The home of Buddhism, Martial Arts, Diabetes and health…
Author: Shawn
I am a practitioner of the martial arts and student of the Buddhist faith. I have been a Type 1 Diabetic since I was 4 years old and have been fighting the uphill battle it includes ever since. I enjoy fitness and health and looking for new ways to improve both, as well as examining the many questions of life. Although I have no formal medical training, I have amassed a wealth of knowledge regarding health, Diabetes, martial arts as well as Buddhism and philosophy. My goal is to share this information with the world, and perhaps provide some sarcastic humour along the way. Welcome!
Most people would be inclined to accept that they know what they know. Makes sense, right? If you’ve been doing something for any number of years, one may feel as though they know how to do it and may not feel as though they can necessarily be taught anything further on it. A good example I can provide for this is when I finally decided to take the leap and start on an insulin pump. I went into it thinking I already knew everything I needed to know about effective Diabetes management and just wanted to hook up and start the pump and be on my way. How very wrong, I was…
It wasn’t until I went through the pump training that I realized there was still a great deal to learn. Until that point, my insulin boluses were mostly “guest-imated” and I had never heard of, nor was I was practicing, carb counting. And the reality is that I’m still learning today, almost seven years after I first started on an insulin pump. I’ve learned to temper my perspective and have removed the Diabetic chip on my shoulder and stored it appropriately where it won’t interfere with my medial education.
The same can be said of martial arts. Sometimes it can be difficult recognizing that what one knows should prevent the learning of something new or accepting information from teachers you may have otherwise not sought out on their own. This is especially true if you’re cross-training in a different style. Given that I’ve been at this for several decades now, I’m beginning to encounter more and more scenarios where the person I’m getting instruction from wasn’t even alive when I started doing karate.
For some, this can be a bitter pill and quite difficult to consolidate within themselves. After all, in many situations I would be inclined to believe that I’ve “been there, done that.” The important aspect is that I may not necessarily been there and done it THEIR way. And if I’m genuinely there to learn and include these different styles and techniques in my overall toolbox, I need to be willing to humble myself long enough to recognize that knowledge can come from many different sources.
There’s absolutely nothing worse than someone who thinks they know better but still wants to advance and progress within your style. Guess what, pal? You don’t put in the work, you don’t reap the benefits. I’ve seen it countless times throughout my youth. Sensei used to have boxers, hockey players and students of other styles who may or may not have been trying to belt collect, walk in with MASSIVE chips on their shoulders. Only to get served and shown the error of their ways by Sensei before leaving with their tails tucked. Don’t be that person. Broaden your perspective and be willing to learn. You’ll be all the better for it and you’ll go much, much farther. Food for thought… ☯️
It seems as though the world is slowly going to hell and is doing so in a very poorly constructed hand basket. Or at least it APPEARS that is is… I know that recent events right here in Saskatchewan have had a ripple effect on the population and have woken some folks up to the fact that even the “quiet” corners of the country have their fair share of noise, if there really is any such thing as a “quiet” part of the world….
The state of the world can often seem overwhelming, especially to those who spend the majority of their time online or following the news. Although I would be the last person to ever suggest simply nurturing one’s head in the sand, I think it’s worth noting that the entire world’s information is available at the average person’s fingertips, unlike a couple of decades ago where you would depend on your local news to deliver the majority of major happening to you.
And let’s be clear; unless that major happening was in fact, major and directly impacted the area where the news was being broadcast, it would often go unheard. These days, a remote village in a country thousands of miles away may make your news feed and deliver information about what’s happening in their neck of the woods. For the most part, I think most people would agree that this is a good thing and the younger generations certainly don’t know any better.
But despite public opinion, how good is it ACTUALLY that all of this information is freely and readily available at the world’s fingertips? I’m sure the high school student who needs to write a paper about some arcane and little-known philosopher from centuries ago considers Wikipedia to be a blessing and a god-send but I mostly mean in general. People are more connected than ever before, weighing in on issues that just a number of years ago, they would never even have heard of.
For the most part, there’s nothing wrong with the receipt and absorbing of information. The trick is to have the understanding that not all pieces of information should consume your attention, ad nauseam. If I were to give an example, a good one would be the current military conflicts taking place overseas. The world is shocked and appalled that this is happening, as well they should be. The availability of all this information has made that conflict a public matter. But it might surprise many t know that there have been over a hundred conflicts of this nature in the world since the end of World War II; they’ve simply never heard about them.
