Just A Little Perspective In These "Interesting Times"

Submitted by Charles Frost on Wed, 10/22/2008 - 06:56.


Received via E-mail from a friend.......

You can't always control what happens to you but you can
 always control how you respond

A mouse looked through the crack
in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package.

What food might this contain?' the mouse wondered - - -
 he was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.

Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the
warning :

 There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in
 the house!'

 The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and
said, 'Mr.Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to
you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered
 by it.'

The mouse turned to the pig and told him,
'There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a
 mousetrap in the house!'

 The pig sympathized, but said, 'I am so very sorry,
Mr.Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray.
Be assured you are in my prayers.'

The mouse turned to the cow and said,

 'There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a
 mousetrap in the house!'

The cow said, 'Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you,
but it's no skin off my nose.'

So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and
dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap . . . alone.

That very night a sound was heard throughout the house --
like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey.

 The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the
 darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail
 the trap had caught.

The snake bit the farmer's wife.

 The farmer rushed her to the hospital, and she returned
 home with a fever.

 Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup,
so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the
soup's main ingredient.

 But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and
 neighbors came to sit with her around the clock.

To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.

 The farmer's wife did not get well; she died.

So many people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow
 slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.

 The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall
 with great sadness.

So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and
think it doesn't concern you, remember ---- when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk.

We are all involved in this journey called life. We must
 keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to
encourage one another.


REMEMBER. . . . . .

EACH OF US IS A VITAL THREAD IN ANOTHER PERSON'S
TAPESTRY;

OUR LIVES ARE WOVEN TOGETHER FOR A REASON.

One of the best things to hold onto in this world is a  FRIEND.

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Do five simple things a day to stay sane, say scientists

October 22, 2008

Do five simple things a day to stay sane, say scientists

Simple activities such as gardening or mending a bicycle can protect mental health and help people to lead more fulfilled and productive lives, a panel of scientists has found.

A “five-a-day” programme of social and personal activities can improve mental wellbeing, much as eating fruit and vegetables enhances physical health, according to Foresight, the government think-tank. Its Mental Capital and Wellbeing report, which was compiled by more than 400 scientists, proposes a campaign modelled on the nutrition initiative, to encourage behaviour that will make people feel better about themselves.

People should try to connect with others, to be active, to take notice of their surroundings, to keep learning and to give to their neighbours and communities, the document says.

Its advice to “take notice” includes suggestions such as “catch sight of the beautiful” and “savour the moment, whether walking to work, eating lunch or talking to friends”. Examples of learning include mending a bike or trying to play a musical instrument.

 

“A big question in mental wellbeing is what individuals can do,” Felicia Huppert, Professor of Psychology at the University of Cambridge, who led part of the project, said. “We found there are five categories of things that can make a profound difference to people’s wellbeing. Each has evidence behind it.” These actions are so simple that everyone should aim to do them daily, she said, just as they are encouraged to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables.

Critics of the recommendation said that the Government and health professionals ought not to be prescribing individual behaviour in this way. “The implication is that if you don’t do these banal things, you could get seriously mentally ill, and that trivialises serious mental illness. What is happiness, anyway? It’s so subjective,” Claire Fox, director of the Institute of Ideas, said.

Although the report has no immediate policy implications, ministers will pay attention to it because Foresight is headed by the Government’s chief scientist, Professor John Beddington.

The project investigated ways of improving the nation’s “mental capital”, which Professor Beddington likened to a bank account of the mind. “We need to ask what actions can add to that bank account, and what activities can erode that capital,” he said.

Among the other issues it highlights is a strong link between mental illness and debt. Half of people in Britain who are in debt have a mental disorder, compared with just 16 per cent of the general population.

Rachel Jenkins, of the Institute of Psychiatry in London, who led this section of the report, said: “We’ve known for a while there’s a link between mental health issues and low income, but what more recent research has shown is that that relationship is probably mostly accounted for by debt.”

The report advocates more flexible working, days after Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, announced a review of government plans to extend such arrangements.

Cary Cooper, Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health at the University of Lancaster, a co-ordinator of the report, said: “People who choose to work flexibly are more job-satisfied, healthier and more productive.”

Steps to happiness

Connect
Developing relationships with family, friends, colleagues and neighbours will enrich your life and bring you support

Be active
Sports, hobbies such as gardening or dancing, or just a daily stroll will make you feel good and maintain mobility and fitness

Be curious
Noting the beauty of everyday moments as well as the unusual and reflecting on them helps you to appreciate what matters to you

Learn
Fixing a bike, learning an instrument, cooking – the challenge and satisfaction brings fun and confidence

Give
Helping friends and strangers links your happiness to a wider community and is very rewarding

Source: Foresight report

From: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/mental_health/article4988978.ece