Joycelyn Lacy (Somerville)

Kenneth Davis

   SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by Marsha Burns

     April 9, 2024: Now is the time to settle into a more comfortable routine. Evaluate the things that are truly important to you and let go of everything that complicates your existence without being beneficial. This truly is a time to simplify your life and become stronger than you ever thought possible, says the Lord. Micah 7:7 Therefore I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me.

   T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N   
TODAYS WORDS - SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFE 

     Don't speak to me about your religion; first show it to me in how you treat other people. Don't tell me how much you love your God; show me in how much you love all God's children. Don't preach to me your passion for your faith; teach me through your compassion for your neighbors. In the end, I'm not as interested in what you have to tell or sell as I am in how you choose to live and give.

     No matter what, we always have the power to choose hope over despair, engagement over apathy, kindness over indifference, enthusiasm over lethargy, love over hate. This is our true freedom. Whatever life may throw at us, we have the freedom and ability to choose our attitude. And I believe it is in those moments of choice that we manifest our destiny. Give the respect you want to receive; embody the grace you hope to encounter; and help others with no expectations whatsoever.

     Don't let your inability to do everything undermine your determination to do something. Give more than is expected, love more than seems wise, serve more than seems necessary, and help more than is asked. May we help more than we hurt, may we seek to understand more than be understood and may we love more than we judge.

     Let your critics make you humble, and your enemies make you wise. Learn from every stumble but let nothing keep you down, for you were born to rise! Dream big & have huge ambition, but never forget life is lived in small moments and sustained by simple acts of love. When happy, be kind. When angry, be kind. When hopeful, be kind. When discouraged, be kind. Whenever, be kind. The more you limit your choices, thereby limiting thought, the more you can simplify your life and focus your energy elsewhere. The right attitude can transform a barrier into a blessing, an obstacle into an opportunity or a stumbling block into a steppingstone.

Cory Booker

Kenneth Davis

   T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N   

TODAYS WORDS - TRIUMPH

     Your life is a sacred journey. It is about change, growth, discovery, movement, transformation, continuously expanding your vision of what is possible, stretching your soul, learning to see clearly and deeply, listening to your intuition, taking courageous challenges at every step along the way. You are on the path... exactly where you are meant to be right now... And from here, you can only go forward, shaping your life story into a magnificent tale of triumph, of healing, of courage, of beauty, of wisdom, of power, of dignity, and of love.

     Caroline Adams Miller (born September 15, 1961) is an American executive coach and motivational speaker. Miller first started to diet when she was eight years old, developing an eating disorder while in 9th grade. For the next eight years, she suffered from bulimia. None of her family, including her husband, was aware of her eating disorder. In February 1984, she decided it was time to seek help and began to attend Overeaters Anonymous, eventually overcoming her disorder.

WELLNESS WEDNESDAY

What Is Chronic Pain Syndrome?

Medically Reviewed by Sabrina Felson, MD 

Written by Stephanie Watson

     Pain is your body's normal reaction to an injury or illness, a warning that something is wrong. When your body heals, you usually stop hurting. But for many people, pain continues long after its cause is gone. When it lasts for 3 to 6 months or more, it's called chronic pain. When you hurt day after day, it can take a toll on your emotional and physical health.

     About 25% of people with chronic pain will go on to have a condition called chronic pain syndrome (CPS). That's when people have symptoms beyond pain alone, like depression and anxiety, which interfere with their daily lives. CPS can be hard to treat, but it's not impossible. A mix of treatments like counseling, physical therapy, and relaxation techniques can help relieve your pain and the other symptoms that come with it.

What Causes Chronic Pain Syndrome?

     Doctors don't know exactly what causes CPS. It often starts with an injury or painful condition such as: 

⦁ Arthritis and other joint problems

⦁ Back pain

⦁ Headaches

⦁ Muscle strains and sprains

⦁ Repetitive stress injuries, when the same movement over and over puts strain on a body part

     Fibromyalgia, a condition that causes muscle pain throughout the body.

