How Often Do You Eat Dinner with Your Family?

Posted on by
2

Could you use a little more connection, love, or understanding?  If so, it could be as close as your kitchen table and a family meal.  Want to get closer to your teens?  The family dinner might be the place to start.  While some say the family dinner is dying out,  a Time Magazine article says it is coming back. Think back to your past, the family dinner was one of the few rituals that a family could count on.  It was a time when the children knew they had the undivided attention of their parents and siblings to share or consult about issues going on in their lives.  Unfortunately, research shows that the institution of a family dinner is dying.  I know personally, we have a lot less dinners together now that we did years ago.  I got tired of cooking after 40 years of preparing meals for my family.  But, after reading the articles linked to this post, I’m rethinking the whole  thing.  I realize that I am not the only one who can cook.  I spoke with my family and we’ve promised to take turns cooking and bring the family dinner back. I like that!

Let’s Do Our Own Research

So which is it; is it dying out or coming back?  What about you; Do you have regular family dinners?  I mean dinners where you are all seated at the same table at the same time, with no phones and no TV on? Do you talk to each other and if you do, do you have meaningful conversations?  What do you remember about family dinners growing up, the cooking, eating,  and then cleaning up together? Please post your reply to the question: Do you still have family dinners?  How often? Do you miss them?

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out my promo sheet or visit  my website.

Humans Are Essentially Conscious Thinking Beings

Posted on by
3

We are conscious beings capable of discerning truth and creating a reality that supports the health, well-being, and survival of all.  But, to do that we must independently investigate truth for ourselves.  We must be open-minded seekers of truth.  Hopefully, more and more people will begin to question reality instead of just blindly following the leader.  And, if we are to follow someone, then we must demand that they are virtuous visionaries who are honest and trustworthy. Far too many follow those who are arrogant, prideful, and competitive and who value money, power, and prestige over justice and fairness.  That is why our trust is waning in so many of our once trusted institutions.  We are now realizing that they are run by fallible human beings whose value systems may be contrary to our own. Humans are essentially conscious thinking beings. When we refuse to think, we forfeit our noble advantage and become less than the animals.

Our Intellect Makes Us Superior to Animals

It is our intelligence and  capacity to think that separates us from the animal.  When we don’t use our mind, we are no different from the animals.  In fact, when compared to animals excluding our thought power we are inferior.  In all the senses which we share, there is some animal specie that surpasses humans.  Birds can see further, cheetahs can run faster, dogs and hear further, etc.  Only our rational minds separate us.  Only our minds make us superior.  Let’s commit to catering to our strengths, and that is our thoughts.  Let’s commit individually to think more often and about more important things.

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out my promo sheet or visit  my website.

Who’s to Blame for The Violence?

Posted on by
Reply

What is it about specific tragedies that capture the attention, concern, and indignation of “good” folks?

Last week the nation was in shock because of another senseless killing spree in Arizona.  Everyone was looking for someone to blame.  Some  were blaming Palin; others were blaming Obama.  Some were blaming the lack of gun control and then there were those who blamed all of society for refusing to notice the obvious mental illness in the young man.  Bob Herbert in a New York Times article, A Flood of Murder‘ wrote an extremely thought-provoking piece on not only the recent violence but our increasing violence.

He shared a conversation he’d had with the late Marian Wright Edelman, (who at the time was the president of the Children’s Defense Fund), a few days after the Virginia Tech tragedy. “She shook her head at the senseless loss of so many students and teachers, then told me: “We’re losing eight children and teenagers a day to gun violence. As far as young people are concerned, we lose the equivalent of the massacre at Virginia Tech about every four days.””  Herbert doesn’t believe we really care as a country, ” For whatever reasons, neither the public nor the politicians seem to really care how many Americans are murdered — unless it’s in a terror attack by foreigners. The two most common responses to violence in the U.S. are to ignore it or be entertained by it.”

What do you think?  Do you agree or disagree?

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out my promo sheet or visit  my website.

Put Your Best Fruit Forward

Posted on by
Reply

Are Your Fruits Good?

What is the content of your character? Are you known for your honesty, compassion, fairness, love, faithfulness, patience or hospitality.  Are your fruits good?  Why not pick a fruit (or virtue) and really harvest it this year.  Genesis states that when the world was created, God remarked after each creation, that “it was good.”  We should get in the habit of doing the same thing.  Whether you believe or not, we must agree that if we are to put something into the universe, it should be good or the best we have to offer.  Depending on whether we are manifesting the fruits of our higher nature or our lower nature, our fruits may be good or bad.

To Be Good- Be Aware

Our rational mind or intellect gives us the power to create both good and bad.  Consequently, we must be alert and aware at all times.  We must be careful to align ourselves with people who have our values  and remember that we are influenced by the company we keep. If we are not alert, it will be even more difficult to see the truth about ourselves and others.  Instead of using our mind power and following our own instincts and intuition we may be tempted to simply follow the crowd.  Be true to yourself.  With the unlimited power to create that we have been endowed with, it is not acceptable to hide behind our veils, masks, and fears.  The only way we’re going to manifest our best selves is to put our best fruit forward and be good, honest, and true.

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out my promo sheet or visit  my website.

Wake UP Please!

Posted on by
Reply

I just finished watching this video by Gary Null that was really shocking and downright scary about the drugging of our children just for “being children.” Just like the animals we eat don’t get to run and play outdoors, neither do our children, at least not like we did.  Consequently they have all this built up energy and sugar in them from processed food that they have to be drugged to sit still.   When my children were young, I was called a “health nut,” because I didn’t allow them to have many sweets and watched their diets so carefully.  Consequently, they were all pretty calm kids and grew up to be healthy and fit adults.  But, I remember an occasion when one my daughters was able to eat a fair amount of candy.  It was as if the exorcist needed to be called in.  The sugar soon faded off and she was back to normal again, but what a lesson I learned!

What’s Up With Grapes Being the Size of Kumquats?

We have created a generation that has grown up not knowing much about whole food.  Everything has been re-engineered.  Consider that the fruit don’t even have seeds in them anymore.  Watermelons and oranges are seedless and grapes are the size of kumquats.  Many children don’t even know what their food looks like in its natural state.  We have allowed ourselves to be convinced that processed, packaged, adulterated food is healthy, that pills are more powerful than a healthy immune system, and that drugging our children and seniors is normal.  We have been convinced that growing old is unnatural and we are willing to spend billions to mask our true realities.

Don’t Dis-Believe In Your Own Healing Power

WAKE UP!  The body and mind when working together is a miraculous combination.  Don’t dis-believe in your own healing power.  Also, don’t follow the crowd.  Your body is a marvelous creation when it has the proper fuel.  Food is fuel, but do you know where your food comes from and what’s in it?  The Cornucopia Institute keeps scorecards to make us healthier.  Did you know that America also has the highest obesity rates in the world?  We are killing ourselves and even worse killing our kids who are getting adult diseases in record numbers in childhood.  Consider these 15 facts about obesity. Your body is your temple.  Don’t become a slave to drugs, adulterated foods, and propaganda.  The truth is before your eyes.  As you set your new goals for the year, don’t forget to set  some for getting and staying healthy.

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out my promo sheet or visit  my website.