Since 2011 increases in life expectancy have slowed after decades of steady improvement

After World War II, we gradually saw an improvement in living conditions in Western Europe, Canada and the United States. After 1970, a large increase in elders made us hope that we could live longer.

When we were little, someone of 60 years was an old “bomma” or “bompa”. Many of us have been past that age for a while and are still seen as young, youthful men or women. Many 60 and 70 year olds are still very active in many areas.

In any case, it will not be easy for the younger generation to achieve a better quality of life than what the current 70 and 80-year-olds could enjoy.

The 20 to 40-year-olds already have to work with two, to keep their standard of living reasonable. For the twenties, it is no longer so easy to build a good standard of living. With two full-time workers, they have become modern slaves. That will certainly have consequences on their age pattern.

Life expectancy or the estimate of the average number of additional years that a person of a given age can expect to live is a hypothetical measure, assuming that the age-specific death rates for the year in question will apply throughout the lifetime of individuals born in that year.

Between 2018 and 2020 average life expectancy at birth in the UK was 79 years for men and 82.9 years for women, according to the ONS. However, since 2011 increases in life expectancy have slowed after decades of steady improvement, prompting much debate about the causes. And there is a fear that, while we are living longer, we’re not necessarily living better – spending many years in poor health, unnecessarily.

And yet, science, and some so-called superagers, are showing us that ageing is not as inevitable as we think.

Experts say the ageing process shouldn’t create big problems until your late 90s; here’s how to keep your body young

Read more about it:

The nine rules to follow if you want to live to 100

The Importance of Self-Care in Today’s Busy World

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To remember

• today’s fast-paced world = easy to get caught up in hustle & bustle of everyday life.
• constant demands from work, family, + social obligations = no wonder people often neglect their own self-care.
• self-care  = practice of taking deliberate actions to promote physical, mental, + emotional well-being
• = essential for overall health & well-being
• Self-care => reduce stress + prevent burnout + improve our overall quality of life

+

Preceding

Doing more

++

Also of interest

1. When You Wonder If Anyone Cares
2. 30 things to start doing for yourself – #6 is vital.
3. No time like the present
4. The Order of Time – by Carlo Rovelli
5. Shortness of time
6. The express train of the speeding time
7. Work and career a major focus of young adulthood
8. Spend time creating new blogs
9. Extra Time
10. If Today Was Your Last Day On Earth?

+++

Related

1. Self-Care on a Budget
2. Putting Yourself First: Overcoming People-Pleasing Tendencies
3. diary of a lost 21 year old
4. Spirituality and Acceptance: The Key to Finding Inner Peace
5. One Task At A Time
6. Seagull yoga and always wanting to be somewhere else
7. #ThinkPositive2023: Mar 27
8. Stop Cribbing, Start Living: How to Shift Your Mindset and Find Joy in Everyday Life
9. The Art of Slowing Down: Why is it so challenging?
10. Qi Gong
11. Christine tricks herself into more mobility exercises
12. Natural Health. Bristol April 8th
13. Sibling Bonding
14. The Future is Bright
15. To-Do Lists
16. I’ll do it later
17. The Importance of Self-Care in Today’s Busy World
18. Healing
19. Ways To Shift From I Can’t To I Can
20. Be Your Own #1

Raising Me

In today’s fast-paced world, it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. With constant demands from work, family, and social obligations, it’s no wonder that people often neglect their own self-care. However, taking care of oneself is crucial for overall health and well-being. In this post, we’ll discuss the importance of self-care and offer tips for incorporating it into your daily routine.

What is Self-Care?

Self-care is the practice of taking deliberate actions to promote physical, mental, and emotional well-being. It involves making choices that prioritize your own health and happiness. Self-care can take many forms, including exercise, healthy eating, sleep, relaxation, and socializing with loved ones.

Why is Self-Care Important?

Self-care is important for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it helps to reduce stress and prevent burnout. When we neglect our own needs, we become more vulnerable to the effects…

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Doing more

Much too often people forget the importance of self-care.

All too often, people spend a lot of energy on the work they have to do to earn a living. In most cases, they even go so far as to sacrifice themselves. And then things can’t help but go wrong. With the visible results in our current society where we encounter so many people with burnouts and end up in sick care.

As cited, we may assume that we can rebound a ball and by taking good care of ourselves we can also take care of those around us.

*

To remember

• practising self-care = essential for maintaining physical, mental + emotional health

+

Preceding

Creating Community and Togetherness

To nurture your relationships

That Tiny Eyes Girl

++

Also of interest

1. When You Wonder If Anyone Cares
2. 30 things to start doing for yourself – #6 is vital.
3. No time like the present
4. The Order of Time – by Carlo Rovelli
5. Shortness of time
6. The express train of the speeding time
7. Work and career a major focus of young adulthood
8. Spend time creating new blogs
9. Extra Time
10. If Today Was Your Last Day On Earth?