⦁ Nerve damage

⦁ Lyme disease

⦁ Broken bones

⦁ Cancer

⦁ Acid reflux or ulcers

⦁ Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)

⦁ Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

⦁ Endometriosis, when tissue in the uterus grows outside of it

⦁ Surgery

     The roots of CPS are both physical and mental. Some experts think that people with the condition have a problem with the system of nerves and glands that the body uses to handle stress. That makes them feel pain differently. Other experts say CPS is a learned response. When you're in pain, you may start to repeat certain bad behaviors even after the pain is gone or has lessened. CPS can affect people of all ages and both sexes, but it's most common in women. People with major depression and other mental health conditions are more likely to get CPS.

Symptoms

     CPS affects your physical health, your emotions, and even your social life over time. The pain can lead to other symptoms, such as:

⦁ Anxiety

⦁ Depression

⦁ Poor sleep

⦁ Feeling very tired or wiped out

⦁ Irritability

⦁ Guilt

⦁ Loss of interest in sex

⦁ Drug or alcohol abuse

⦁ Marriage or family problems

⦁ Job loss

⦁ Suicidal thoughts

     Some people with CPS need to take more and more medicine to manage their pain, which can make them dependent on these drugs.

Treatments

     To treat your pain, you can visit:

⦁ Your primary care doctor

⦁ A specialist for the medical condition that's causing your pain -- for example, a rheumatologist to treat arthritis

⦁ A pain clinic or center

     Your doctor will tailor your therapy to the source of your pain. You might get one or more of these treatments:

⦁ Physical therapy, including heat or cold on the part that hurts, massage, stretching exercises, and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)

⦁ Occupational therapy

⦁ Counseling, one-on-one or group therapy

⦁ Braces

⦁ Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing or meditation

⦁ Biofeedback

⦁ Spinal cord stimulation

⦁ Nerve blocks

⦁ Pain medicines such as NSAIDs, antidepressants, anti-seizure drugs, and muscle relaxants

⦁ Surgery to treat the condition that caused the pain

This is for information purpose only, and should not be considered as a substitute for medical expertise. These are opinions from an external panel of individual doctors. Please seek professional help regarding any health conditions or concerns.

Kenneth Davis

   T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N   
TODAYS WORDS - FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT

     Man's origin was as spirit, not a physical body. These souls projected themselves into matter, probably for their own diversion. Through the use of his creative powers for selfish purposes, man became entangled in matter and materiality to such an extent that he nearly forgot his divine origin and nature. There is no force in the universe more powerful than your will or power. Through prayer we speak to God. In meditation, God speaks to us. Forces of light on earth shall overcome the force of darkness. Complete spiritual enlightenment on earth will occur. The ultimate purpose of our life is to rejoin God in conscious participation of divinity.
     Know that all healing forces are within, not without! The applications from without are merely to create within a coordinating mental and spiritual force. Actually, we have no problems-we have opportunities for which we should give thanks... An error we refuse to correct has many lives. It takes courage to face one's own shortcomings and wisdom to do something about them. Remember that all is One... and what you do to your neighbor, your friend or your foe, is a reflection of what you think of your Creator.
     When you get to the place where you would worry, Stop and pray. Don't feel sorry for yourself if you have chosen the wrong road, turn around. This is the first lesson ye should learn: There is so much good in the worst of us, and so much bad in the best of us, it doesn't behoove any of us to speak evil of the rest of us. This is a universal law, and until one begins to make application of same, one may not go very far in spiritual or soul development. For until ye become as a savior, as a help to some soul that has lost hope, lost its way, ye do not fully comprehend the god within, the god without.
     Meditate, oft. Separate thyself for a season from the cares of the world. Get close to nature and learn from the lowliest of that which manifests in nature, in the earth; in the birds, in the trees, in the grass, in the flowers, in the bees; that the life of each is a manifesting, is a song of glory to its Maker. And do thou likewise! Grace is the wonderful spirit that imbues every fiber of our being when we practice the fruits of the spirit: kindness, patience, understanding, forgiveness, love, gentleness, fellowship and endurance. Live as if ye expected (your prayers) to be answered.
 

