Well Being Matters - Introducing the WB Meter

I'm happy to have written the opening blogpost at Whole Life Well Being - a project of Jerry Wagner, Senior Gallup Scientist.

Check out the site, and contribute your well being meter reading to our community.

Let me know what you think of the post, good bad or otherwise.

We are made of STAR STUFF

What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how
infinite in faculties, in form and moving how express and
admirable, in action how like an angel, in apprehension how like
a god! the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals—and yet,
to me, what is this quintessence of dust?

Hamlet, Shakespeare

What is this quintessense of dust?

We are made of star stuff - indeed.

When we consider how amazing and unique each human being is, why wouldn't we want to offer the most wonderful experience to each other as customers? as employees? As friends and family? As citizens of the world?


John Boswell is the creative artist behind www.SymphonyofScience.com

His art emerges in the form of videos celebrating science through music and voice. They have been viewed over 8 million times, and I am happy to share the video and lyrics (sung by the autotuned voices of - Richard Feynmann, Carl Sagan, DeGrasse Tyson and Bill Nye)



[deGrasse Tyson]
We are all connected;
To each other, biologically
To the earth, chemically
To the rest of the universe atomically

[Feynman]
I think nature's imagination
Is so much greater than man's
She's never going to let us relax

[Sagan]
We live in an in-between universe
Where things change all right
But according to patterns, rules,
Or as we call them, laws of nature

[Nye]
I'm this guy standing on a planet
Really I'm just a speck
Compared with a star, the planet is just another speck
To think about all of this
To think about the vast emptiness of space
There's billions and billions of stars
Billions and billions of specks

[Sagan]
The beauty of a living thing is not the atoms that go into it
But the way those atoms are put together
The cosmos is also within us
We're made of star stuff
We are a way for the cosmos to know itself

Across the sea of space
The stars are other suns
We have traveled this way before
And there is much to be learned

I find it elevating and exhilarating
To discover that we live in a universe
Which permits the evolution of molecular machines
As intricate and subtle as we

[deGrasse Tyson]
I know that the molecules in my body are traceable
To phenomena in the cosmos
That makes me want to grab people in the street
And say, have you heard this??

(Richard Feynman on hand drums and chanting)

[Feynman]
There's this tremendous mess
Of waves all over in space
Which is the light bouncing around the room
And going from one thing to the other

And it's all really there
But you gotta stop and think about it
About the complexity to really get the pleasure
And it's all really there
The inconceivable nature of nature

Choosing An Ergonomic Keyboard And Mouse - Applelinks.com

Choosing An Ergonomic Keyboard And Mouse - Applelinks.com


I've been writing about health social networks and last week, I found myself enjoying the wealth of friendship and great support and help on the Internet, there for the asking!

After seeing my doctor and having identified as having suffered Shoulder Rotator Cuff injury - the exercises he prescribed hurt and he said if the hurt continued, the next step would be an injection.

I didn't want that, so instead of going back to the doctor, I looked on the Internet. Here's what I found:

1. a helpful blog by Adin in Palo Alto - http://siliconvalleyfit.com/author/adin/ - and I signed up with his partner, Chiropractor Dominique for treatment which is slowly healing my shoulder, and put myself on a plan to get healthier all round!

In the process after a couple of visits, in discussion with Dom, I told him I was fearful of triggering off the wrist pain that had resulted in me wearing a wrist sling for 2 months.

While it was not Carpal Tunnel, it was due to a Repetitive Strain Injury, such as one might get through lots of keyboarding and mousing.

Talking this over with friends, I was encouraged to look for a more ergonomic set up for my computer. That led to the next find on the Internet.


2. Charles Moore's article in Applelinks from 2002 - about ergonomic keyboards and mice.

You can read the rest of the story in Charles latest article at Applelinks. My takeaway lessons


Lesson 1 - FACE UP TO IT

- After I stopped denying I had a problem when I looked for help I found the right kind of help I needed. when I reached out to the help I found, I put myself on the road to recovery.


Lesson 2 - TIME

- Muscle Injuries take time to understand and work out the appropriate exercise response. Doctors can only help so far when they have a short amount of time - it took the work with Adin and Dominique spending an hour or more working with what I could do, when the pain began and stopped - to work out what exercises would really help the muscles recover.

Lesson 3 - RESPONSIBILITY

- Take responsibility for my response to health issues. When I buy a printer, I take more time to research the purchase than I would when I have a health issue, because I use to do just as the doctor advised. Now I know to take more responsibility for my health and do my part in research and taking action.

Lesson 4 - There are WONDERFUL PEOPLE you can find on the Internet - whether in Nova Scotia like Charles or Adin and Dominique in Palo Alto - I am appreciative of the help they have provided me.