Think Back

Think back to a happy time a really, really happy time in your life. Go back as far as it takes, to a time when you felt so light you thought you might float.

Do you remember it? The carefree feeling? The acceptance of the moment, of yourself, of life? Feeling unfettered by thoughts of the future and oblivious to the past?

Feel it a little longer...

There. Very nice.

Life is not what you see...

Life is not what you see, but what you've projected. 

It's not what you've felt, but what you've decided. 

It's not what you've experienced, but how you've remembered it. 

It's not what you've forged, but what you've allowed. 

And it's not who's appeared, but who you've summoned.

And this should serve you well, beloved, until you find what you already have.

Fun Winter facts

Today is the first day of Spring in North America, and Winter is to look forward to or back on with respect. Here are some interesting facts about winter weather from the good folks at Mental Floss There are more facts so visit their site to see all of the interesting facts they post.

IT SOMETIMES SNOWS WHERE YOU LEAST EXPECT IT.

You wouldn’t be shocked to see snow on the ground of Siberia or Minnesota when travelling to those places during the winter months. But northern areas don’t have a monopoly on snowfall—the white stuff has been known to touch down everywhere from the Sahara Desert to Hawaii. Even the driest place on Earth isn’t immune. In 2011, the Atacama Desert in Chile received nearly 32 inches of snow thanks to a rare cold front from Antarctica.

SNOWFLAKES COME IN ALL SIZES.

The average snowflake ranges from a size slightly smaller than a penny to the width of a human hair. But according to some unverified sources they can grow much larger. Witnesses of a snowstorm in Fort Keogh, Montana in 1887 claimed to see milk-pan sized crystals fall from the sky. If true that would make them the largest snowflakes ever spotted, at around 15 inches wide.

A LITTLE WATER CAN ADD UP TO A LOT OF SNOW.

The air doesn’t need to be super moist to produce impressive amounts of snow. Unlike plain rainfall, a bank of fluffy snow contains lots of air that adds to its bulk. That’s why what would have been an inch of rain in the summer equals about 10 inches of snow in the colder months.

YOU CAN HEAR THUNDERSNOW WHEN THE CONDITIONS ARE RIGHT.

If you’ve ever heard the unmistakable rumble of thunder in the middle of a snowstorm, that’s not your ears playing tricks on you. It’s likely thundersnow, a rare winter weather phenomenon that’s most common near lakes. When relatively warm columns of air rise from the ground and form turbulent storm clouds in the sky in the winter, there’s potential for thundersnow. A few more factors are still necessary for it to occur, namely air that’s warmer than the cloud cover above it and wind that pushes the warm air upwards. Even then it’s entirely possible to miss thundersnow when it happens right over your head: Lightning is harder to see in the winter and the snow sometimes dampens the thunderous sound.

SNOW FALLS AT 1 TO 6 FEET PER SECOND.

At least in the case of snowflakes with broad structures, which act as parachutes. The snow that falls in the form of pellet-like graupel travels to Earth at a much faster rate.

WET SNOW IS BEST FOR SNOWMAN-BUILDING, ACCORDING TO SCIENCE.

Physics confirms what you’ve likely known since childhood: Snow on the wet or moist side is best for building your own backyard Frosty. One scientist pegs the perfect snow-to-water ratio at 5:1.

SNOWFLAKES AREN’T ALWAYS UNIQUE.

Snow crystals usually form unique patterns, but there’s at least one instance of identical snowflakes in the record books. In 1988, two snowflakes collected from a Wisconsin storm were confirmed to be twins at an atmospheric research centre in Colorado.

Holistic Ageing

A white paper by Singapore Management University (SMU) and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Tata Consultancy Services written in 2016, explores a concept of Holistic Ageing, which can be used for helping seniors age in place.

“Longevity is the defining challenge of our age. We need to make sure it’s a blessing, not a curse.” Laurence Fink, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, BlackRock, USA

Technology has a role to play to help us as we age, The following chart shows the focus and the impact technology can have on us as we age. Our friends have just bought Alexa for their home and they love it. Alexa is a tool that can be used by seniors in many ways, one way I have not thought about but is one that is worth pursuing is around falls.

One of the biggest issues for many seniors is the risk of falling and not being able to get up. There are many sensors on the market that people can wear and when the individual falls, the sensor sends out a signal. Problem is that many people refuse to wear these devices. There are many reasons for this but if the device is not worn it is on little or no use. If a person had Alexa in the house, and they fall, they could signal the device and ask it to call 911 or a friend.

Alexa or similar devices can and are used by seniors to stay socially connected, to increase their cognitive abilities and to help when they fall and also help them develop a physical activity regime.

Holistic aging is a concept that builds on the above technology focus areas and adds new dimensions. In holistic aging, there are six key wellness dimensions, that constitute holistic aging takes into consideration: physical, social, intellectual, spiritual, emotional and vocational.

The physical aspect is related to the body, and in particular, the ailments of aging: decreased strength, feeble health, increased vulnerability to falls, physical disabilities, chronic illnesses, and the inability to cope with the physical stresses and strains of daily life and activities of daily living.

We are social beings, and new research shows that loneliness can be very harmful to your health. We exist in a community, with others, and for others. We have a need to belong to a community, to have deep, close, intimate relationships — the social aspect — is crucial to the development of our social health, not only when we are young but as we age.

The intellectual aspect of the person directly affects our capability for cognitive reasoning, and the actions of our will, which impacts our ability to perform the activities of daily living. Many seniors are afraid of Dementia and holistic aging take into account, the idea that we need to be intellectually stimulated

As we age, many seniors want to “hedge their bets”, those who were not religious may take a greater interest in this side of living as they age. The spiritual aspect has an effect on our wellbeing and health. No holistic approach towards caring for the elderly can possibly ignore the profound impact of spirituality on the elderly.

If society and caregivers were to always have in mind the wellbeing of the elderly, it would be essential to explore (or to have us explore) our interior life. As we explore our emotions, we want those who we are in touch with to empathize with even our most concealed inner emotions when we express them.

As we age, many of us find fulfillment in making a sincere, disinterested gift of themselves to others. Hence the importance of the vocational aspect of holistic aging. When we accomplish our vocation and mission in life, we feel a serene, peaceful joy that can permeate our whole being.

The concept of holistic aging combined with technology makes the future seem very uplifting and bright.