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You are here: Home / Archives for perfect day

Perfect Moments

May 2, 2018 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

It’s 11:43 PM, the red LED numerals broadcast into the dusky room from the clock on my nightstand.

Teeth brushed and clothed for sleep; I am ready to end another hectic day. While sitting on the edge of the mattress, assessing the activities of the last 18 hours, I am aware of my dog, Willie, snorting and grunting and snoring in his bed, dreaming of chasing cats across our back yard. Speaking of such, our oldest feline, Tiger, has assumed his nightly position, curled up at the foot of the mattress, bogarting far more space than is necessary. (I’m consistently amazed how an eleven-pound feline can manage to hijack half the bed, causing my wife and I to hang on to the edges so we don’t tumble off.) Both kittens, Oreo and Hobbs, sleep soundly on perches in the guest room.

A streetlight, noticeable from our bedroom window, doesn’t shine directly inside; it’s not glaring; more of a faint glow that lightly crawls — just barely — over our neighbor’s roof, allowing for a vague pale light which scarcely illuminates the contours of our room. It’s rather comforting, providing just enough illumination to allow navigation alongside the side of our bed before I slip under the blankets. Upon doing so, laying on my left side, my soulmate, my wife — who went to bed an hour before me — snuggles up behind me (careful not to disturb Tiger). She drapes her right arm over my waist, nestles her face into the back of my neck and falls back to sleep. Reaching my right hand behind me, I pat her on the leg and whisper – so as not to wake her – “I love you.”

A light breeze slides through the screen, caressing us both as we drift off into the waiting arms of Hypnos, the God of Sleep. Before I do so, I make a mental note:

THIS is a Perfect Moment.

I’m aware that it won’t last. I know that in the future, we’ll be thrust into situations unwanted and unpeaceful; yet, right now, this instant, in the present tense – EVERYTHING is as good as it can ever be.

My last conscious thought for the day: Grateful beyond words.

Several weeks ago, I wrote a piece about “being where your feet are;” staying in the present, realizing that the vast majority of time, I couldn’t really ask for more. In the day-to-day hustle-bustle, clang-bang, slammed full of appointments and concerns, I don’t think I’m the only person who forgets how fortunate I really am. My health is fundamentally fine. I have the love of a family and the friendship of countless others. Where so many are shelter or food insecure, I afford my mortgage and keep my refrigerator well stocked.

Could it all change tomorrow? Sure. But, if worry were a cloak of protection, nothing would ever harm us.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Gratitude, Happiness, Inspiration, Newspaper Column, Power of Attitude Tagged With: attitude, emotions, feelings, happiness, health, inspiration, perfect day, perfect moments, quality of life

One Perfect Day

April 24, 2013 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

I fly a great deal.

Well, that’s not exactly accurate; I am in airplanes a great deal. They fly. I merely constrict my five-feet-eight-inches of body into about three-feet-seven-inches of space for four hours 18 minutes of discomfort, late arrivals, and poor service. It’s a privilege for which I pay a great deal of money.

To alleviate the numbness in my limbs, I think of walking.

However scrambling and stumbling over three other contorted travelers to stagger sloth like down a scrawny center aisle following a unhurriedly moving food cart with attendants lobbing over-priced “box meals” to ravenous twisted travelers doesn’t sound advantageous. Therefore, I read.

One of the airlines on which I frequently endure travel has a regular feature in their magazine. It lays out how to spend a few “perfect days” in an exotic city. For example, “three perfect days in Paris,” or “four perfect days in Bangkok.” They have yet to list “six perfect days in Eureka” but I am sure it is soon to be.

Three Perfect Days: Trinidad and Tobago

My internal recovering perfectionist is intrigued by the very concept of a “perfect day.”

