Stay Safe-Drive Smart

Wearing seat belts is, of course, the first step to safe driving. The following additional measures might also save your life:

Count to three. Maintaining sufficient space between your cars and others is vital. Driving instructors recommends a minimum of three seconds’ following distance. To figure this, pick an object on the roadside ahead. When the car in front of you passes it, start counting one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two, one-thousand-three. If you get to that object before you reach one-thousand-three, you don’t have three seconds of following time-time needed to avoid accidents.

Let tailgaters pass. If someone’s tailgating you, get out of his way. You’re better off being safe than right.

Expect the worst. Many drivers do not come to a complete stop at stop signs. When you’re driving and see someone approach a stop sign, assume the person’s not going to stop.

And when you stop at an intersection and another car approaches with its turn signal on, don’t assume the driver will turn. Instead, wait until he turns. He may have had the signal on for miles.

Stay outside. In dense, multi-lane traffic, drive in either the outside-left or outside-right lane. That allows you someplace to steer if a problem develops. If you’re in the middle, all you can do is brake.

Pervasive sleepiness is interfering with our ability to function-and drive. Falling asleep at the wheel is one of the most significant, unaddressed problems on the highways. To find out if you are sleep-deprived and vulnerable to falling asleep at the wheel-see if you recognize any of these symptoms:

Ø You struggle against fatigue throughout the day nearly every day
Ø You depend on caffeine (or another stimulant) to keep you alert all day.
Ø You suffer memory lapses.
Ø If you stop to rest during the day, you fall asleep within five minutes.
Ø You’re irritable and argumentative, and you don’t know why.
Ø You need an alarm to wake you up at the same time every morning. (Well-rested people are awakened by their biological clocks about when the alarm would go off.)

Biological psychologist who studies sleep habits offers the following tips to ensure a safe drive:

Get plenty of sleep. Doctors recommend at least eight hours a night. If you can’t get that much, catch up on the weekends. Unless you’ve “stored” sleep, it’s difficult-often impossible-to fight your biological clock.

Take Breaks. For long trips, stop at least every two hours. Stretch, exercise and grab a nutritious snack. Avoid heavy meals and too much caffeine. If possible, switch drivers frequently.

Stay alert. Avoid driving a car full of sleeping passengers. A "designated companion" should stay awake to keep you alert. Talk, sing, listen to audio books or tune in to radio talk shows.

Don't get too comfortable. Do without cruise control and open the windows to maintain maximum alertness.

Don't drink. Fatigue intensifies the intoxicating effects of alcohol, so avoid drinking.

Stop driving. Get off the road at the first sign of drowsiness. At night, get off the highway completely. Pulling onto the shoulder invites rear-end collisions; drunken and fatigued drivers frequently run into stopped cars when they follow the tail lights of the car ahead of them.

If you've ever been driving and realized you couldn't remember what happened a few moments before, you may have experienced "microsleep," a one- to 15-second loss of awareness. Microsleep is a clear warning that you need to get off the road immediately. Your next lapse could be your last.

Commandments of Health

COMMANDMENTS OF HEALTH

Health is the most precious possession a man can have. You may be very rich, have many friends, have a good education, and be very powerful….but if you are not healthy, you cannot enjoy what you have. This is the reason for the saying that “Health is Wealth.”

The rules for the keeping of a sound mind and a sound body are simple and easy to follow.

The first rule is to observe cleanliness. Cleanliness does not refer only to one’s body but to one’s surroundings too. A daily bath or wash will help keep one’s body clean and pleasant smelling. With this go clean clothes. Food must be served on clean plates and eaten on clean surroundings.

Fresh air and adequate sunshine help keep one’s body healthy. You may have heard of the saying, “open wide the windows and let the air and sunshine come in.” Invigorating air is possible when the house we live in and our community are clean, with trees and other plants to help provide oxygen.

Another health rule is that we should exercise systematically. Exercise improves the circulation of the blood. This, in turn improves the nourishment of the body cells, increases the elimination of body wastes, strengthens the heart, and stimulates the liver, kidneys, and spleen.

A balanced diet is necessary to good health. A person should know that fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as meat, fish, eggs, and milk, help keep the body strong. Plenty of water is important too. One should drink about eight glasses of water a day. Regular meals are better for the health than snacks taken frequently regardless of the food nutrients they contain.

Rest and sleep help restore energy to the body. Relaxation and periods of rest….perhaps a nap…. in addition to eight hours of sleep are needed, especially by a growing boy or girl.

The last requirement is a sound mind. Correct mental attitude promotes health. Negative emotions like fear, anger, worry, or hate, especially in large doses, lead to poor health.