Edgar Cayce Born: March 18, 1877
Died: January 3, 1945
Occupation: Psychic
  
IT'S TIME FOR ANOTHER

Kenneth Davis

   T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N   
TODAYS WORD - LOGICAL CONCLUSION 

     When bands are on stage and they ask the crowd, "Are you having a good time?" what they're really saying is, "I just want a bit of reassurance - is everything all right?" I've always found it interesting when I'm the person in the audience feeling mismatched by what I've seen or heard. The shows I've taken the most from I may have not liked while I was there listening to it but, maybe an hour later, there's suddenly a lightning bolt out of the blue: "Oh, I'd see them again." For me, the audience is the most important thing in the whole chain, so finding out how they respond to things is a learning curve at all times.
     In the recording process, sometimes people feel that there isn't a space for them to contribute. Starting out, I remember being on the same bill with other bands, and I always thought they were so much better because they were rehearsed and had all their moves down and they sounded really tight. It's not like that because the improvisation makes it automatically democratic. It's an example of when three people think something's brilliant and one thinks it's terrible. I suppose that's what improvising can be like because you just don't really know how anyone's feeling about it. You come off stage like, "Was that good?" No one's leading anything. I didn't have to worry about anyone feeling involved. It was just the most natural, easy process of making music.
     I know that I can't ever write a song that just sounds completely saccharin. Even if I'm singing about someone being my complete love life, I'm singing about my own inabilities to be as bright as that person. There's another thing that you don't want to take for granted, and that's the reality of there being an audience there each night. It's pretty amazing that that can happen around the world. Some people are better at seeing things through to a logical conclusion as far as copying things they like from other people's records; they understand what Brian Eno did and they just do it. I find it really disappointing and cheap when someone's copied the whole drum sound from a record. 

Alexis Taylor

WELCOME TO 
SMOOTH
 CONTEMPORARY JAZZ 
FRIDAYS

Kenneth Davis

     Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse. 

~Henry Van Dyke~

     While I've been recuperating , many of you have reached out to comfort and encourage me. I'm grateful for everyone's assistance  with my recovery. The forms and fashions you chose were heartfelt. Thank you so much for the cards, phone calls and personal visits, received thus far. The more we extend kindness to others and ourselves, the more it will become our automatic response to others. We hold the key to lasting happiness in our own hands. For it is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful. May we continue to see everyone as connected to each other in some way. This gives us the freedom to build bridges, instead of walls. Thanks again for your acts of kindness. Each of you are appreciated! 

Kenneth Davis

     Good afternoon to my Sisters and Brothers of the Class of 1970. Every day that passes brings us closer to our celebrated 55th BTW Class Reunion. As with the majority of us, we have received our promised 3 score and 10 life span! This, our 55th, should be viewed as a celebration of that, along with us now living and depending on Grace and Mercy.

     We, the planning committee, are soliciting your ideas, support and prayers, so that we can make this a memorable occasion. We will soon inform you of the next projected class meeting date and location. In the interim, complete our questionnaire. Should you see the need for specific questions or corrections, please let us know, by your remarks on the last line of questions. Please "Submit" upon your completion. Here's the link: https://forms.gle/x17jZYWs3G6sMZ8d9.  Looking forward to seeing you and making "2025" a year that is anticipated and remembered long after our 55th. 