+++

Related

1. Self-Care on a Budget
2. Putting Yourself First: Overcoming People-Pleasing Tendencies
3. diary of a lost 21 year old
4. Spirituality and Acceptance: The Key to Finding Inner Peace
5. One Task At A Time
6. Seagull yoga and always wanting to be somewhere else
7. #ThinkPositive2023: Mar 27
8. Stop Cribbing, Start Living: How to Shift Your Mindset and Find Joy in Everyday Life
9. The Art of Slowing Down: Why is it so challenging?
10. Qi Gong
11. Christine tricks herself into more mobility exercises
12. Natural Health. Bristol April 8th
13. Sibling Bonding
14. The Future is Bright
15. The Importance of Maternal Mental Health
16. To-Do Lists
17. I’ll do it later
18. The Importance of Self-Care in Today’s Busy World
19. Healing
20. Ways To Shift From I Can’t To I Can
21. Be Your Own #1

My blog full of dreams and thoughts

What do you wish you could do more every day?

Taking time for myself and practicing self-care is essential for maintaining physical, mental, and emotional health. It allows me to recharge and refocus, reducing stress levels and improving my overall well-being. Practicing self-care can take many forms, such as exercise, meditation, spending time in nature, or indulging in my favorite hobbies. By prioritizing self-care, I care for those around me.

#self-care #be you

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A lack of responsibility for your life

A lack of responsibility for your life may show up in the following ways:
pessimistic thinking, a victimized mentality, frequent arguments, indecision, stagnancy, and codependency.

When we become responsible for our lives,
we notice more things going in our favor.
If you want to create a better quality of life,
filled with peace and joy,
then you should be mindful of how you approach the way you live your life.

~  Responsibilities – CWv

There’s more to life than work

There’s more to life than work – as everyone but the Tories and Kim Kardashian knows

John Harris

Daddy Matt

Leaving Oz

Going there for the last time,
To Chapel Hill,
It is smaller now than then,
And though I didn’t go in
I saw it as it was
Large and lively
My grandfather,
Daddy Matt,
At the kitchen table
Playing cards, telling stories
Children laughing
And the smell of Granny cooking
Southern Fried Chicken and rice
So nice,
So long, long ago

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Take Notice: Unspoken Rules

Mind of Terry

An unspoken rule is a rule or behavioral constraint imposed on a group but isn’t written down or spoken about.

There are many unspoken rules in our society that we have because they’re mostly  associated with the logical action needed to be taken. Some typical rules that you would be familiar with would be the following.

• Letting people exit an elevator before entering that same elevator.
• Don’t cut people off when they’re in the middle of sentence.
• Always chew with your mouth closed.
• If somebody tells you personal information, don’t go around telling other people unless they asked you to.

What happens when an unspoken rule is broken?

There is two things that would need to happen for this:

1. You weren’t aware of the rule or mistakenly forget.

Somebody may politely explain the rule to you and then expect you to follow it from then on.

OR

2. You…

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Some Conversations Just NEED To Happen

A lot of people have preconceived ideas regarding races and cultures, which more than once cause misunderstandings.

The absurdity in today’s “Woke” culture is that people prefer to exclude certain words and terms and replace them with other words that in turn could be misunderstood in the past, or cause problems in the future.

In Belgium, for example, one can no longer speak of a “negro” or a “black” person, but one has to say now a “white” person when talking about a “Blanke” (someone of the white race) or Caucasian type person (or relating to a racial group having light-coloured skin), who is therefore not white at all and to whom there may not be “black people” opposed to them (?!?). So why is a “White” not racist while “Black” would be racist?

Same for “fat” and “thick” (or in Dutch “dik“)where the English publisher of Roald Dahl’s books has now printed “enormous” (very great in size, extremely large in size or amount, extent) or in Dutch “enorm” (very big, gigantic, huge), while we do imagine something very different with an enormous building or enormous creature than with a shapely or plump person. The chosen word “enormous” or “enorm” is far worse and far more offensive than “fat” or “vol slank”, “full slim” we would say.

Already having some years in this world, we had to change the use of words more than once. Every time they found another word because the one in use had become “offensive”.

In this day and age it is going absurdly far, how some words are abandoned, like we may not say any more Eskimo, igloo, cabane or hut, etc.

Racism is the wrong view of things and people with misjudged word choices.

