March 21st, 2017

March 21st, 2017


Affirmation: I am at peace with the Universe.


Word of the Day: comportment (n):
personal bearing or conduct; demeanor; behavior.

Spring Is Christ

Everyone has eaten and fallen asleep.
The house is empty.

We walk out to garden to let the apple
meet the peach, to carry messages
between rose and jasmine.

Spring is Christ,
raising martyred plants from their shrouds.

A leaf trembles. I tremble
in the wind-beauty like silk from Turkestan.
The censer fans into flame.

This wind is the Holy Spirit.
The trees are Mary.
Watch how husband and wife play subtle games
with their hands. Strings of cloudy pearls
are thrown across the lovers,
as is the marriage custom.

We talk about this and that. There is no rest
except on these branching moments.

_____


Weekly (Politics-Free!) Articles Roundup



Here are some of this week's headlines that caught my eye that I wanted to share with you all! I have provided a brief description of each article and you can click on the titles to be redirected to the original articles.

1. JeopardizingOur Planets Jeopardizes Our Health, Too

The Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health recently reported that one of the best ways to protect our health is to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. Wondering how can our environment affect our health? The answer lies in rising rates of infectious disease, natural disasters causing injury and PTSD, and poor air quality making allergies and asthma even worse.

2. India's new fossil discovery could have major implications for the timeline oflife.

The preserved 1.6-billion-year-old fossil communities found in India's Chitrakoot district are composed of ancient organisms that have been shown to share features with red algae—one of the oldest groups of plant life on earth. A representative from Cornell University's School of Integrative Plant Science said, "if the fossils...have been properly identified, and their age...accurately determined, their existence could show that 'life may have been more precocious than most of us thought.'"

3. Our solar system could be facing an identity crisis.

During this weeks’ Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston, a group of scientists are presenting a new, more inclusive definition of planets. Under this new definition, a planet is anything massive enough to pull gravity into its sphere—adding 102 formations, including Pluto, to the current list. If it's adopted, scientists would then subcategorize planets further based on their geology.

4. Sesame Street just introduced its first autistic character.

There's a new muppet on Sesame Street, and her name is Julia. She looks a lot like the other muppets, but there's one difference: Julia is autistic. "Man, I really wish that kids in my son's class had grown up with a Sesame Street that had modeling [of] behavior of inclusion characters with autism," Stacy Gordon, the puppeteer who plays Julia, said.

5. Crazing a delicious school lunch? Consider to Japan.

In Japan, they consider lunch part of a child's education, not a break from school—and it has amazing results. With ingredients from local farmers and nourishing, well-balanced meals, students are able to acquire "a sense of gratitude" and "spirit to appreciate foods and social manners" (the stated goals of government officials) while giving themselves the brain food they need to succeed. 

6. A novel method to analyze blood work could give physicians a better way to predictillness.

The Intermountain Chronic Disease Risk Score (which is calculated using blood tests commonly performed at check-ups) proved 77 to 78 percent accurate in predicting whether a patient would develop diabetes, coronary artery disease, dementia, or a host of other ailments. It could be implemented in routine visits in as soon as three years.

7. Researchers have uncovered the innerworkings of one of the world's oldest biological clocks.

Scientists have uncovered the inner workings of the biological clocks of cyanobacteria, the first organisms on earth to produce oxygen via photosynthesis. This discovery marks a significant step in understanding the evolution of this process. 

8. This Year’s BIGGEST New FoodTrends!

 As a foodie and nutrition enthusiast, I was excited to read this article and share it with you all! This year, fervor for food is at a fever pitch. Get ready for an ever-expanding world of healthy cuisine choices, giving wellness-minded consumers a bounty of options to choose from. Social media influences remain strong, with the aesthetics of food often trumping even flavor (ahem, Unicorn Toast!), and labeling a food identity suddenly feeling more confining than empowering. 

9. The secret to surviving cold and dreary winters with a smile could be as simple as a good hot tub. 

Iceland takes advantage of its natural resources to stay happy through its long, cold winters. The majority of neighborhoods have outdoor pools that are heated by the country's natural geothermal system, and many citizens flock to the pool weekly and catch up with people in their community. Warm water, the outdoors, and spending time with friends and neighbors could be the right combination for feeling happier (and maybe preventing seasonal affective disorder).