Category: 2013

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Process of Healing

On Dec. 4 I had my left knee replaced. It is my third implant which follows a hip implant six years ago and a shoulder replacement last February. I will be having my right knee replaced next May, making me part of the new improved bionic human.

I am grateful that orthopedics has come this far, but I wish I could have been part of a more futuristic procedure which I’m sure will rely totally on stem cell regeneration. Won’t it be great when they can simply regenerate cartilage and bone without cutting, sawing and suturing?

Healing from surgery or any illness does give you a lot of space for reflection. This can be good and bad. The bad side for me comes from my inner critics that scold me for getting into this predicament in the first place. “Why did you have to be so excessive? You could have been more moderate and then this wouldn’t have happened!”, or “ How come this happened to you? Other people go full steam ahead and don’t have to have joint replacements!”F

Unfortunately when I like something, I really LIKE IT! I danced most of my life and taught aerobics for over 20 years. Part of the excessivity was based on the fact that I was a single parent and needed the money. However when you’re young and nubile you cannot project yourself into the place where the very thing you love will end up hurting you.

The information on overusing joints and its negative outcomes was certainly not available then. I use the aforementioned argument with inner critics often and it seems to quiet their voices. However, the “Why did this happen to me?” scenario is harder to get rid of.

I have a huge attachment to injustice and my situation seems riddled with it. I was, after all, trying to earn a living so that I could pay the mortgage, feed the kids and continue to have heat and electricity. But all of those responses mean nothing, a compromised joint doesn’t care, and the reasons why did not get me canonized. It is what it is! Which is a metaphor I find both appealing and repugnant.

So what have I learned from my surgical journeys? First and foremost, don’t take your body for granted. It is an incredible vessel and it usually serves us well. We need to reciprocate and give it the care it needs. You can rest assured that I am definitely going to use common sense when it comes to my exercise routines unless of course I will be able to learn the Argentinean Tango, then all resolve may go down the ballroom drain!

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Sexing it up and dumbing it down! How far will talent go to sell it?

  “Rihanna is channeling her inner stripper in videos and on Instagram, Britney Spears is whipping women on leashes. Nicki Minaj is braless and spilling out of her revealing jacket on the Ellen DeGeneres show”.  USA Today, Friday the 26. So begins an article with the headline Selling Sex, Has showbiz gone too far? The aforementioned article was laden with opinions by a myriad of individuals in the media and psychology. The article ended with a statement by Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, who said “you think this is bad, wait till 10 years from now”. Now I never heard of “Babyface”, but that doesn’t mean anything , because I am not familiar with a lot of today’s pop icons. I have seen the women that were mentioned in the article since I do try to keep up with the culture  to a certain degree simply because of what I do for a living which is write and talk about stress management.

    If selling records and movies is becoming more and more predicated on wearing less and less clothing, will the need to wear anything at all be the norm in ten years? Perhaps when everyone appears naked we will reach saturation levels with nudity. I frankly have already become tired of what is fast becoming a global strip club of vocalists. It does not include all singers and movie stars. Adele seems to have won several Grammies while singing totally dressed. And I know there are others. Imagine just using your voice to lure people into buying your records instead of your body parts?

    Since exposing more and more flesh seems to sell,  why aren’t other marketers jumping on board? How about Burger King or McDonald’s featuring one of their employees eating a burger  in a thong while doing the bumps and grinds ? How about Apple doing a commercial with the Chippendale using a smart phone to cover their privates while they dance around an Apple Store?  Sounds ludicrous but it could come to that.

    Believe me I am not a prude! But leaving something to the imagination is certainly a little bit more interesting? Where’s the mystique? Are these artists survival aligned with how far they can push the envelope? Does talent mean anything? But perhaps the most important issue is that young women are getting the message that sexuality is a commodity. Being sexy is fun, but when boobs start to take precedent over brains we are not only losing our perspective but we are also accepting the dumbing down of talent!