The advent and growth of the online environment has led to people becoming more brazen and often inappropriate in their interactions with other people. After all, how easy is it to mouth off to someone through a computer monitor as opposed to in person? The online environment has also caused a majority of the population to become armchair experts in law enforcement, medical professions and politics. Light help the world…
As with all things in life, nothing is inherently bad or good. It’s how we choose to absorb and use what we’re given that defines how it’s perceived and accepted. The world has never changed. There has always been crime, controversy, famine, war, poverty and medical epidemics. We simply have the benefit of knowing it all immediately as opposed to reading it in the history books. I don’t know if the world is going to hell or not but I’m thinking we may have been in the hand basket longer than we previously assumed. Food for thought… ☯️
Is it still called getting back on the horse if it’s an old war horse doing it? I have to admit that I’m in a reasonable amount of pain, this morning. Last night was my first night back to karate after being off for the summer. Normally, this wouldn’t be a big deal but the dojo I train with is pretty traditional and doesn’t pull its punches (pun fully intended). It was a wicked workout and I got a solid burn on. It feels good to be back at it, i have to say. It’s been something of a struggling summer, with some of the hotter weather limiting the number of kilometres I’ve put on the bike and some of my workouts being a bit less than I would have hoped.
As one gets older, things become more challenging. That isn’t an excuse, it’s simply reality. If you would have asked me twenty years ago where i’d be RIGHT now, I’d like have told you I’d be a sixth degree black belt and teaching at my own school. It’s funny how life works. I do know that over the past two decades, I’ve already learned more than the average person will ever forget about karate and the martial arts. that nay sound like a boast and it’s intended as such. I’ve pushed myself pretty hard throughout my life. It’s the only reason I’m still alive.
I’m looking forward to this year. I plan on learning some new forms, participating at the fullest and learning a new style at a level I haven’t yet managed to do since moving out to Saskatchewan. Challenge accepted. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need caffeine. And probably ice, but I have to go to work, so ice likely isn’t gonna happen… ☯️
Music has a way of altering one’s mood, temperament and overall situation. After all, how many times have you had a bad day where a catchy song started playing on the radio and you either started grooving to it, singing to it or both? Before you knew it, your mood had drastically improved and the issue that frustrated you no longer seemed quite as bad. This actually happens far more than we know, which is why relaxation music can be beneficial in helping you unwind during a massage or in an elevator. And I’ve often written about the benefits of white noise and its varieties, signalling that sound in general has the ability to alter a person’s mood and overall health.
So just imagine the kind of effect you can have if you actually play the music yourself? If listening to a certain song can alter your mood, imagine the kind of effect you can have if you create and play the music yourself, using an instrument of your choice. Honestly, I think we’ve all suffered through the cheap-ass music lessons we all received in elementary school. Although the basic lessons were sound and would ACTUALLY lead to an honest to goodness knowledge of music, none of us cared and none of us wanted to play “Mary had a little lamb” on a fucking recorder! That’s a flute, for those of you who may not know. Are music lessons in school even still a thing?
One of the only existing photos of me, playing the guitar sometime in 2005
Personally, I’ve always been partial to the violin. Classical music has always held an important place in my heart and I absolutely LOVE the sound of a symphony orchestra. The violin always seemed like a reasonable option to me, since it’s portable enough to bring anywhere but beautiful enough to be appreciated by all. Given that I grew up in a small town in northern new Brunswick, the availability of solid music lessons were scarce. Getting my parents’ help in that endeavour was unlikely since they were little busy keeping my brother and I alive through our various illnesses.
I mean, I had to keep my karate lessons a secret for a number of years, for fuck sakes. Granted, violin lessons may have elicited less of a reaction out of them. But the bottom line is that I was limited to only listening to music. That is, until autumn of 1995… I had a shitty, red 1987 Toyota Tercel hatchback, which I purchased myself. I was driving down the side of the mountain where my high school was located when I came upon someone walking down the hill. It turned out to be Guillaume, Sensei’s son. I came to a stop and picked him up and he asked if I’d be willing to drive him to Bathurst to pick up guitar strings.
My “ax,” which was bought for me by my loving wife.