Respectfully,
Robert H. Phifer
BTW Class Reunion Committee Chairman 

Kenneth Davis

  T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N   
TODAYS WORDS - OVEREXTENDED

     Value investors have to be patient and disciplined, but what I really think is you need not to be greedy. If you're greedy and you leverage, you blow up. Almost every financial blow up is because of leverage. It is crucial to have a strategy in place before problems hit, precisely because no one can accurately predict the future direction of the stock market or economy. Value investing, the strategy of buying stocks at an appreciable discount from the value of the underlying businesses, is one strategy that provides a road map to successfully navigate not only through good times but also through turmoil.
     A simple rule applies: if you don't quickly comprehend what a company is doing, then management probably doesn't either. If you can remember that stocks aren't pieces of paper that gyrate all the time --they are fractional interests in businesses -- it all makes sense. To a value investor, investments come in three varieties: undervalued at one price, fairly valued at another price, and overvalued at still some higher price. The goal is to buy the first, avoid the second, and sell the third. All an investor can do is follow a consistently disciplined and rigorous approach; over time the returns will come.      It's awful to have a depression, but it's a great thing to have a depression mentality because it means that we are not speculating, we are not living beyond our means, we don't quit our job to take a big risk because we know we might not get another job. There is something stable about a country, a society built on those values.
     Typically, we make money when we buy things. We count the profits later, but we know we have captured them when we buy the bargain. The real secret to investing is that there is no secret to investing. Successful investors like stocks better when they’re going down. When you go to a department store or a supermarket, you like to buy merchandise on sale, but it doesn’t work that way in the stock market. In the stock market, people panic when stocks are going down, so they like them less when they should like them more. When prices go down, you shouldn’t panic, but it’s hard to control your emotions when you’re overextended, when you see your net worth drop in half and you worry that you won’t have enough money to pay for your kids’ college. I find value investing to be a stimulating, intellectually challenging, ever changing, and financially rewarding discipline.

     Seth Andrew Klarman (born May 21, 1957) is an American billionaire investor, hedge fund manager, and author. He is a proponent of value investing. He is the chief executive and portfolio manager of the Baupost Group, a Boston-based private investment partnership he founded in 1982.

Kenneth Davis

BIRTH ANNIVERSARY GREETINGS
 TO 
MARY KELLY BASS
 & 
ALMEIDA SHACKLEFORD ALLEN

     To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment. What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you. The age of a woman doesn't mean a thing. The best tunes are played on the oldest fiddles. Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson~

Joycelyn Lacy (Somerville)

Estella Wright (Mayhue-Greer)

Kenneth Davis

SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by Marsha Burns

     April 14, 2024: It is important that you position yourself in the Spirit to move into the next phase of existence. Positioning is vital to your readiness and progression. Establish yourself in right relationship to Me and allow Me to give you the wisdom and knowledge you need to know where you are and where you are going, says the Lord. John 15:4 Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

    T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N    
TODAYS WORDS - PHASE OF EXISTENCE 

     Your past is just a story. And once you realize this it has no power over you. You're always haunted by the idea you're wasting your life. Find joy in everything you choose to do. Every job, relationship, home... it's your responsibility to love it, or change it. If you died right now, how would you feel about your life? I don't want to die without any scars. Yes, terrible things happen, but sometimes those terrible things - they save you. Stop trying to control everything and just let go! LET GO! People don't want their lives fixed. Nobody wants their problems solved. Their dramas. Their distractions. Their stories resolved. Their mess cleaned up. Because what would they have left? Just the big scary unknown.
     History is filled with brilliant people who wanted to fix things and just made them worse. People are all over the world telling their one dramatic story and how their life has turned into getting over this one event. Now their lives are more about the past than their future. When you understand that what you're telling is just a story. It isn't happening anymore. When you realize the story, you're telling is just words, when you can just crumble up and throw your past in the trashcan, then we'll figure out who you're going to be.
     The best fights don't occur between strangers. They occur between friends who trust each other. People don't listen, they just wait for their turn to talk. Until you find something to fight for, you settle for something to fight against. What makes earth feel like hell is our expectation that it should feel like heaven. This is your life and its ending one moment at a time. All the effort in the world won't matter if you're not inspired.
     Everything is funnier in retrospect, funnier and prettier and cooler. You can laugh at anything from far enough away. We can spend our lives letting the world tell us who we are…Or we can decide for ourselves. Everyone holds a certain type of power. For young people, it's their youth, their attractiveness, and their energy. But they're terrified that as those qualities fade, what are they going to replace that form of power with? If you knew that your life was merely a phase or short, short segment of your entire existence, how would you live?   

