"I love the spiritual community we have created among ourselves. Spiritual community is created when we come together on a regular basis with a common intention: to extend love beyond our immediate families. Through this shared affinity, we encourage, challenge and remind one another that nothing is impossible." -Mary Manin Morrissey
I had to read this quote more than once and slowly. What does it really say? I have a community I come together with any time I choose to do so. I have friends who are now my extended family in my 12 step fellowship. We have a shared affinity--the desire to stop drinking. Although that seems so long ago I must remember it is a day at a time.
I get nervous and uncomfortable when I hear that someone I know has decided to drink again. It is more unsettling when I know the individual up close and personal. I often think why did he/she drink/drug again? What prompted this? Did he/she stop going to meetings? Did he/she have a loss.. of a family member, a relationship et al.? It is not my business who,what, why or where. I must always remember this. I am not going to take their inventory! I can extend the hand of my 12 step program. It may not be welcomed and I must and will accept this. If I have expectations I will only get disappointed. So what do I do? What should you do if in a similar situation? Pray, meditate, share, love and remind yourself within your spiritual community that nothing is impossible.
So Rick and I had a date with Harry Connick, Jr. Enchanting, exciting and exhilarating. When he sang, It Had to Be You from When Harry Met Sally I reminisced about my Poppy (my grandfather) strumming the mandolin. It Had to Be You is also a 1947 romantic comedy film starring Ginger Rogers and Cornel Wilde. I think I have a 78 recording of Betty Hutton singing the song. Many other artists have recorded It Had to Be You. My Poppy loved jazz. Today was his birthday, July 30, 1900. His name was James Calamis. Wow, he would have been 110 yrs old.
My brother and I had the pleasure, privilege and love of live-in grandparents. I am sorry that Rick never met my grandparents (Poppy/Nanny) My Poppy was a quiet man. He was not the oldest brother. His older brother was Charlie. Let's see--there was Charlie, Gus, Angie, Nettie, Anna and Katie. With the exception of Great Aunt Nettie, I knew all of them. I miss those times. My grandfather was a hat maker. He made some of the most famous hats in the world--for some of the most famous comics of that time-Harold, Stan, Lou, Bud, and of course Charlie. A signed photograph from Mr. Chaplin to my Poppy hangs in front of my desk .
Poppy was also a butcher. The best of all he was a great cook. Every Sunday was a feast. I do know that every morning my Poppy took a shot of some whiskey--exactly 2 ounces. Both my brother and I went to work with him during the summer. His shop was on 14th street and 5th Avenue. As I fed the squirrels at Union Square Park, I dreamed one day of living and working in New York City. My dad, brother and I gave him a 90th Birthday Party complete with a Barber Shop Quartet. He died peacefully in his sleep at out home at age 92.
I can tell you that my Poppy died without having any heart disease. He ate everything and anything, never smoked, had one 2 oz drink per day, and had no stress. He took the subway every day to New York City from Yonkers. He walked or took the bus from 23rd Street to Empire Street when my mom didn't pick him up at the station. He grew his own vegetables, made his own pasta and gravy (Rick-this is Italian Red Sauce), and never formally exercised. He had a pacemaker placed at age 88. Why do we have Cardiovascular Disease as the Number #1 killer in the United States now? A heart attack happens every 3-5 seconds. People die! There are many on a transplant list who never get a donor heart.
Ever since refined sugar and Wonder Bread become popular we had an increase in both obesity and diabetes-- both leading to the #1 killer- Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) . CVD includes coronary artery disease (blood supply to the heart), Hypertension (high blood pressure), Valvular Heart Disease, Cardiomyopathy, Atherosclerosis and Arrthymias. We will discuss some risk factors. Major risk factors are those that research has shown significantly increase the risk of heart and blood vessel (cardiovascular) disease. Contributing risk factors are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, but their significance and prevalence haven't yet been precisely determined. The more risk factors you have, the greater your chance of developing coronary heart disease. Also, the greater the level of each risk factor, the more that factor affects your overall risk.
Here is a list of CVD Risk Factors:
1. Age
2. Male
3. Genetics
4. Diabetes
5. Obesity/Overweight
6. Hypertension
7. Smoking History
8. High Cholesterol
9. Stress
10. Alcohol Consumption
11. Lack of physical inactivity
It is not only about cholesterol. Cholesterol is just one risk factor.
Individual response to stress may be a contributing factor. Some scientists have noted a relationship between coronary heart disease risk and stress in a person's life, their health behaviors and socioeconomic status. Stress may affect other established risk factors.
Until tomorrow...
PS I will ask Rick to find a photo of my Poppy for you to see.
Mary Manin Morrissey (born 1949) is a New Thought minister from Oregon, U.S.A. She was a founding minister of Living Enrichment Center in the 1970s. By the mid-1990s, the church's congregation was variously estimated as numbering between 2,000 and 5,000, making it the biggest New Thought church in the state of Oregon, as well as one of the biggest in the world. She is the author of Building Your Dreams which chronicles her realization of her dream to create a ministry, and No Less Than Greatness, and The Seven Spiritual Principles that Make Love Possible. I recommend going to the Barnes/Noble Cafe and glance at one of her books.
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