been crabby.

A couple days prior to this, we thought my purse was stolen. My spouse and I were camping and on the day I was to fly home for a week (CB was continuing on) my purse disappeared. This resulted in a whirlwind of activity to learn what hoops I was going to have to jump through to get through airport security. It also involved filing a police report, canceling credit cards, reporting the info to the credit bureaus, getting a new driver’s license, passport etc. etc. etc.

In addition to the stress, I had a real bad taste in my mouth about the schmucks who stole my purse. I was careful about locking the truck, hiding the purse or carrying it with me. And since I was gone for two months, I had everything I needed in the bag (prescription sunglasses, regular glasses, a flash drive with a lot of my documents in it, Costco card, insurance card and the list goes on.)
Whoever stole my purse had to have been watching closely and been VERY clever.

I returned to Arizona, went through the process of recreating everything in my missing wallet. Four days later I get a call from CB that the vagabond purse was found wedged between the wheel well of the camper and a small hanging bag that we used to stuff flashlights and other small objects.

Of course I was happy the bag was found. Unfortunately I couldn’t help but wish it had been discovered before I shelled out the pesos to get new glasses, the aggravation of hanging out at the DMV all morning and the future hassle and expense I will endure when I replace the passport (and no, they will not let me use the old that I reported stolen even when I explained what happened.) However, the worst part was the voluntary descent into hell I endured during this whole process. I was mad at myself, the theoretical burglar, and CB for insisting the purse was stolen in the first place.

Rather than go through a litany of my negative process, let’s just suffice it to say that I was angry and not getting over it very well. It’s not a place I usually dwell, but I’m human and I rented space in the grouchy kingdom for a while.
Then I flew to Denver, met with CB’s relatives (including the sick great nephew) and on to a couple more days of camping.

Finally, I was back home. Then I got sick.

This is not surprising, because even though my purse and all its contents were found, my brain was still stuck in aggravation mode. It’s as if all the negativity that I had experienced was poring out of my body. It’s no wonder I was sick.

I’m getting through the day taking Tylenol, drinking lots of fluids and getting plenty of rest. I’m sure I’ll be better in a day or two. The lesson I learned is that mind and body are more connected than we think. If a short, but intense bout of negativity can have deleterious effects on a normally optimistic person, just imagine what years of negativity can do?

So, in conclusion, don’t fall victim to negativity. No good comes from it. If you want to learn some useful tips, get out your credit card, go to smashwords and buy a copy of the ebook (the physical copy should be ready in two weeks!) But be sure to keep you wallet in a safe place. It’s good to be optimistic, but an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of Tylenol.