     Knowing nothing 'real' was at risk, what would you do? You'd live a gigantic, bold, fun, dazzling life. You know you would. If you can change the way people think. The way they see themselves. The way they see the world. If you do that, you can change the way people live their lives. That's the only lasting thing you can create. We'll never be as young as we are tonight. We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.

     Charles Michael "Chuck" Palahniuk (born February 21, 1962) is an American novelist who describes his work as transgressional fiction. He has published 19 novels, three nonfiction books, two graphic novels, and two adult coloring books, as well as several short stories. His first published novel was Fight Club, which was adapted into a film of the same title.

Kenneth Davis

   T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N   
TODAYS WORDS - NUTURE AND CARE 

     Do not let anyone tell you what you can be. Do not let anyone tell you that you are not good enough or smart enough. Remember that nobody is better than you. Everybody puts on their pants one leg at a time. Being an impatient person, I wanted to do what my grandmother said: "Do as much as you can as fast as you can; be as productive as possible." But you must be patient. So, I have struggled to balance patience with being an impatient person and trying to find a happy medium.
     Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs. Never duck responsibility, it's like running from the rain only to fall into the river. In life we don't get what we want, we get in life what we are. If we want more, we have to be able to be more, in order to be more you have to face rejection. The more we give, the more we receive. It's important to give back, because the seeds you plant today, you will harvest tomorrow. Inside every seed is the potential for an incredible harvest.
     If you want to find what God put you here to do, ask yourself three questions. First question: What comes easy to you but harder to other people? The second question is: What would you do for years and never have to get paid for it? Third, ask yourself: How can you be of service? Always define your area of excellence. Establish the area where you will be the best. We have to learn to face our fears and push ourselves. If you're living on earth and you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room. When you push past the fear and realize that what you feared was not a big deal, you gain more confidence.
     I believe that my personal mission in life is to grow and contribute, so I am learning and growing every day. Success isn’t something that happens overnight: it’s a process. You have to nurture it along with continuous care, and the best way to do this is to have the right people working with you - not for you, but with you. I can dream alone and strive alone, but true success always requires the help and support of others. I firmly believe that the two most important times in a person's life are when they are born and when they find out why they were born.

     Farrah Gray (born Farrakhan Khalid Muhammad; born September 9, 1984) is an American businessman, investor, author, columnist, and motivational speaker. Gray was raised on Chicago's South side. He is the son of the late black nationalist leader Khalid Abdul Muhammad. He began his entrepreneurial career at the age of six selling homemade lotion and hand-painted rocks door-to-door. He is Christian.

IT'S TIME FOR 
JUST JOKING MONDAYS

Kenneth Davis

BIRTH ANNIVERSARY GREETINGS

 TO 

MAURICE HUNT

     It is better to have a meaningful life and make a difference than to merely have a long life. One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say. There are amazingly wonderful people in all walks of life; some familiar to us and others not. No time is better spent than that spent in the service of your fellow man.

~Bryant H. McGill~

Kenneth Davis

     Suffering, failure, loneliness, sorrow, discouragement, and death will be part of your journey, but the Kingdom of God will conquer all these horrors. God loves you unconditionally, as you are and not as you should be, because nobody is as they should be.

~Brennan Manning~

     Notification was recently received, related to the transition of our classmate, Ada McNeil Pittman. Services have been arranged as follows:

SATURDAY APRIL 20, 2024 - 2:00PM
N. J. FORD & SONS FUNERAL HOME
12 SOUTH PARKWAY WEST
MEMPHIS, TN 38109

     Any additional information received, will be posted accordingly. Please keep the Pittman family uplifted with your prayers.

