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Natural Awakenings Central New Jersey

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Love Is the Answer

Aug 30, 2021 12:43PM ● By Joe Dunne

Hope, beliefs, attitude, brotherhood, sisterhood, community, support and just plain getting along sound so comforting to me. For my own mental health, I need to be present, appreciate what has been given to me—my family, my friends, the people that support me and my beliefs. If you remember reading this from me in the past, you are probably right that gratitude and appreciation sound like my mantra. For my attitude to be where I want it to be, I must live in every moment, be present and cherish my life, never take it for granted. Most of all, I need to remember that love trumps almost everything. Concentrating on myself is the only way to change what I can control. Plus keeping love and acting from love first just feels right.  

What we all choose to think about and to focus on shapes us. I think we need to think and focus on love, peace and understanding. It is so easy to lose that focus, to drift off into the stress of keeping up with processing every day. I know from experience that carving out a space to calm down and pay attention and adjust myself is worth every minute spent. In my estimation, this is a little act of love. So how do I get my thinking and doing in sync every day?  

One way is to draw on my honesty. Each night I need to review me and my day. I must discipline my time and review my character, behavior, attitude, interactions and my attitude. I know right from wrong, good behavior vs kind, empathic behavior. In order to become the person I wish to be—calm, at peace, accepting, tolerant, more loving—I need to adjust and pay attention to me, not you.  

Today, life as we know it feels fragile and that shines a light on just how important appreciating life and living is. It calls on us to pay attention to paying attention. It is a bit crazy to write this, but surprisingly, over the last year or so, small, subtle changes have slipped into being. I find that staying in the moment is not as hard as it used to be. I do not know why that is so, but I find it has come to be. I know from experience just how hard it is be the person I want to be, but putting in the work and working toward this goal of being more loving and lovable is worth the effort.  

Ever since I was a kid, I have heard that “love is the answer”. I believe they (whoever they are) were and are right. I do not think there is any way leading with love can be wrong.


With peace, love and laughter,

Joe Dunne

Publisher

In-Print publisher's letter September 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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