The Beginning of The Lifestyle Document
The Beginning of The Lifestyle Document
This morning I woke up inspired to officially start the beginning of what I have referred to in my conversations with people as “The Lifestyle Document”. As my time, energy, and financial resources continue to get consumed on an exponential scale in dealing with the disturbing situation within Cayuga County, NY…not to mention the incredible amount of pain and suffering associated with that situation and what is being done to me…and by default to my family and friends…I continue to march forward trying to focus on bringing some GOOD out of this situation. Cayuga County and associates may be trying to bankrupt me financially, personally, and professionally….but they will never bankrupt my spirit or the positive energy that I am going to continue to share with as many people as possible. Hence, I officially announce the beginning of writing of The Lifestyle Document.
What originally started out as notes to my doctors on health updates and information I thought might be relevant to their studies…later transformed into something I had not planned on developing….but has become very evident to me is a worthwhile exercise for me to undertake. Couple this with a few select people who have read some of what I have been writing about on my personal journey and they have not only encouraged me to continue writing...but have insisted that that I keep working on this writing project and make it publicly available. As various doctors were putting together the pieces of the mystery…what started out as an attempt to diagnose what was wrong….almost two years later…has now transitioned into trying to identify what is being done right…in order to maintain this good level of mental and physical health…and especially given circumstances that can only be described as coming out of a Netflix Fargo series…seriously.
As I continued keeping my doctors informed of updates on my health, I also started including things that I was doing that I thought were having some of the positive effects on my health. I have basically been treating my health journey as a research project and documenting various aspects in order to identify possible solutions and alternatives to what doctors wanted to prescribe for treatment of symptoms. It is not a big secret that I have strong feelings against the use of “modern pharmaceuticals”. As I continue to baffle my doctors and others with what I have been able to accomplish over these last two years…while staying off...and outright refusing those pharmaceuticals…it became apparent to me that I may have come across some things that may be worthy of more formal research. As a generally private person, I was a little hesitant to discuss some of these health topics with people…not because I cared per se that people knew about them…but really it was more because people have enough of their own problems to worry about and I did not want to add another thing to anyone’s plate. Besides my health being no one else's business unless I choose to share information...I am also a believer in managed communications as opposed to what has happened me since my health journey began. Fast forward to the current situation where much of my personal and confidential information, including my medical history…has not only been unethically (illegally?) exposed…but in fact was stated (threatened?) that this information would be used as a way to discredit what I was trying to tell people and…laughingly…that this health information was going to be used in an attempt to “destroy my reputation”…and specifically my Cornell reputation. It was laughable hearing it and seeing it in writing...and it is still laughable as I write this. That plan didn’t quite come to fruition either…and if anything, I think an argument could be made that the reputation has in fact been enhanced…especially once the situation in Cayuga County, NY gets resolved and the results of my efforts…the Truth...come out...and the Truth about what is going on in Cayuga County and those supporting those activities will also come out. But congratulations…you earned an “E” for effort in your attempts to "destroy my reputation"...but I don't think that plan worked out quite as intended. Better luck next time and please rewatch one of my favorite movies - Gran Torino - because there is a running joke that it is actually based on one of my uncles...and has a line that is especially applicable in cases like what is happening in Cayuga County.
I guess according to some people or schools of thought…dealing with things like Rheumatoid Arthritis or Anti-Mag Peripheral Neuropathy is considered by them as some sort of personal or professional flaw…or such information can be used against you as a weapon in order to achieve their goals. My health has been a central factor in the situation occurring within Cayuga County since the very beginning…with ongoing and continued attempts to exploit this confidential health information...to the extreme. However, all of this flies in the face of what I have been able to accomplish throughout this health journey and in fact, I attribute the Fargo-like treatment to be one of the reasons why I have been able to maintain the level and intensity of the drive I have to get this situation resolved.
As more people have become aware of what was going on within Cayuga County….as well as what was purposefully being done to me by those within the county…including trying to use information on my health conditions against me…I continued to get the “deer in the headlight look” when people asked me how I was dealing with all of these nightmarish living conditions…on top of dealing with my health conditions and everything associated with it. As I continued having more of those interactions with people…the more I realized how my lifestyle in dealing with challenging and difficult situations…as I have done my whole life…wasn’t exactly a philosophy that other people facing similar extreme stressful situations were aware of or practiced. I also thought that maybe other people were so overwhelmed by their specific situations…that perhaps they had just forgotten about getting back to basics with Mother Nature…which is how I have always tried to live my life. We all have war stories in our lives and every person handles situations differently. I may have had more than my fair share of fun in my life, but in keeping in line with my philosophies…I decided that it was appropriate to share some of this information about my lifestyle and how I am managing my health journey - with the intent that it brings positive energy and hope to those who may need it in their own lives today. This is even more important given the very challenging and difficult situation our world currently faces. At the end of the day…this article is also just another example of that philosophy that I try to live by…which is despite how challenging or difficult a situation is or may become…you must always try to force some GOOD out of the situation. Sometimes that GOOD is simply saying “thank you” or “good morning”…or it may be opening a door for someone whose arms are full…or volunteering with charities and non-profits…or just trying to stay positive and continuing to march forward in the face of pure chaos and maliciousness. While this is a philosophy that I have lived by with varying levels of success…I do not take that philosophy for granted and I actively work at trying to put that philosophy into practice in my life on a daily basis.