Joycelyn Lacy (Somerville)

Kenneth Davis

SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by Marsha Burns

     April 16, 2024: Stay in the realm of reality, and make sure that condemnation is not the engine that drives you. Yes, you will make mistakes and use poor judgment at times, but you have the option to repent and receive forgiveness and blessing. The upside is that you will learn from your mistakes and see the path of righteousness more clearly. Make every effort to focus on the positives in your life. Romans 8:1-4 here is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

   T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N   
TODAYS WORDS - REALM OF REALITY 

     Before you begin your day: Take a moment of silence and meditation and give yourself permission to have all that you desire. When you make peace with yourself, the world will mirror back that same level of peace. Live in the knowledge that you are a gift to the world. It isn't what happens to us in life that creates our joy, but rather how we respond to what happens in our lives. If we want a new future that does not look like our past, we must make new choices in the present. Right now, there is a stronger, more vibrant, more inspired version of you that is wanting and waiting to emerge. It is time to search out your uniqueness, applaud and acknowledge yourself, and let your own light shine. If you admire greatness in another human being, it is your own greatness you are seeing. 

     When you invoke the agent of change called acceptance, you must accept all that you are, all that you've been and all that you will be in the future. Embracing our dark side gives us a newfound freedom to be with the darkness in others. For when I can love all of me, I will love all of you. Like the lotus flower that is born out of mud, we must honor the darkest parts of ourselves and the most painful of our life’s experiences, because they are what allow us to birth our most beautiful self. The greatest act of courage is to be and to own all of who you are - without apology, without excuses, without masks to cover the truth of who you are.

    Asking “Am I choosing from my divinity or am I choosing from my humanity? “opens the door for us to experience realms of reality that we may never have visited before. People with hearts filled with love, peace, and compassion live in heaven. Your life will be transformed when you make peace with your shadow. The caterpillar will become a breathtakingly beautiful butterfly. You will no longer have to pretend to be someone you're not. You will no longer have to prove you're good enough. When you embrace your shadow, you will no longer have to life in fear. Find the gifts of your shadow and you will finally revel in all the glory of your true self. Then you will have the freedom to create the life you have always desired.

     Debbie Ford (October 1, 1955 – February 17, 2013) was an American self-help author, coach, lecturer and teacher, most known for The New York Times best-selling book, The Dark Side of the Light Chasers (1998), which aimed to help readers overcome their shadow side with the help of modern psychology and spiritual practices.

Kenneth Davis

BIRTH ANNIVERSARY GREETINGS
 TO  
CHARLES BURTON

     Our birthdays are feathers in the broad wing of time. Like a morning dream, life becomes more and more bright the longer we live, and the reason of everything appears clearer. Individuality is to be preserved and respected everywhere, as the root of everything good.  

~Jean Paul~

Joycelyn Lacy (Somerville)

Kenneth Davis

   T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N   
TODAYS WORDS - STAY FOCUSED

     Human rights, race relations, gender politics, health care, and foreign policy - it's a lot to keep track of, and yet all of these things affect us in our daily lives. Making sense of everything requires meticulous unpacking of feelings, delicate navigation of social norms, and a community of love to help along the way. We as black people are not a monolithic bunch. We are not all the same, and neither are women. Instead, we are all individuals who have these extraordinary stories to tell and share with each other that will enrich all of our lives and help us all become more ourselves and better people.
     We should all do what we can in our daily lives to remember that we are glorious and powerful. I'm always touched by people's different stories of who they are and why they made the choices that they made. I feel so empowered by the story behind the person. My goal is not necessarily to be an inspiration. I think, if anything, I want to continue to be inspired and to continue to grow as a person. We live in a culture where people are constantly telling us how to get what we want, and within that message is, 'You need to be something other than you are.' Everyone's always like, 'Be your best self!' And that drives me bananas, because when you're not, it makes you feel really bad. I feel like our culture is so good at pulling other people down and being so judgmental, but there's space for all of us to be who we are. There's space for us to celebrate each other and root for each other and not take each other down.
     I think it's possible to have a vision for your life that goes beyond any circumstance of anything that you've ever seen, and I encourage people to do that. But I don't think that any of us can do that in a vacuum. I have started using the expression 'compassionate activism': It's about keeping my heart open so that I can understand the point of view of the other person. As I get older, the more I stay focused on the acceptance of myself and others and choose compassion over judgment and curiosity over fear. I'm trying to find a little joy and happiness, a lot of giggles - and maybe some pretty shoes.