I was curious and hadn’t yet ventured to far out of my home town in my car so I was more than willing to drive him. When we reached the music shop in Bathurst, it felt like I fell into a musical slice of heaven. I could smell the fresh wood of the instruments, the tinny brass from the wind instruments and the overall muted quality of the walls inside the shop. There were dozens of guitars, acoustic and electric alike. I was in awe. Guillaume saw the look on my face and asked if I knew how to play. My response would end up shaping the proceeding years of my life…
We made our way back to his house, where we sat in a tiny entrance alcove that the family didn’t use. In it, he had his electric guitar, his amplifier, his acoustic guitar and music books, as well as a small stool that he sat on. He dragged in a second stool for me and he explained that he would teach me the basics of guitar playing if I agreed to listen to him and follow his direction with the same level of discipline as I did his father when learning karate. Funny guy, that Guillaume. he did teach me all my basic chords, which in turn allowed me to play some very basic tunes and songs. I had started my musical journey.
My late Aunt Iris’ acoustic guitar, which she gifted me on one of my last visits
Over the decades, I’ve owned over a dozen guitars of varying models and types, including an Epiphone Les Paul Special Edition, Epiphone PR-350 and even an Epiphone SG Standard. yes, I have a bit of a crush on Epiphones. What can I say? I have a type. The PR-350 was by far my favourite acoustic, sound-wise, and got the most mileage before I sold it due to bad life decisions. But the acoustic pictured above is near and dear to my heart. Back in early 2013, I travelled from Kindersley, Saskatchewan to Edmonton, Alberta to visit my Aunt Iris. I hadn’t seen her in almost twenty years.
I was in Edmonton overnight and while I was visiting with my aunt, she showed me her guitar. I tuned it up and played a few bars, which apparently made an impression on her. I returned to my hotel room that night and picked her up for lunch the following day. After lunch, we returned to her apartment and discussed the elephant in the room; she had cancer and it was terminal. She convinced me to take the guitar and make use of it, whether that meant to play it or sell it. I agreed to take it on one condition: she had to sign her name on the back so that it could never be sold and would forever stay in our family. She agreed…
My Aunt’s signature…
I don’t play guitar nearly as much as I would like, nowadays. Of course, trying to play something that’s as delicate and tuned as an acoustic guitar around young children is problematic at best. I remember nights of jamming out tune after tune with some of my friends… Good times. The memories are still there, though. pretty sure I still have a video of me playing with my friend Aaron, towards the beginning of the early 2000’s. I wish I had some way of uploading that footage, it would be amazing to share.
Music has the power to heal. It has the power to add a little something to one’s overall life. playing music can provide that, tenfold. Do I still dream of playing the violin? You fuckin’ right, I do. is it too late? Maybe. The ability to learn an intricate new skill at my age is unlikely but not impossible. Either way, I’ll always have those chilly nights by a fire on the beach, a sudden jam session in a bowling alley between games and the pleasure of learning a new song that I didn’t assume that I would. I’ve always focused on martial arts, because I always believed music couldn’t save my life. or could it? Food for thought… ☯️
People often assume that I have it good, because they can’t “See” my condition. Diabetes is not something that becomes visible or well-known to others, at least not until you get so bad that you go blind, lose a limb to amputation or suffer organ failure that either leaves you incapacitated or you die. And yes, as morbid as all of those things sound, they are very real effects of Type-1 Diabetes. But like most unseen illnesses and I know that some of my friends and readers can relate, just because you can’t see someone’s pains or illnesses, it doesn’t mean they aren’t still severe.
The problem is that when you encounter someone who works hard at maintaining their health despite their condition, it can be off-putting to hear that they’re still having their difficulties. And many, there are. I’ve worked hard to maintain my health and keeps things balanced. In my youth, especially, I went through a number of Diabetes-related complications that set me back and did permanent damage. High blood sugars, vision problems and elevated A1C’s… I even suffered through several comas. True story… The longest was about four days long. Nothing is quite as disorienting as going to sleep on a Monday and waking on a Thursday, especially when you’re a young child and have no idea what happened. I was about my son’s age, in fact.
The point is, that balance can become exhausting and as much as I can appreciate how lucky I am to have all the benefits that I didn’t have, even just twenty years ago. Things like my advance glucometers, access to modern healthcare, insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitoring, proper nutrition and exercise all make a difference when trying to keep my longevity for as long as I can. So what happens when all the things that are a benefit to maintaining one’s health becomes burdensome? It happens, and that burden can cause the kind of exhaustion that see someone letting their guard down…
Last Saturday, my wife and followed through with our typical weekend plan of taking the boys out for an outing. We usually try to incorporate something that will involve other children so that they can socialize and play with kids; something that happens less these days, thanks to the pandemic. We opted for a large, well-put-together outdoor park named “Candy Cane Park.” It has one of those rubberized surfaces with tons of structure to climb and play on. We started our morning by picking up some burgers and finding a place to sit. We cut the boys loose and they went off to play. Oddly enough, it didn’t take long for Alexander to come waddling over and sit with us.
