Just Breathe

You would think NYC wouldn’t stress me out any more. Ever since moving here, I figured I had solved the concerns rolling around in the back of my mind.

• Traffic is a just a way of life.
• I can understand everyone!
• I know my way around........sort of.

I had fallen into my daily routine; when I woke up every morning I had an idea of what I wanted/need to achieve. But at the end of last week, Stacey and I got a pleasant surprise into our lives.

My dad came to visit!

Knowing my dad, you would know he LOVES to drive. One of the aspects that truly enticed him to drive to NYC (besides Stacey and I of course) is the fact that is take 11 HOURS to get here. Where this amount of driving would seem redundant and monotonous to me, he saw it as a way to truly relax and enjoy the view. 

After dropping Stacey off at the hospital Friday morning, my dad and I decided to go for our customary walk. We grabbed a quick espresso and off we went into the chilly Staten Island air. Including two quick stops for meals, over the course of that Friday we walked between 8 and 9 hours. It is funny how whenever you get immersed in a conversation, you tend to forget about the time gone by. Unaware at the time, it was relaxing to hear my dad complain about republicans and democrats or give his own solution to unemployment. As we walked, every so often my dad would get out of breath. My reply would always be “just breathe”. So we walked for hours talking about this and that and every hour or so, I would once again repeat “just breathe”. By the end of the day, I realized that whenever my dad had taken a quick break, i would too. I would stretch a little bit and take a deep breath, energizing me for the next conversation. After almost 9 hours of walking, my legs were getting a little sore but I completely relaxed. The honking of car horns and smell of exhaust fumes that I normally find bothersome didn’t phase me in the least. Truth be told I would have enjoyed walking even more.

For the rest of the weekend, my dad, Stacey, and I all ate, went shopping, played cards, and my dad and I even managed to see the new James Bond movie. We laughed, read, stayed up late, and even had some chocolate croissants for breakfast one morning. But for the rest of this week and hopefully many more to come, if I find myself getting stressed or losing my patience at all, I just need to remember two simple words.

Just breathe.

What have you done to relax lately?

Our Healing Body

Blogging is always an interesting experience. 

As much as I enjoy writing about fun, interesting, or inspiring parts of my life, when I look out at the world, I cannot help but not be satisfied with certain parts of it. Everyone feels this way about some part of their life or society around them. That is not to say I am unhappy, I am generally a very positive person. I just feel there are parts of myself and society that need improvement. 

Out of the many causes I care about, one cause that strikes a particular accord is health.

I have a great desire to be healthy, teach others around me to be healthy, and always be increasing my education on health as a broad topic.

After my studies in medicine and nutrition, a belief I firmly stand behind is that your body knows how to be perfectly healthy on its own. Given the optimal amounts of food, exercise, and sleep, your mind and body naturally become healthy. Being overweight or ill or even unhappy is not the natural state of our bodies. The question becomes: So what is this optimal amount of food, exercise, and sleep? This thought has hardly left my mind for many years.

With obesity and type II diabetes and many other illnesses on the rise, I have realized that there are fundamental flaws in the healthcare and nutrition systems of our country at many different levels. Therefore, one day, hopefully within one year, I want to write a series of posts (maybe even its own blog) which will be named Our Healing Body. It will be information about different aspects of health and living. 

What foods will keep us healthy and happy and even taste good? 

Are grocery stores and restaurants really promoting health or just trying to raise their bottom dollar? 

What factors contribute to the level of obesity and related illnesses in this country? 

How can we as individuals and as a society take health into our own hands?

The most important part about these posts in I want this to be collaborative.

I invite people to chime in different habits and routines and have a collective of recipes, nutrition facts, and health care knowledge. Be rest assured, I will still be keeping up with my light-hearted blog posts but slowly working on this overall health theme as well. No matter where you are in the world, I hope everyone has a great rest of the week and is safe, healthy, and happy. To improvement!

What improvements are you making in your life?

A Glimmer of Hope

To say the last two weeks have been busy would be an understatement. On top of a test I studied almost 3 months for, many members of my family-to-be came to visit last weekend and then of course, Hurricane Sandy happened. As much much as I am glad the test is over and having the family here was a blast, it is good to sit down and start writing again.