The Rose

A certain man planted a rose and watered it faithfully, and before it blossomed, he examined it. He saw the bud that would soon blossom and also the horns. And he thought, “How can any beautiful flower come from a plant burdened with so many sharp thorns?” Saddened by this thought, he neglected to water the rose, and before it was ready to bloom, it died.
So it is with many people. Within every soul there is a rose. The Godlike qualities planted in us at birth growing amid the thorns of our faults. Many of us look at ourselves and see only the thorns, the defects. We despair, thinking that nothing good can possibly come from us. We neglect to water the good within us, and eventually it dies. We never realize our potential.
Some people do not see the rose within themselves; someone else must show it to them. One of the greatest gifts a person can possess is to be able to reach past the thorns and find the rose within others.
This is the characteristic of love, to look at a person, and knowing his faults, recognize the nobility in his soul, and help him realize that he can overcome his faults. If we show him the rose, he will conquer the thorns. Then will he blossom, blooming forth thirty, sixty, a hundred-fold as it is given to him.
Our duty in this world is to help others by showing them their roses and not their thorns. Only then, can we achieve the love we should feel for each other, only then can we bloom in our own garden.

Death

Death

Death is always painful when it comes because it means that a person is cut off from the world of the living. It means that between the dead and the living there comes a distance much farther than the farthest point on this earth. When a person lives, one can always hope he will come back home sooner or later; but when a person is dead, one can only hope to join him someday.
There is something final in death which no one ever likes. When death comes, it’s all over for the person this side of life. No matter how miserable one’s life may have been, death appears terrifying. Life is just too beautiful to end in death.
But our faith teaches us that death is the necessary passage to eternal life. Jesus himself said, “Unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat. But if it dies, it produces much fruit.
Fear of death is inherent to man. Yet, such fear diminishes even as one’s hope for a much more beautiful life increases. And if such hope is founded on Christ’s Good News that by His own death He already has won for us eternal life, and that if we take our cross daily and follow Him we will have eternal life, then, death ceases to be terrifying. To some, it even becomes something to welcome for death would tear down the curtain that separates us from God, who is the source of all our happiness and of eternal life itself.
Indeed, it is only when we are aware that we have “debts” in this life to pay in the next that we should tremble at the thought of death. In this life, we are aware, justice is either imperfect or altogether absent. The evil man seems to thrive better than the good. This surely cannot last forever. Somewhere, true justice must be rendered.
Death is terrifying because it ushers us to that somewhere where full justice is rendered. The more “debts” I incur in this life, the greater is my fear for death will lead me to the halls of God’s justice where only the truth shall prevail. And I will be left alone to face God’s justice.

Purgatory

What is Purgatory?
It is a prison of fire in which nearly all souls are plunged after death and in which they suffer the most intense pain.
Here is what the great Doctors of the Church tell us of Purgatory:
So grievous is their suffering that one minute in this awful fire seems like a century.

St. Thomas of Aquinas, the Prince of Theologians, says that the fire of Purgatory is equal in intensity to the fire of Hell, and that the slightest contact with it is more dreadful than all the possible sufferings of this Earth!
St. Augustine, the greatest of the Holy Doctors, teaches that to be purified of their faults prior to being admitted to Heaven, souls after death are subjected to a fire more penetrating, more dreadful than anything we can see, or feel, or conceive in this life.
"Though this fire is destined to cleanse and purify the souls", adds the Holy Doctor, "still it is more acute than anything we can possibly endure on Earth."
St. Cyril of Alexandria does not hesitate to say:" that it would be preferable to suffer all the possible formats of Earth until Judgment Day, than pass one day in Purgatory."
Another great Saint says:
"Our fire, in comparison with the fire of Purgatory is a refreshing breeze."
The other Holy Writers speak in identical terms of this awful fire.

The existence of Purgatory is so certain that no Catholic has ever entertained a doubt of it. It was taught from the earliest days of the Church and was accepted with undoubting faith wherever the Gospel was preached.

The doctrine is revealed in Holy Scripture, and has been handed down by Tradition, taught by the infallible Church and believed by the millions and millions of faithful of all times.

Yet, the ideas of many are vague and superficial on this most important subject. They are like a person who closes his eyes and walks deliberately over the edge of a yawning precipice.

They would do well to remember that the best means of lessening our term in Purgatory, or of avoiding it altogether, is to have clear ideas of it, to think well on it and to adopt the means God offers for avoiding it.

Not to think of it is fatal. It is nothing else than preparing for themselves a fearfully long and rigorous Purgatory.