Nathan played only briefly before confessing that he wanted to leave as he had no one to play with and wasn’t interested in being at the park. I don’t blame him; the summer heat is still pretty intense these days and I preferred not to be outside in the sun in that weather anyway. We loaded the boys back into the car after being at the park for less than an hour. Nathan confessed he preferred to go to an indoor pool and I could totally get where he was going with it. It was agreed that we’d bring my wife and Alexander home and that Nathan and I would go to the pool together. Since my CGM sensor was set to expire in a couple of hours, I removed it and set it to charge while we would be swimming.
I also noticed that I only had about 8 or 9 units of insulin left in my pump. An interesting thought came to mind. Since I wouldn’t be wearing the pump in the pool and would need to switch out the infusion set anyway, I removed EVERYTHING. People who don’t wear an insulin pump won’t understand the unbelievable freedom behind removing all the tethers associated with Diabetes. Even as I got into the car, i noticed that little things, like adjusting and shifting the pump to allow me to sit properly, didn’t need to be done. Going to the washroom becomes an easier and quicker endeavour, since I don’t have to wrestle with tubing and removing an infusion set.
Nathan and I wound up going to a public pool location we hadn’t been to before, since our usual go to pool was closed to the public to promote the city’s new outdoor pools. That seemed counter-intuitive to me, a bit like closing a fast-food restaurant to promote a food truck, but what do I know? We wound up at the pool location that I found, which was closer to the downtown core. It was HUGE… Olympic-sized and contained three different sections, a massive whirlpool that could accommodate plenty of people without feeling that they were sitting in each other’s laps and several diving platforms.
Nathan and I had a blast, playing games, going on the diving boards and occasionally relaxing in the whirlpool. The feeling of being able to go everywhere and do everything without worrying about my sensor’s adhesive melting off or my infusion set popping out goes beyond description. We spent well over two hours in the pool before I finally called it quits because it was supper hour. I felt that it was one of the best outings that Nathan and I had taken together and we both enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. I even felt generous enough to grab him a burger on the way home as he was complaining he was hungry.
I was feeling pretty good about my day, by the time I got home. Minutes after I was home, I began to feel the tell-tale signs of high blood sugar. Although my levels were normal when I left and I had insulin in my system before I removed my pump, I had gone more than three hours without a basal rate being added. By the time I got downstairs and changed my infusion set and tested my blood glucose, i was sitting at 18.5 mmol/L. For you non-Diabetic folks, that’s ridiculously high and not a healthy way to maintain one’s balance.
I installed a new CGM sensor and slowly started trying to get everything back under control. I had to eat, so I had little choice but to bolus accordingly and have something to eat. It took several hours, some caffeine and some patience, before my blood sugar finally started coming down. Our evening ended somewhat early and everyone went to their respective slumber but I was awoken in the middle of the night by my pump. Seems my blood sugars didn’t STOP when they reached a normal level, they kept dropping. Half an hour and some fast-acting glucose later and I was back to sleep.
The experience was fantastic and I had a lot of fun at the pool with Nathan. It was nice to be reminded of a simpler time when I wasn’t hooked up to portable machines like a dollar-store cyborg. But that experience was costly. It was a sober reminder of how quickly things can go south when I let my guard down and choose not to maintain control. Diabetes can take over quickly and in fact, one can’t live without insulin for more than a little under two weeks. That little bit of freedom came at a price. And given my age, it’s not one I can pay easily. Or often. ☯️
I’ve always been partial to the superhero genre. big surprise, right? Ever since Superman: The Movie was released in 1978 (ironically the same year I was born, coincidence?) I’ve been enamoured with the thought of super-powered individuals who use their gifts to save the world and its people. In the decades that followed, I was able to get into comics, movies and cartoons that all addressed the genre. The superhero genre is nothing new and despite the passing of generations, many classic hero arch-types keep being brought back, again and again. In recent years, we’ve seen the creation and release of multiple television series that feature classic superheroes like the Flash, Green Arrow and Superman.
