1. Quote I love, think about often, and spent time this week thinking about…
“You Can Have Everything In Life You Want, If You Will Just Help Enough Other People Get What They Want.” -Zig Ziglar
I heard Zig Ziglar say this many years ago. I decided to buy in and give it a try. I can report, after over three decades of experimenting with this, that it is true statement. I spent time this week reflecting on whether or not I am living by this principle as strongly as I can. I HIGHLY recommend you give it a shot. But be careful… you cannot give TO get… you have to just give to give.
2. Another so-called “scientific advancement” in our food I learned about this week (and am concerned about)…
There is a coating being applied to fruits and vegetables that is said to “help produce stay fresh longer.” It’s called Apeel. And like most things, it’s weaseling its way into our supermarkets and onto our food without us even knowing it. (Thanks for bringing it to my attention, Rose B.!) It is touted as “natural,” “plant-based,” and “sustainable,” but according to one article I read, 99.43% of the ingredients are a mystery. And please do not be fooled by the words “FDA-approved,” because that means just about nothing. My guess, this will be ANOTHER thing we will hear about down the road that we THOUGHT was “safe and effective,” but turns out to cause harm (just a guess). Surprisingly, it looks like Whole Foods will carry foods with Apeel, but Trader Joes, Heinen’s (where we shop mostly), Costco, Publix, and others WILL NOT. Phew! It looks like Target will carry foods utilizing Apeel. As a side note (but a very important side note), Bill Gates has been involved with the funding and development of Apeel, which is a HUGE red flag for me. This is the same guy who made hundreds of millions of dollars off the COVID vaccine just before expressing disappointment in its effectiveness. Click here for info on who carries produce with Apeel. And click here for an article from Natural Grocers with more info on Apeel. I commend grocery stores that will not carry produce with this chemical coating on it!
3. Mindful practice I came across again this week…
Hara Hachi Bu… these are Japanese words spoken before eating. These words mean… stop eating when you are 80% full. It’s a philosophy/practice that is likely a big part of why Japanese are able to remain thinner than Americans (who tend to have a philosophy/practice of… eat until you’re so full you feel sick.😬) Here is an excerpt from the Blue Zone website (bluezones.com) about hara hachi bu… “If you’ve ever been lucky enough to eat with an Okinawan elder, you’ve invariably heard them intone this Confucian-inspired adage before beginning the meal: hara hachi bu — a reminder to stop eating when their stomachs are 80 percent full. This cultural practice of calorie restriction and mindful eating is part of the reason that Okinawa has a higher percentage of centenarians than anywhere else in the world.”