After all of the family left, I still had thoughts of Noah and Luca running down leaf-covered trails while Stacey walked and I carried Adi on my back. However, my computer was quick to interrupt my thoughts of the Hurricane to come, new flashes and even videos all saying “this is going to be a superstorm”. Over the next few days people certainly looked more stressed out and after the hurricane hit, there were even reports of fights over gasoline and looting of people’s houses. Being in Staten Island, there were many power lines down and trees knocked over, but Stacey and I went on with our life as much as possible. Considering we had no heat or hot water, eating dinner by candlelight was a necessity and taking a bath was certainly an experience. I won’t lie, after 48 hours without any heat or power and large quantities of food starting to go bad, stress was slowly creeping into my mind. The following morning I heard of a few places on the island had power and were beginning to open.

So I went to the coffee shop, Beans and Leaves

To walk into Beans and Leaves, with every table full of people talking and laughing, to have amazing smells coming from the counter, and for it to be WARM was all-at-once, a mood-elevating moment. A smile came across my face as I walked up to the counter and quickly ordered a house coffee and croissant and sat down at open table. As I sat and listened to people talk, I realized that Manhattan, New Jersey, and even other parts of Staten Island had been affected much worse. It was a very humbling feeling that let me see slight glimmer of hope in the whole ordeal. Around me at every seat were people who had lost a lot, some everything, and they were all in positive spirits. They were laughing, sharing pastries, even reading the same New York Times articles together. I then heard another group talking about how they were organizing food and clothing drives and had a shelter ready as well.

So after a few conversations and snack-buying sessions, I packed up and headed home. As I was walking through the leaves, I thought about how hope can rise from something so small; how right now people are organizing, taking donations, and providing food. I hope everyone who reads this is safe, healthy, and warm. But even if you are not (still TONS of people without water, power, or heat), have at least a glimmer of hope. Help is on the way.

What has given you hope recently?

The Season of Giving

Out of the many holidays we celebrate here in the United States, one of my favorite would have to be Christmas. It is the one of the few times in the year that my family all come together out at my grandparents’ farm. We laugh, we eat A LOT, we open presents, and relax and catch-up around the fireplace in the den. It is a very relaxing time and it always seems no matter what is going on outside in the world, there is always a sense of serenity and happiness out at the farm.

Naturally, whenever I met Stacey I wanted to make sure she could experience this and hopefully, want to keep coming back time and time again. Jump ahead nearly 3 years and we are now getting married in less than 2 months (get EXCITED!) so she has certainly had time to appreciate “farm time”. A few months ago though, we were driving, talking about upcoming Christmas season and all of the festivities when a conversation came up that surprised me.

Me: Hey baby, excited for December?

Stacey: YEAH, of course, but it is going to be really busy though

Me: Yeah true, I am looking forward to hanging out at the farm, and seeing your family and the babies but it will certainly be craziness!

Stacey: Yeah, I love the babies! Plus, all my family will be there so we will all be going to church and maybe volunteering.

Stacey: Does your family ever volunteer at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter or anywhere?

Phil: Hmmm, I don’t think so, wait, are you serious?

Stacey: Are YOU serious?

We then proceeded to have a conversation about even though we always enjoyed family time, more people than we realize don’t have to opportunity to share that enjoyment. I certainly had thought about volunteering in the past but once the holidays came around, it seemed as though we were always in a rush or made more plans than we had time. Stacey and I both agreed though that “family time” was often one of the happiest times of the holiday season. Considering how much we both valued it, we wanted to make sure others experienced it as well.

So we made a pact!

Stacey and I decided that this upcoming Christmas season, we were going to volunteer at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter one day in hopes that we can bring some “family time” to people who are not as fortunate as ourselves. We figured through all the rush and plans of the holidays, giving up one afternoon would not change our plans and hopefully, bring happiness to many others. 

So as I sit here typing this Mid-October morning, my mind begins to think of all of the excitement of this upcoming holiday season, of all the fun and festivities to be had. But I also realize how thankful I am. I am thankful for many things/people in my life but without a doubt, one person is Stacey.  Among many amazing qualities, she reminds me how no matter what good and bad we all experience throughout the year, this holiday season and many others after it should truly be the season of giving.

What positive changes are you making for this upcoming holiday season?

The Accidental Vegetarian

Certain people lack the affinity for the taste, smell, and even look of meat. 

I am not one of them.

Some people grow up learning a tremendous amount about vegetarianism.

I am not one of them either.

Growing up in Northeast Tennessee, eating meat is a way of life. No matter where you go, you are most likely within 10 minutes of a Pal’s and the smells never cease to be amazing. When Fall rolls around, you can bet every Target and Walmart in the area will be stocked with grills and accessories and to this day, I have a plethora of memories of Ben, my dad, and I, sitting throughout that sea of orange in Neyland Stadium eating hotdogs and pizza. So it is safe to say while growing up that becoming vegetarian never entered my mind.

