Wouldn’t be nice  be extremely nice if we do kind acts from the heart once in a while. For example, cleaning the snow off the car parked next to you one evening — imagine how the person walking to his/her car after a long day at work would feel seeing their car the only one of a full parking lot clean of snow! shoveling the snow for a neighbor — I would love someone doing that for me every now and then! Maybe because it snowed this evening those are the only two I can come up with right now, but I am sure there are a lot more ways we can show acts of kindness and share our gift - whatever it may be - with those around us.

Picture that you have a beautiful guitar inside of you. All of the strings are in perfect tune. All of the qualities, all of the notes that make us who we are, exist on this guitar. There is one string, one note, however, that is especially clear and strong on your guitar. When played, it is especially magnificent. This note is your Gift.~Kristen Hawkins

The Gift Site is designed to help us discover our gift and give us a ’convenient, fun’ way of helping others discover their gifts as well. now, keep in mind that ‘you’re a gift’ and ‘there is no one quite like you!’ To discover your gift, create a gift card, hold a gift ritual and read gift stories, this is a good start! Enjoy and keep the Gratitude exercises part of your weekly schedule  as they have been proven healthy:

Did you know?

Gratitude exercises can play a significant role in your health and well-being!

Studies show that daily exercises in gratitude contribute to higher levels of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, optimism, and energy.

In fact, people who practice daily acts of gratitude report experiencing less depression and stress, exercise more regularly, make more progress toward their personal goals, and feel more loved than those who do not!(McCullough and Emmons)

All your life, you have heard yourself denounced; not for your faults, but for your greatest virtues. You have been hated, not for your mistakes, but for your achievements. You have been scorned for all those qualities of character which are your highest pride. You have been called selfish for the courage of acting on your own judgment and bearing sole responsibility for your own life. You have been called arrogant for your independent mind. You have been called cruel for your unyielding integrity. You have been called anti-social for the vision that made you venture upon undiscovered roads. You have been called ruthless for the strength and self-discipline of your drive to your purpose. You have been called greedy for the magnificence of your power to create wealth. You, who’ve expended an inconceivable flow of energy, have been called a parasite. You, who’ve created abundance where there had been nothing but wastelands and helpless, starving men before you, have been called a robber. You, who’ve kept them all alive, have been called an exploiter. You, the purest and most moral man among them, have been sneered at as a ‘vulgar materialist.’ Have you stopped to ask them: by what right? - by what code? - by what standard?

~Ayn Rand  Russian born American writer & philosopher who advocated capitalism, individualism, & “objectivism”

—This is so very true … Such attitude exists in the world, in many of our communities and don’t be surprised if it exists in your own social circle. And chances are you have experienced such behavior from people around you and will most probably continue to in life. one of many examples could be that if you land a good job, people may speak of how ‘your connections’ made it possible and wont even mention that in fact it was your skills and qualifications that got you the job, and so. So to reitreate Rand’s questions … by what standards? by what right?!

A landmark study that set out to prove that cutting fat from the American diet could reduce cardiovascular disease and cancer in women over 50 has come up short, showing no significant changes in risk despite years on reduced-fat regimens.

Nearly 50,000 post-menopausal women were enrolled in the $415 million study. Twenty thousand embarked on years of low-fat dieting, while the rest were allowed to eat as they pleased. They participated in the study from 1993 to the end of 2005.

After an average eight years, the women in the low-fat diet group fared no better than the control group in rates of colorectal cancer, heart disease and stroke. The risk of breast cancer was 9 percent lower among the dieters, but the differences were so slight that statisticians could not rule out the possibility the finding was merely the result of chance.

“People shouldn’t be disappointed by the studies,” said Marcia Stefanick, a Stanford University School of Medicine professor and a co-author of all three papers. “It’s just a wake-up call that simply reducing your total dietary fat is not enough.”

The goal was to compare the health of women on a diet in which fats were lowered to 20 percent of calories consumed with that of the control group, whose consumption hovered around 35 percent of calories from fat.

Yet the women in the study were never, on average, able to reach the 20 percent goal.

To reach that lower level, said cancer specialist Dr. Rowan Chlebowski, of the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute, dieters not only would have to forgo the skin on chicken, the cream cheese on a bagel and the dressing on salad — they would have to skip the weekend splurge of a hot fudge sundae and the occasional pat of butter on a roll.

–That’s being just a tiny bit too strict. I say induldge withe moderation…and consistent exercise.

Stay Healthy!

[Read More]

Ever thought of why people could be so selfish at many times? It never ceases to amaze me how many of us only care about the well being of our own selves…everyone else, everything else seems to matter less if it matters at all …

It is easy to get angry with those who criticize you. But it is better to listen and to consider what they have to say.If the criticism is completely misdirected and unfounded, then you can simply let it go. Yet often it can be valuable and productive to objectively consider what your critics are thinking. The worst response to criticism is to become angry, insulted and defensive. For by doing so, you actually give more power and credibility to that criticism.

Instead, listen carefully and appreciatively to what your critics have to say. Even if the criticism is decidedly negative, somewhere there are positive insights that you can gain from it. Don’t let your ego prevent you from learning something valuable. Being receptive to criticism strengthens your confidence and can improve your competence. Choose to know and understand what others think of you. Instead of getting angry and defensive over the words of others, choose to listen, consider and grow stronger because of them.  

~Ralph Marston

And I stress … sometimes, I answer ‘How are you?’ with ‘Yes’ because I am not really listening …

45% of the 700 thousand heart rate monitors sold in 2004 were bought by women. {National Supporting Goods Association} – keeping healthy!