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Diet, Newspaper Column, Overcoming Obstacles, Overcoming Perfectionsim, Self Talk Tagged With: excuse, human experience, perfect day, perfect days, perfectionism

Three 10-Minute Steps To An Amazing Lunch Break

April 9, 2013 by MikeTremba Leave a Comment

Your daily lunch break: Is it rushed? Inconvenient? More stressful than relaxing?

 

man-eating-at-deskDo you even take a lunch break, or do you gulp down an energy drink at your desk and keep working ‘til it’s time to commute home?

If that sounds like you, you’re not alone. Most Americans don’t capitalize on the opportunities a workplace break offers to them. Winding down for a half hour in the middle of the day is a healthy habit for mind and body, but a lot of people feel like it’s more of a hassle than a health benefit. In fact, most Americans work straight through what should be a midday reprieve from workplace stress because, for many of us, stepping away from our desks can mean losing momentum and fighting to keep focus for the rest of the afternoon.

If walking away from your desk for a half hour halfway through the day is stressful, you need to reorganize your workday. Lunch breaks are meant to revive your brain and gear you up for the rest of the day. If you’re not taking one, you’re not getting the most out of your professional capacities.

Making the most of your midday break takes preparation; however, in three hassle-free steps, I can take you from noontime stress to 12 p.m. rejuvenation.

All you need is ten minutes.

7 a.m.: Take 10 Minutes To Schedule Your Day

Nothing worth having ever comes without a good deal of planning ahead. Eating well, for instance—any worthwhile regime’s success is heftily contingent on making a game plan and sticking it out. The Truth About Abs reviews, (from one particular eating plan), describe many testaments from folks who’ve only found success losing weight and increasing health through some thorough strategizing. This success is equally applicable to succeeding in the workplace.

So, every morning before you dive head first into the pile of work on your desk, take ten minutes to prioritize tasks and carve blocks of dedicated time out of your workday. Be realistic about your work blocks and give yourself enough time to account for unforeseen distractions, like urgent orders from your boss or a coworker’s request for some last-minute help.

Knowing what’s ahead of you for the day will create a mental map of where your focus needs to be and when, gearing your brain up for when to be on task and when to wind down.

11:30 a.m.: 10 Minutes To Assess Progress And Wind Down

Retrospection is crucial to successful forward movement. Mid-morning, take a look back at what you’ve accomplished.

Not only will this help you plan out the remainder of your afternoon, it will give you a sense of satisfaction. Rehashing your small victories of the morning—maybe you finally turned in a big project to your boss, or were able to deescalate a disagreement with a coworker without issue—will change your brain’s gears from “work, work, and work” to “reward, reward, and reward.”

After recounting the morning’s workload to yourself, spend the hour between your mid-morning check-in and your lunch break tying up loose ends and preparing your work for the afternoon. Don’t start anything too intensive, but don’t let yourself lose focus, either.

Instead, ride on the high of your morning’s victories and create a blueprint for an equally successful afternoon.

12:30 p.m.: 10 Beautiful Minutes Of YOU

Remember: it’s lunch, but it’s also a break. A break for breathing, restoring your energy, and appreciating yourself.

Take your healthy brown-bag lunch on a walk and find a quiet spot in a nearby park, or treat yourself to a health-conscious meal at a restaurant close to where you work. Sit quietly with every bite of your meal and focus on yourself.

Acknowledge any worries or stresses present in the front of your mind, but appreciate foremost the time you’re devoting in this moment to take care of yourself. Being healthy isn’t just about eating lots of veggies and running a mile every day; it’s about loving yourself and wanting the best for you.

If you take a look at, you’ll get an overload of information on the importance of putting a love for yourself ahead of any other goal when it comes to getting healthy.

No matter how you approach it, do yourself—and your health — a favor, and make time for a valuable, reflective lunch break.