Heaven

If today there are Christians who do not take their faith seriously, one reason could be that not much thought is given to heaven. There is even a box office hit movie which is entitled, "Heaven Can Wait." Yes, for many, heaven is some distant reality worth thinking about only when one is neither old or sick, when death has become a matter to think about.

People wouldn't want to think of heaven while they are young and strong because they feel that there are more pressing and urgent things to think about on this earth. Already, life on earth has so much to offer, so why think of heaven? Yes to many, heaven may as well wait.

When we want to think of heaven, however, we should rather not think of it as something ever so distant; nor should we think of it as some faraway place where all kinds of activity cease, where all excitements are muted, where one has nothing to do any more but sit around and stare at angels and saints.

When we look into ourselves, we discover one thing in particular: our brokenness. Something in us tells us that we are not meant to live and die in that brokenness. Something tells us that somewhere in our growing up we would reach the experience of wholeness, of unity and, above all, of communion with life itself and with the rest of all living things. Something in us tells us that all our miseries are not meant to last forever; that all enmities will cease, and that peace will settle and become permanent.

It is strange that Jesus did not speak of heaven in terms of delights and pleasures. Instead, He spoke of heaven in terms of relationship and communion with the Father, whose love is forever and is all-merciful and forgiving. "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him may not die but may have eternal life." (John 3:16)

Heaven, then, is to live in loving relationship with the Father, something which has been made possible when God revealed Himself in Jesus Christ, His Son, and made us brothers to Him and sons to Himself. Heaven is living the life of God, which we experience vaguely now but which will be revealed in all its grandeur.

Very dimly, we do experience heaven now, especially during those moments when we are in communion and in peace not just with the persons loved, but also with ourselves and the rest of creation.

Heaven is something I can choose to live now, because now I have the power to accept the relationship God offers through Jesus, which is being preferred by the Spirit present in the goodness every person possesses in his heart.

"Anyone who loves Me will be true to My word, and My Father will love him; we will come to Him and make our dwelling place in Him." (John 14:23)

Life

Life is indeed, so short. It is much shorter for those whose lives they find meaningful while it is long for those whose lives they find meaningless.

Life is so vast, so full of mysteries that before we can put meaning to it, part of it is gone and the meaning we try putting on it is already partly exhausted.

Life, so it seems, is like dry sand slipping through our fingers. When we try to hold on it very tightly, it slips away faster. To appreciate life best, one has neither to hold on to it tightly nor to let it go so carelessly. The sand in the hourglass is life. It is better to let it flow freely, although not carelessly.

How we take life is often dictated by what priorities we have. And life, being so vast, offers everything which can be a priority to us.

Man's life and even just his survival is determined by what meanings he perceives and chooses to live and die for.

If heroes and saints are great, it is because they have chosen to live and die for causes and meanings greater than themselves or things lower than themselves to live and die, like money or power.
In order to live a fruitful life, we have to act and pray to God for sanctity, happiness and success and our life will flow happily, successfully and holy, even in the midst of pain and problems. God's grace will give us strength to handle all our problems and, loaded with love, success, holiness and happiness, we will reach the Gates of Heaven.

Personality Traits

Estrella, your career personality type is ISTJ

That means that based on the standard measure of personality traits, you have a quiet determination and sharp mind — you're very focused and buckle down when it comes to work. You are the type of person one looks to in a crisis. While others may provide emotional support in a situation, your clear and logical thinking allows you to solve the problem at hand. You are adaptable and can work independently or on a team. You are a careful thinker and get all the details before making any decisions. You don't jump to conclusions and stick with the facts provided. In other words, you're the go-to person for the real story, not the spin or gossip. While others may view you as a bit stubborn at times, they begrudgingly respect your ethics and straightforward approach.The reason employers and recruiters might be on the lookout for you is that only about 7% of the U.S. population shares the unique characteristics of your personality type. Research shows that businesses succeed when employers create a good balance of personality types in the office. And since only 7% of the U.S. population shares your type, that means employers are looking for you.

Parenting

When my husband and I want to discuss treats in front of our three-year-old son, we often spell out words to avoid a confrontation. A friend commented that this was an admission of being unable to say no to a child.
I felt duly chastised until she dropped by with her child, our son's playmate and ask permission if I would care to let our son accompany her offspring to their abode for the purpose of recreation.

While my daughter and I were going through an extra closet sorting out clothes, I came across a favorite dress of mine from slimmer days. She tried it on, and it fitted her perfectly. After I gave it to her, she thanked me.
"Oh, you're welcome, honey," I said. "My loss is your gain."
"No, Mom," she said, grinning, "Your gain is my gain."