   
Tracee Ellis Ross
 

  Hearing This 1 Sound When You Sleep Could Mean Heart Disease Story by Amy Glover 
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/wellness/

     If you’re anything like me, you like nothing more than laying your head on your pillow at the end of a long day. But, depending on your health and stress levels, there’s a chance that falling asleep could be a little tougher. Though some people may be kept awake by the sounds of a snoring partner or outdoor rowdiness, others might be able to hear the sound of their heart beating while they’re lying down. This pounding sound is a sign of palpitations, which may be faster than your usual heartbeat and which can sometimes be felt in your neck or chest. 
     They’re most likely to happen at night or when you’re resting ― or, more specifically, you’re more likely to notice (and hear) them when you’re staying still. Many of us have multiple palpitations a day and are simply too busy to notice them. “They may be scary, but they aren’t usually dangerous,” the Cleveland Clinic says. They go on to state that common causes include dehydration, overindulging in booze, salt, fat, or sugar, and even hormonal changes such as those seen in pregnancy and menopause. 
     However, occasionally palpitations can be a sign of something more serious.  Here are some conditions that can cause the symptoms: 
1) Heart issues
     If the palpitations come with breathlessness, chest pain, or feeling faint or fainting, the NHS says you should seek immediate help as this can be a sign of a heart problem. But even if you don’t have those symptoms, there’s a small chance you may also be suffering from conditions like cardiomyopathy or, rarely, an inflammation of the heart’s muscle called myocarditis. It could also be linked to valve disease, which often causes skipped beats.
2) Anemia
     Because anemia means your blood’s iron levels are low, those suffering from the condition also have low hemoglobin levels. Hemoglobin is a protein that helps to carry oxygen around the body, so if you haven’t got as much as is ideal, your body has to work extra hard to carry the blood throughout your body. Experts think this can lead to palpitations and could even be linked with worse heart health further down the line.
3) Thyroid issues
     Those with overactive OR underactive thyroids might experience heart palpitations. Overactive thyroids can cause anxiety, sleeplessness, diarrhea, and more; underactive thyroid symptoms can include weight gain, dry skin, brittle nails, and muscle aches. 
4) Low or high blood pressure 
     Palpitations can be a sign of high blood pressure or low blood pressure, as both make your heart work a little harder to bring that all-important oxygen around the body. 
5) Low blood sugar 
     Low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, can sometimes cause palpitations. The condition can sometimes be dangerous, and those with diabetes are at a higher risk. Other signs of hypoglycemia include feeling dizzy, hungry, thirsty, sweaty, shaky, or having tingling lips. 
Of course, these are some of the more extreme causes behind the thudding sound of palpitations ― it can arise from something as simple as exercise or electrolyte imbalances. Palpitations can also be a sign of mental health conditions such as anxiety ― they’re common in panic attacks. Seek medical help if your palpitations are keeping you up at night (and not just because of the noise).

This is for information purpose only and should not be considered as a substitute for medical expertise. These are opinions from an external panel of individual doctors. Please seek professional help regarding any health conditions or concerns.

