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Natural Awakenings Central New Jersey

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A Vision of Hope

Mar 01, 2021 11:48AM ● By Joe Dunne

Today I have hope.

Hope is an amazing miracle when taken into our hearts. It allows us to start over, inspires new thinking and opens our eyes to see a path of separation from whatever may be causing us emotional pain, physical pain or even controlling pain. 

Hope represents a vision of a better tomorrow. Hope allows us to shake off the grip of fear and gloom. Hope plants the seed needed to breathe in the possibilities of a brighter day. Hope inspires. 

Through hope we cultivate optimism—a vision of better days, less stress, a brighter future. Thinking shifts and the brain seems to restore our “feel good all over” energy. It is funny how less irritable I am when hope comes alive in me. My tolerance levels improve, and a sense of peace enters my spirit. Thank God we have hope today. 

We have faced many challenges over the past year, and there are still challenges today. Now, though, hope will lead the way to acceptance. Traveling hand in hand, hope and acceptance pave the way forward. Our new path still requires that we dust off our scars, face our fears and deal with our difficulties, but the light of hope brings the courage to step into the future. 

So, I would like to encourage everyone to believe in hope and imagine the world as one community. A world community filled with gigantic dreams and monumental dream makers, a community that at its core believes someday we will reach the distant star called “peace on Earth”. Hope for it, believe in it, work for it, one thought, one act, one message at a time. Achieving the impossible happens every day. Let’s each commit to being part of making the impossible possible. Let’s hope so. 

With peace, love and laughter,

Joe Dunne

In-Print March 2021
Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

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