In keeping with this philosophy and as I begin writing The Lifestyle Document, I will focus on the holistic approach I have taken, especially over the last two years, centered on the body, mind, and spirit…in dealing with my health and personal journey. I believe that in the course of this journey, I may have uncovered some things that may warrant further research and investigation. This includes food groups and nutritional information, physical activity and intensity, symptoms management, and stress management techniques. It is no big secret that I am not a fan of trying to solve problems with a magic pill or what otherwise is advice produced for the masses. These types of things have a place in many people’s lives, but not in mine nor in the lifestyle I have chosen to live. I prefer to work towards letting Mother Nature work her magic while supplementing it with supportive actions that help to maintain a balance with the body, mind, and spirit.
When I say stress management techniques, I am referring to things such as the following – from both the positive and negative angles…which is required in order to achieve balance:
Never underestimate the power of a hot shower.
The power of music is undeniable.
Reading books or listening to audio books is a way to feed the mind.
Mindfulness meditation.
Turning off the television.
Voting self-serving politicians out of office regardless of their political affiliation.
Stop supporting people who use their political party affiliation to justify negative behaviors and actions that do nothing other than to create chaos.
Ignore the stupidity and the stupid. There is a different between being uneducated or ignorant…and just being stupid. The first two can be corrected while the last one is a voluntary choice.
Appreciate Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection.
Remind yourself that you cannot take material goods or money with you when you leave this planet…so stop putting these things as a priority over everything else that you do. Do GOOD things and the money will follow.
Trust your intuition and follow your conscience on the difference between what is right and what is wrong. It’s not that complicated…just follow the K.I.S.S principle.
Understand organizational behavior and the interconnectedness of us all.
Treat other people as you wish to be treated.
Become a student of history for if you do not remember the past then you will be condemned to repeat it in some way, shape, or manner.
Stop whining and take positive actions when you see something wrong.
Experience what this planet has to offer yourself and not solely through the television or your phone…or what other people tell you. You will not truly live life until you actually live it in person and not through someone else's opinions.
Create a positive environment for yourself…not what someone else wants to create for you.
Focus on spreading as much GOOD and positive energy that you can…while you can…regardless of how insurmountable the challenges to face…or the time you have remaining.
Procrastination has prevented more dreams from coming true than people are willing to admit.
Seize opportunities when they present themselves and move forward…to keep doing GOOD things.
Reconnect with family and friends to remember what is truly important.
Do not take yourself too seriously and try to find humor in everything.
Rediscover former passions and live your life to the fullest you can.
These are examples of part of the lifestyle I have chosen to live and actively practice on a daily basis in order to make them habits…lifelong habits that become part of a philosophy about trying to live a GOOD life. No one is perfect and no one is an Angel…and you cannot change your past...but you can create your future…make your future count starting today…each and every day moving forward.
Just for the record, I do not consider myself to be a “writer” in the traditional sense of the word. By nature of being a self-proclaimed professional student, my formal education, and through my professional career, I have spent a large amount of time doing technical writing…but not as a “writer”. However, I have always enjoyed writing and especially using different ways of both non-verbal and verbal communications. This writing project I am embarking on is really about communicating the general philosophy in life that has helped me get through challenging times like what I have been dealing with, especially over the last two years, and given the times our world is facing now. For those people who do not know me…or those who do, but do not know me well...an important thing to keep in mind with my oral and written communications…is that I enjoy using metaphors and analogies when describing things. Communicating in such a manner allows for creative free flow of information….and makes for better storytelling! At the end of the day though, the use of metaphors and analogies…and humor…are also other examples of a stress management techniques in dealing with difficult and challenging situations that are in fact very serious.
I have found that trying to stay positive through the use of humor can provide hope in situations that seem hopeless or at least insurmountable in the present moment…like the current situation we all face in the world which live in today. The ironic thing about all of this…is that it is truly times like right now when all of us need more humor, hope, and positive energy in our lives…and it seems like these exact same things continue to be in short supply in the current times we are all living in. Perhaps someday the discontent, hating, and self-serving attitudes of the dog-eat-dog world that our society has created, promoted, and doing everything it can...at all costs to perpetuate for self-serving interests…will be replaced by messages of humor, hope, and positive energy so that we as a species can remember what it is like to live back in harmony with Mother Nature.
So….Welcome To My Nightmare…and please don’t take my metaphors, analogies, and poor attempts at humor too seriously…because I don’t and there is not another person on this planet who makes more fun of me…than myself...and that’s also a good philosophy to live by. However, please do appreciate what I am saying and writing about because at the end of the day…I am just trying to continue practicing my philosophy of trying to spread as much positive energy and GOOD that I can while I am being permitted to do so. Now that you have a taste of the beginning of The Lifestyle Document through this and future articles…feel free to stay tuned for more to follow…or just disconnect…which is another admirable philosophy upon which to live by.