Kenneth Davis

N.J. Ford and Sons Funeral Home, Inc. Memphis, TN

Ada Mae Pittman
Passed 04/10/2024

Obituary For Ada Mae Pittman
Ada Mae Pittman 72, Passed on Wednesday, April 10, 2024. Memorial service will be held 2:00pm on Saturday, April 20, 2024 at N.J. Ford & Sons Funeral Home, 12 S Parkway W, 901-948-7755

Kenneth Davis

   T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N   
TODAYS WORDS - BE REMINDED 

     Mindfulness is a pause - the space between stimulus and response: that's where choice lies. We wait for things to be different in order to feel okay with life. As long as we keep attaching our happiness to the external events of our lives, which are ever changing, we’ll always be left waiting for it. Happiness lies not in finding what is missing, but in finding what is present. Our attitude in the face of life's challenges determines our suffering or our freedom. Extend an act of kindness each day. No one has to know. It can be a smile, reassuring words, a small favor - without expecting something in return.
     Just remember that everyone is struggling; everyone is living with fear and uncertainty, and it doesn't matter what their politics are. Underneath the stress is fear, and the biggest is our own personal fear of failure. The most powerful healing arises from the simple intention to love the life within you, unconditionally, with as much tenderness and presence as possible. Imperfection is not our personal problem - it is a natural part of existing. We can find true refuge within our own hearts and minds-right here, right now, in the midst of our moment-to-moment lives. There is something wonderfully bold and liberating about saying yes to our entire imperfect and messy life.
     Most of us need to be reminded that we are good, that we are lovable, that we belong. If we knew just how powerfully our thoughts, words, and actions affected the hearts of those around us, we'd reach out and join hands again and again. Our relationships have the potential to be a sacred refuge, a place of healing and awakening. With each person we meet, we can learn to look behind the mask and see the one who longs to love and be loved. Sometimes the easiest way to appreciate ourselves is by looking through the eyes of someone who loves us.

     Tara Brach (born May 17, 1953) is an American psychologist, author, and proponent of Buddhist meditation. She is a guiding teacher and founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, D.C.

IT'S TIME FOR ANOTHER

Joycelyn Lacy (Somerville)

Kenneth Davis

BIRTH ANNIVERSARY GREETINGS
 TO  
JAMES CLOWER

     It's always too early to quit. Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy. There is a real magic in enthusiasm. It spells the difference between mediocrity and accomplishment. 
~Norman Vincent Peale~

Kenneth Davis

   T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N    
TODAYS WORD - SPIRITUAL AWARENESS

     The winds of grace are always blowing, but you have to raise the sail. One cannot be spiritual as long as one has shame, hatred, or fear. An ocean of bliss may rain down from the heavens, but if you hold up only a thimble, that is all you receive. A boat may stay in water, but water should not stay in boat. A spiritual aspirant may live in the world, but the world should not live within him. You should not feel that your path is the only right path and that other paths are wrong. You mustn't bear malice toward others.
     Spirituality automatically leads to humility. When a flower develops into a fruit, the petals drop off on its own. When one becomes spiritual, the ego vanishes gradually on its own. A tree laden with fruits always bends low. Humility is a sign of greatness. The sun can give heat and light to the whole world, but he cannot do so when the clouds shut out his rays. Similarly, as long as egotism veils the heart, God cannot shine upon it. If you spent one-tenth of the time you devoted to distractions like chasing women or making money to spiritual practice, you would be enlightened in a few years.
     Sugar and sand may be mixed together, but the ant rejects the sand and goes off with the sugar grain; so pious men lift the good from the bad. When you meditate, go into the solitude of a forest, or a quiet corner, and enter into the chamber of your heart. And always keep your power of discrimination awake. When the divine vision is attained, all appear equal; and there remains no distinction of good and bad, or of high and low. Those whose spiritual awareness has been awakened never make a false move. They don't have to avoid evil. They are so replete with love that whatever they do is a good action. They are fully conscious that they are not the doer of their actions, but only servants of God

     Ramakrishna (18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886), was an Indian Hindu mystic. A devotee of the goddess Kali, Ramakrishna after adhering to various religious practices from the Hindu traditions of Vaishnavism, Tantric Shaktism, and Advaita Vedanta, as well as from Islam and Christianity, proclaimed that various world religions are "so many paths to reach one and the same goal", thus validating the essential unity of religions. His parable-based teachings espoused the ultimate unity of diverse religions as being means to enable the realization of the same God. He is regarded by his followers as an avatar or divine incarnation of God.

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