1. Something that concerned me this week…
There are new blood pressure guidelines that were just put out by the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC). The chart that I saw says that “normal” blood pressure is BELOW 120 mm Hg (for systolic/top number) and BELOW 80 mm Hg(for diastolic/bottom number). Therefore, if your blood pressure is 120/80, it is considered elevated. If it is 130/80 or higher it is now considered “high blood pressure” (a.k.a. Stage 2 Hypertension). That number used to be 140/90. According to Pfizer’s website, “With these new guidelines, nearly half of the US population may be diagnosed with high blood pressure.” Ahhhh… we can only guess who influenced these new guidelines… as well as the true motivation behind the changes. More people with a diagnosis = more medication prescribed = more profits for Big Pharma. In ten years, do you think these new guidelines will have had a positive impact on heart disease??? Nope!
2. Cool places we visited…
Lana and I were able to travel this past week. We went to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Traverse City, the Sleeping Bear Dunes, and a few other small towns along the way. We were supposed to do a kayak tour of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, but it was canceled due to a Small Craft Advisory because of wind and waves. So, we did a hike to Chapel Rock, which is a free-standing rock formation with a single white pine tree on top, which is estimated to be about 250 years old. It remains super healthy due to its main root system arching over to the mainland. And the water is the bluest freshwater I’ve ever seen. See the pic below. (Thanks, Jack M. for the recommendation!) We then went to Sleeping Bear Dunes, near Traverse City. I’ve wanted to go there for a long time because everyone who goes loves it. (Thanks, Dave A., who recommended this years ago saying if he were blindfolded, put on top of the Dunes, and then had the blindfold removed, he would have guessed he was in Southern California.) We did descend and climb back up the Lake Michigan Overlook, which is stop #9 on the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive. Anyone who has been there knows this is a crazy 450-foot, super steep, sandy decent to the shores of Lake Michigan. Going down is one thing… coming back up is brutal. One more thing worth noting was golfing at the Arcadia Bluffs at sunset. Unbelievable experience! And Lana got a great pic of me putting right at sunset. (Thanks, Ed E., for that recommendation!) I highly recommend northern Michigan, as it has so much to offer.
3. Quote I love…
I heard a quote on a clip of a podcast that was GREAT! Not sure who was being quoted, but I wrote it down and have read it a few times in the last two days… and thought it was worth sharing…
“We don’t rise to the standards we have when others are watching, we fall to the standards we have when no one is watching. The only work that really matters is the work that no one sees. It shows you who you really are, rather than who you say you are.”