50% of people would feel more confident with their appearance if they had whiter teeth. {Listerine} – I wonder if these 50% would consider giving up coffee …or cigarettes…I guess whitening strips can work miracles, so why bother with such thoughts :d

46 to 48 thousand American Adults die each year of diseases that vaccines can prevent. {Centers for Disease Control} –It sounds to me that there are many people out there who lack awareness of availability of such vaccines …or maybe are too lazy to get them?!

25% of women would rather go to the dentist than go on a diet {Survery by No Pudge! Brownies} — What’s wrong with going to the dentist??

Abstract: This is the first comprehensive and in-depth study of the Hamas movement in Palestine, examining its historical, ideological, and operational aspects. It traces the genesis of Hamas during the (first) Palestinian uprising, examines its political formation and intellectual development, and presents its evolving attitude towards the struggle and its present conduct. The author also discusses Hamas’s relations with the PLO and other actors on the Palestinian political scene, its Arab and international relations, and its political program and mode of popular operation.

About the Author: Born in the Dheishah refugee camp, Bethlehem (West Bank), the author graduated in civil engineering and urban studies from the University of Jordan, Amman. He is currently a doctoral candidate in international relations at Queen’s College, Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.

This sounds like a good informative read about the history, development  and ideology of Hamas.

If interested, you can get more information on the book, a look at the table of contents and purchase informatin here

–This is brilliant…

More and more stores — from small-scale chains like Bultez’ local Hy-Vee to megamarkets like Wal-Mart and Target — have started trial runs with in-store medical clinics.

The concept is so new that analysts weren’t sure how many clinics currently exist. They said retailers appear to be trying clinics as a way to increase foot traffic in their stores, rather than rely on the clinics as an entirely new revenue stream.

“This cost and convenience trend is coming to a head and that’s what is driving this trend. My prediction is that it will move quite rapidly,” said Matt Eyring, managing director of Innosight, a Watertown, Massachusetts, consulting firm.

The business model is simple — a medical clinic operated by an outside company, and generally staffed by nurses or physician assistants, offers a limited range of basic tests and treatments at a lower cost than a doctor’s office.

–All that in a store like Target and Walmart … how convenient and affordable

Patients never need an appointment and can drop by after regular business hours. Many times, a patient might be heading to the store anyway for groceries and find it convenient to ask about that nagging cough or persistent headache.

–Patients don’t necessarily have to drop their primary care physicians…but many would consider opting for the in-store clinics as a 2nd alternative…They’re also good for people who are without health insurance - which are a lot. “With the number of Americans without health insurance at 45.8 million in 2004, the clinics hope to reach consumers who have to pay out of pocket for doctor’s visits — even for simple problems.”

Read more about in-store clinics.

enough of this, please! There are more pressing issues in the World that we Muslims and Arabs should be more concerned with…The occupation of Palestine, The Holy Land… The occupation of Iraq?

Enough with the outrageous over reaction. Not only has it turned tasteless, it also has lost effectiveness.

Imagine-Life is a non-profit educational human rights organization whose mission is to educate the American public about underrepresented human rights violations, through various media outlets, in order to:

Advocate for the rights of people in need;

Alleviate human suffering;

Empower communities, and;

Create environments where peace can prosper.

Imagine-Life supports the principles espoused in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and recognizes their importance in efforts to resolve conflict and cease human rights abuses.

Imagine-Life strongly opposes all forms of bigotry and racism, and works toward a vision in which people of all races, creeds and ethnicities co-exist in mutual respect, cooperation and understanding. Imagine Life’s religiously and ethnically diverse membership, united in our belief in the sanctity of all human life, is a living example of this vision. We oppose the killing of all civilians, and support a nonviolent approach to resolving conflict.

Imagine-Life was formed by a group of diverse Americans who feel that basic human rights should apply to al individuals without discrimination. Our organization educates and increases awareness through the use of various media outlets, such as: television ads (initial series of productions can be viewed on the media page of this site), magazine article ads, theater releases, cable television programming, home videos, and the internet, to name a few. Our first campaign focuses on the human rights violations occurring in the Holy Land today. Imagine-Life is the only non-profit organization on the United States empowering and educating communities exclusively through the use of powerful major US media outlets.  

In partnership with the Producers and Directors of Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land, Imagine-Life is proud to announce the release of a 1-minute Public Service Announcement which began airing during election night. This Public Service Announcement explores the reasons that atrocious human rights abuses against Palestinian are largely ignored by U.S. media interests.  As part of this campaign, viewers desiring to learn more can contact Imagine-Life for a complimentary copy of the film Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land, which offers a more detailed explanation for the media’s silence.

This is very encouraging…and exactly the types of campaigns we should work towards implementing. You can learn more about Imagine Life here.

About 2500 postal customers in Bridgeview, Illinois got their mail late Wednesday after a hazardous materials scare forced an evacuation of part of the Bridgeview post office for more than four hours.

As Steve Miller at WBBM Newsradio 780 reports, it was about 10 a.m. when a postal clerk at the Bridgeview Post Office noticed a smell.

And spokeswoman Sue Litterly says the postal inspector was called to check out a small package.“The fire department also came. They did some field tests on this and came to the conclusion that it was coffee.”

Litterly says .Litterly says the all-clear was sounded about 2:25 p.m., almost four and a half hours after the suspicious aroma was detected.

Coffee anyone?