The way we enjoy our media intake has changed drastically since the old days where my father had to jam a dusty BetaMax tape into a huge, boxy machine in order to let me see the classic blue-tighted boy scout fly across the screen. Modern streaming services make it easier than ever before to access more people with more content in shorter periods of time. Remember the old days, when you had to wait a full week to find out if your favourite protagonist made it through whatever they were dealing with? I do, although it’s quickly becoming a faded memory…
I’m not typically one to jump onto anyone’s bandwagon and people who know me will acknowledge that it’s often difficult to get me to commit to a new show or some new trend because, quite frankly, I have very little free time when I’m not working, writing, training or hanging with my fam-jam. This means that I take free time very seriously and am very selective as to how I spend it. But once in a while when I have a few moments, during writing or when the rest of the family is occupied, I’ll pop on to something that I know I may not be watching with them. That’s when I landed on a short-lived show on Netflix: Jupiter’s Legacy.
Jupiter’s Legacy is a short-lived show that streamed on Netflix in early 2021. I remember reading all kinds of stuff about it, especially since the world was still reeling from the pandemic and everyone was stuck indoors for extended periods. I never gave it much stock, especially since they foolishly cancelled it after 8 episodes. Even if it were a shitty show, which it’s not, who the hell does that??? Regardless, I started watching this show while sitting outside with a cigar, which was a great way to relax. I have to say that being someone who’s usually well-versed on the genre, I was NOT disappointed.
Jupiter’s Legacy is based on a comic book arc where a man in the 1920’s sees his father commit suicide during the stock market crash. He soon begins to have hallucinations and leads a small group of people on an expedition to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean where they’re all endowed with super powers. They begin fighting crime and protecting the masses, following a specific code of no killing. The premise of the show is the original heroes’ children struggling to live by the code in a world where the villains have no qualms about killing even if the heroes do.
The tempo does tend to be on the slower side but features great costumes, excellent super-powered fight scenes and an excellent storyline. The show was cancelled and never renewed for a second season, which royally fuckin’ sucks since the first season ends on a cliffhanger where one of the main protagonists turns out to be the villain they were searching for all along. The show’s main character, Utopia, has two children who are struggling with their way of life in their own way. The son, Paragon, has embraced the hero life and is trying to live up to his father’s expectations, until he kills one of his opponents, violating the hero code. The daughter, Chloe, has completely abandoned the family and the hero way of life and soon joins up with one of the team’s main criminals’ sons.
Although the show was one of the most-watched series on Netflix during the first half of the month of May in 2021, viewership declined significantly and was considered too slow-moving. To be honest, I went into it knowing that there were only 8 episodes and used it mostly as a sound filler for when I’d be doing other things. But the storyline and visual dynamics have got me wishing that show-running decisions weren’t solely based on the nay-sayers. With 40-minute episodes, you need to have some time to get through each one but if you’re looking for something short to watch that doesn’t include a dozen seasons of something, Jupiter’s Legacy may be for you. ☯️
Yesterday, I wrote about Nathan’s reluctant return to the classroom as, like most children, he started a new school year. Then it dawned on me that I’ll be enjoying something of a return to school, myself. Albeit on a more leisurely level. This coming week, the dojo re-opens for karate class and I intend to be there; front and centre.
I had started with a local school of Shotokan last year and despite some injuries I sustained early this year, I quite enjoyed it. They closed out for the summer break, which is apparently pretty standard for schools out here. When I was back in New Brunswick, Sensei would never have contemplated shutting down simply because it’s summertime. In fact, I used to be the black sheep of my friends since I would quite literally pack up and leave fun afternoons of swimming in the woods in favour of attending a class. But I digress…
My point is that stopping for the summer has never really been my thing but it happens a fair bit, out here. I recently discovered that the Kempo school I used to train with never re-opened its doors. Although sad to hear, it made me feel a little bit better about never being contacted over the past two years about class. But Shotokan has been quite good. The dojo is a mere five minutes from my home and their style is similar in many ways to my own Uechi-Ryu.
This year, I look forward to continuing my martial arts education and adding new forms, techniques and lessons to my overall karate toolbox. It’s important to keep an open mind when training in a dojo whose style differs from yours. It can be a difficult journey and I acknowledge that I’m no longer what I used to be. But with some overall steps to ensure that other negative factors in my life are lessened and the room for growth is permitted, I’m sure it’ll be a great year.
