1. A huge concern I’ve had that few people are thinking about…
In an effort to combat the SARS-CoV-2 virus, we’ve gone into hyper-sanitizing mode. Two BIG problems with this… First, research showed early on that virus transmission through contact is very unlikely. So, the positive impact of sanitizing the heck out of everything is miniscule. Second, there will be collateral damage due to all of the toxic impact of the chemicals used to sanitize, as well as catastrophic impact on the healthy microbe levels needed by the body to thrive. An important word to know… microbiome, which is the healthy bacterial colony that helps digest food, produces certain vitamins, helps protect against other bacteria that cause disease, and… BOLSTERS OUR IMMUNE SYSTEM! The advancements we have made this past decade in our understanding and appreciation of the microbiome have been crushed this past year. I can’t help but cringe at the thought of the spraying down of classrooms, gyms, grocery carts and wrestling mats with some chemical concoction that I believe will surely be shown, over time, to have done more harm than good. Our relentless assault on ALL microbes is reckless, unscientific, and terribly harmful. Obviously, keeping your kitchen and bathrooms clean, and washing your hands is good practice, but our war on microbes has gone too far.
2. Quotes I enjoyed reading this week…
I was sent a link to an article titled “81 Best Mark Twain Quotes About Life, Death, & More.” (Thanks, Uncle Bim!) It was a fun read. It’s interesting to see how some things written so long ago are still so applicable today. Here is the link to that article with all 81 quotes… And here are six of my favorites…
“It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool, than to open it and remove all doubt.”
“A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes.”
“The secret to getting ahead is getting started.”
“If you don’t read the newspaper, you’re uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you’re mis-informed.”
“The fact that man knows right from wrong proves his intellectual superiority to the other creatures; but the fact that he can do wrong proves his moral inferiority to any creatures that cannot.”
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.”
3. Fun things we will start doing again at our office…
With success comes complacency. When I was growing my practice, I implemented a lot of fun things that slowly disappeared. I think it was because we didn’t NEED to do those things, so we just stopped doing them. Having Dr. Michael join our practice has inspired us to re-introduce a lot of those fun things that we have not done for years, such as these three:
Patient of the Month… we choose one patient that has inspired us and others with their remarkable story and results in our office.
T-shirt Contest… patients submit slogans that would be funny, entertaining, and/or educational for a t-shirt for our office. We choose one winner, award that winner, and produce those t-shirts to give away.
Referral Appreciation Month… anyone who refers a patient to our office in the month of May gets entered into a drawing for special prizes (gas grill, mountain bike, stand up paddleboard, massages, whole body cryotherapy sessions, and more!). It is our way of thanking you for helping us help others…and for your continued trust! (See the printed version of the handout for this event below.)