I went through college as an undergrad and then started living in Grenada and England and in doing so, starting learning about many different diets, cultures, religions, and outlooks on life. I took it all in but still stayed strong to my meat-eating roots. 

After living in England, I moved back to Grenada where life was certainly different once again from the United States. Because of the price and availability of certain meats in Grenada, one sometimes had to tweak their eating regiment to not become hungry or broke. 

Considering I ate dinner with my fiancé’ Stacey every night; buying,cooking, and eating meat sometimes became a chore. By the end of the day, we were tired and needed to study.

So I took up Meatless Mondays!

Each Monday, to save time and money, I wouldn’t eat meat that day. I would eat fruit and coffee for breakfast, a veggie sub for lunch, and then for dinner Stacey and I would cook something healthy and quick. We did this for many weeks without fail so I was surprised one Tuesday when after a Meatless Monday I arrived at the end of day and once again I had not eaten meat. At the time, I didn’t really think much of it, I just went on to bed. As the weeks passed though, I spent fewer and fewer days eating meat. It wasn’t ever a conscious decision, nor did it stress me out that much. If an amazing meat dish came my way, I wasn’t against trying it, but I didn’t spend part of each day making sure I was eating meat. 

Then something changed....

I went out to the restaurant Calabash and it was very busy that night. Around Stacey and I, many people were ordering their favorite cut of meat or the chef’s meaty special. As I looked around at all of the fancy dishes containing meat a thought entered my head: I didn’t crave any of this. I am sure each dish would have been delicious in their own way but I there wasn’t a single dish on the menu that night that I just had to have. I proceeded to order the special soup and salad of the night and upon leaving the restaurant, I was completely content with myself. But I became aware my body/mind had changed and I hadn’t even realized it.

From then on meat hasn’t been part of my diet. I can't say I never ate meat again but meat just doesn’t enter my mind like it used to. My one vice is every birthday in which I have known Stacey, she has surprised me with a Southern style breakfast: skillet cooked bacon, eggs cooked in the bacon grease, and a toasted bagel. (It is AMAZING) But when I look back on my diet, it makes me happy that nowadays, I accidentally became vegetarian, now I continue this trend 364 days out of the year.

What accidental changes have happened to you for the better??

Seeing the City From Rural Eyes

I’ll admit it, before ever setting foot in the greater NYC area, I had this idea in my head of how it would look and feel. As I packed up in my life in TN, my mind was already set of the different foods I would try and the people I would meet. I thought that after a week or two I would have seen all of NYC so that I could I could easily give advice on this bookstore or that pastry shop. A little over a month later I am still trying to figure out who a typical “New-Yorker” is and have made some realizations

• New York City is HUGE

New York City is in-fact a group of boroughs that each in themselves are cities. They have their own government systems and post offices and even the zip codes can differ from place to place. Last Friday I visited a good friend in Brooklyn (I am in Staten Island) and it took me over an hour to get there one-way! It is only 7 miles but I never thought 7 miles could take so long. A fun fact I discovered was if Brooklyn wasn’t considered part of NYC, it would be the third largest city in the United States!

• New York City has an INCREDIBLE amount of people

Besides the millions of people that call NYC home, thousands of tourists visit NYC every day of the year. From the Statue of Liberty to Times Square to Central Park and the Empire State Building, there are so many attractions that even seasoned New Yorkers could spend months if not years exploring and never see the same place twice. Think you have driven in heavy traffic? Try driving across the Verrazano bridge into Brooklyn at 11 in the morning or better yet, experience 10 lanes coming into 2 crossing the George Washington bridge leaving NYC. If you are going to live in NYC, getting used to traffic is a must.

• New York City truly is THE MELTING POT

A fact that amazes me to this day is how many languages are spoken in NYC. Stacey and I were walking through Manhattan last weekend and within the span of an hour we heard at least 20 different languages. As that is amazing, Stacey really shocked me when she informed me that over 100 languages are spoken every day in NYC! Talk about diversity! When you drive through different parts Brooklyn or Queens you see entire communities of many types of people. You can be eating at a Chinese restaurant surrounded by a Chinese school and grocery store then two streets over, schools, stores, even buses are all written in Hebrew. It amazes me how so many different cultures and communities can come together and call one place home. New York City truly is amazing and thus far, I have truly enjoyed seeing and experiencing the city from rural eyes.

What do you like about New York City?