About the Author: Dr. Mike Tremba loves lunch breaks, or any chance he gets to appreciate how great life is.  He loves sharing his uncommon weight loss tips through his website at http://www.naturalweightlosstruth.com.  In his free time, he constantly looks for new activities to stir his imagination, while spending time with his wife and best friend, Shari

Filed Under: Guest Author, planning, Productivity, Success Tagged With: guest author, lifestyle change, perfect day, priorities

If I Was King of the World…

March 7, 2012 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

I'd make it easy to diet and be healthyShould I be anointed Grand Poobah of all things earthly, I would make significant changes.

As a benevolent leader, I wouldn’t be “mean;” but be confident I’d wield my power to appropriately mete out consequences to society’s ne’er-do-wells.

My first task would be to create a “discomfort pistol.”

Whenever someone did something rude, totally self-absorbed, or incredibly inconsiderate, they would be tagged with an invisible beam by this gun. It wouldn’t cause any damage — but for the next 24 hours, they wouldn’t be able to get physically comfortable, no matter what they did. A good analogy would be a stiff neck or a Charlie Horse. It’s not enough to incapacitate you, certainly not enough of an issue to go to the doctor. Yet, all day, it nags at you and the ache doesn’t quit until you get a night’s sleep.

We would use it on people who talk on cell phones or text in theaters, or aim it at the jerk tail-gating us on the freeway. It would exceptionally appropriate for ignoramuses who park in handicapped parking spaces and don’t need to. Give them — on an extremely minor level — a bit of poetic justice.

Anyone shot with the beam would be all right the next day, but at least for 24 hours, there would be justice. Maybe, eventually, they’d learn.

Of course, since fitness is such an issue for all of us, I’d make getting fit more fun.

Stationary bicycles would actually transport you to your favorite places — only as long as you were exercising. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Diet, Exercise, Health, humor, Newspaper Column, Weight Loss Tagged With: benevolent leader, diet, dieters, favorite places, grand poobah, humor, perfect day, poetic justice, stationary bicycles, warm sands, yamuna river

Dear Santa: An Inspirational & Practical List for the New Year

December 21, 2011 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

Dear Santa…

There are some things I’d like for the New Year. I know that’s not within your usual bailiwick, and you’re probably pooped from a long sleigh ride, but if you don’t mind…

First, please give me good health.

My body carries me faithfully from before my birth until my last days. I abuse it and overuse it. I overfeed it and undersleep it. Yet rarely do I appreciate it. Nonetheless, it usually works amazingly well. It doesn’t seem to smile as much as I’d like (and it’s not quite the size I wanted) but in all modesty, it’s pretty cool.

My eyes can enjoy the magnificent pink of a rich sunset. My nose can inhale the deep, full scent of a spicy stew simmering slowly on a blustery winter afternoon. My ears perk up to the reassuring tap-tap-tap of light rain on my roof in the middle of the night. And the touch of a lover’s hand on my skin, can in a moment, calm and excite me at the same time.

Remind me that whatever else I have is worth nothing without my health. When I bend without pain or breathe deeply without effort, make me smile. Let me remember that this is the truest, purest blessing of all. Through this miracle of life, I experience all the universe has to offer.

Secondly, please strengthen my connection to family.

There are those who came before me; and there are those for whom I am responsible whom I will never meet. Even so, we are connected. In that chain, I am a vital link, the entirety of all that has gone before me and the bedrock of generations still unborn. Each in that string is a part of me as I am of them. We are all of the same stuff.

Through the ages and across the miles; today, yesterday, and tomorrow; we will guide each other when we are lost, and we will pick each other up when we fall. Everything I do reflects upon my ancestors and shapes my children of future offspring. I am inextricably connected across time. Remind me each day to take time for my family.

Teach me to be a better friend.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Baby Boomers, Diet, Exercise, family, Happiness, Holidays, Inspiration, mental health, Newspaper Column, Traditions, Weight Loss Tagged With: better friend, dear santa, faith, generations, good health, gratitude, happiness, health, holidays, inspiration, letter to santa, list of wishes, miracle of life, new year, new year's resolutions, offspring, perfect day, priorities, quality of life, relationships, resolutions, thankfulness

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