So I guess that much like my son Nathan, this coming week will see me going back to school… Karate school, that is! I’m looking forward to it and it should be a nice addition to an otherwise stagnant fitness routine. Stay tuned… ☯️
Like most parents, I had the bittersweet pleasure of sending my oldest off to school, a few days ago. No children were harmed in the completion of this first “week” of school, and I’m sure Nathan appreciated the returned use of his devices last night, since we don’t generally allow him to use them during school nights. Last Wednesday, he walk to school with his mother during the early evening to meet his teacher, drop off his excess school equipment and enjoy a free hotdog.
During this time, I got to visit Costco with my toddler, who provided endless entertainment for the other patrons. It was all good though, with Nathan independently choosing to walk by himself to his first day of school. He has the same teacher as he did the previous year, which is a good thing since he demonstrated certain difficulties that his teacher will at least be able to recognize and understand from her time with him last year.
Although like most children, he didn’t seem keen on having to go back to school, I think it’ll be nice for him to reconnect with kids his age and get to play, learn and see what accomplishments he can set for himself during the school year. We’ve all been there, right? And we all got through it and so will he. As the old saying goes, dis line is not the enemy of enthusiasm. Plus, it gives parents the opportunity to enjoy some kid-free time during the day. Definitely important. ☯️
It’s funny sometimes how I recognize that I’ve become dependent on things that I never had during my youth. Air conditioning is a good example… As a child, I have NEVER lived in a residence that had site conditioning. In fact, I remember one particularly hot summer where my bedroom was located in the upstairs of a small house. It was one of those upper floors that included angled walls because you were right against the roof. This means you also had the sun’s mighty gaze bearing down right above your head as you played in your room.
I often think about how more comfortable I might have been and how my blood sugar control may have been tighter during my childhood if I had the refuge of a cooler environment during the summer months. Although total temperature rarely gets beyond the high 20’s (Celsius) in Northern New Brunswick, the humidity adds an extra level of hell to the mix. But I digress…
The sun er heat can have a significant impact on a person’s overall health, especially as it involves Type-1 Diabetes because, well… EVERYTHING affects Type-1 Diabetes. But rather than be facetious, I should probably explain the how’s and why’s behind that statement. After all, this is a hot issue… See what I did there…? Summer heat? Hot issue? Alright, carrying on…
It’s been a bit of a hellish week in Regina, Saskatchewan, with daily heat reaching the mid-30’s and making the possibility of spending any time outdoors without my cut off jean shorts (I believe the kids call them “jorts,” now) an impossibility. Stepping outside during the day brings about difficulties breathing, sweating and a general sense of discomfort that most people don’t enjoy. Don’t get me wrong; I’ll definitely take hot, sunny weather any day over the cold of winter and shovelling snow. I’m not complaining, here…
I have the benefit of having an individually climate-controlled office, which allows me to work through my day in the relative comfort that I’ve come to enjoy in my older years. I also have a brand new air conditioner at home, which we had installed last fall. Although my basement is sometimes a bit on the icy side, I have the benefit of maintaining a cool living space in the upstairs, which is a benefit that my children have that I didn’t get to experience as a child.
Although the summer is winding down, it’s a great time to provide a reminder that being out in the heat brings about a certain number of issues as we work out or deal with Diabetes. For one, extreme heat will expose us to the possibility of dehydration, which is not only dangerous but can cause rises in blood sugar. Working out for prolongued periods in the heat can bring about dangers of heat stroke and exhaustion, both of which can be quite dangerous if one does not recognize the signs and grab some shade to rest.
Remember to stay hydrated, take shelter and take breaks and don’t be afraid to switch up your fitness routine to accommodate exercise in an air conditioned environment. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve been on my bike. I sure do miss being out and about on it, but it’s a fair price for pay to maintain my health. Check your blood sugars often and drink plenty of fluids (no, beer and coffee don’t count!). Even if it’s a bit cloudy out, be sure to apply sunscreen as the su’s UV rays will still reach you. Enjoy the heat, but safely. ☯️
Last month, I decided to spend the entire month of August without consuming any alcohol. My unfortunate habit in the past couple of years has been to enjoy a drink when writing or even just after a hard day’s work, while sitting in my garage with a good cigar. In the following video, I explain that month and some of the things I’ve noticed as a result. ☯️
The Blogging Buddhist 