*

To remember

• There are always subjects that people feel aren’t proper or sensitive issues that may cause a war of words or some form of conflict
• one race may feel that whatever they say = offensive to the person of another race.
• unspoken/unwritten rule

+

Find also to read:

1. Word banning
2. Absurdity of present “woke” rage: The rewriting of Dahl
3. Why censoring Roald Dahl is a dangerous step
4. What about irreverence and sharp-edged spirit of the original text
5. New term names at London School of Economics
6. Not liked or Hated Questions
7. How far does this “Woke” world wants to go
8. Wokeness wars
9. Why Woke? When Will it Wander Away?

The Sapphire Scripts

Sept. 4 Why do you think it is so difficult for people to talk about race?

There are always subjects that people feel aren’t proper or sensitive issues that may cause a war of words or some form of conflict. Some examples are politics, battles of the sexes, and the ultimate, race. Race has been a topic (without being a topic) for a very long time. It has stood the test of time with some changes happening but different races have a hard time facing this conversation.

I think that people have a hard time talking about race because one race may feel that whatever they say may be offensive to the person of another race. Not being sure of the reaction, people tend to avoid those conversations even when a national issue has been brought to people’s attention like a slap in the face.

I also feel that people…

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how do you respond?

Living Life in a Fish Bowl!

I interact with numerous people throughout any given week.  Sometimes I can go from talking with someone who has just lost a loved one or lost their job to someone who just got married or just got a promotion.  

Romans 12:15 says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.”  Be careful that you don’t get that backwards and rejoice when something bad happens to someone and be sad when they get a blessing.  Jealousy is behind that line of thinking.

“So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature…

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Self versus Perceived Self

Critical Digest Room

For the purpose of introduction, the self is a common concept that is either privately or generally perceived and conceived.

Talking about private or generic perceptions of self, what is the self?

Many premises have been laid on this concept. Some view it as a representation of a person. Others see it as intrinsic features that constitute an individual. For this context, the self is a subjective view of a person and their social, religious and political standings.

Well, that’s by the way.
Let’s come down to private and public perceptions of self: do people see you the way you see yourself?

Self and personality are two concepts that hardly correspond to people’s views.

In consequence, there is usually a floating ego that earns no penny.

Here are the points:

1. You are not always who you think you are. You may think you are dedicated to your students or the…

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Nature’s Song

Roth Poetry

Mountain storm passes through

Pisgah National Forest

Water roars over Looking Glass Falls

Thunder booms… Lighting flashes

Tons of shale hang out over the falls

unfazed by natures fury

*****

Today’s Carolina Blue sky

embedded on flat rocks

Mountain stream gurgles over

wet stones

polished and shaped

over ten thousand summers and winters

*****

Native Americans sat on these rocks

drank from this stream

enjoyed the beauty of the falls

long before we arrived…

to claim it!

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

This is a poem I wrote a year or two ago. I reworked it and added to it so I could present it for an upcoming Old Mountain Press Anthology. I got word today that it has been accepted.

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The Necessity of Rest

*

To remember

• time physically away = luxury
• sabbath in rhythmic rejuvenation sense = regular rhythms of rest > to make space one day a week
• Our society = a go-go-go society
• we work best when we take the time to rest
• choosing to rest one day a week = don’t keep pace with others who are willing to prioritize work over all else
• life = marathon
• no end > tasks to be done
• we are the ones to protect quality of our rest
• digital world cannibalizes time
• Freedom =/=  absence of restrictions as finding the right ones > those that fit with the realities of our own nature and those of the world

Grace Begets Beauty

“Now I know that the best thing I can offer this world is not my force, but a well-tended spirit, a wise and brave soul.”

Shauna Niequist, Present Over Perfect

The dust has just settled from some glorious time on a vacation away from my phone. It was the kind of magical family affair out in the forest, miles from town, without cell service. The kind where the windows are perpetually open to let in the mountain breeze, and there was not the same frenetic keeping track of others as we so often have in our perpetually connected society. If someone wanted to go out, they went out – to run, walk, fish, hammock, or otherwise. Or if they wanted to stay in, they read on the porch, played a board game, puttered in the kitchen, or took a nap. There was no checking in, no “where are you’s”, simply …

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Danger of drugs – turning into a habit

“And then sort of dabbling. And then it just turns into a habit that you do once a week and then once a day and then, like, twice a day and then, like, without booze. It just became bad vibes.”

– Ed Sheeran has spoken candidly about his former drug habit and the circumstances that caused him to quit, along with the moment he also chose to limit his consumption of alcohol.  Read more here

Xinhua: 20 years after blatant invasion, U.S. crimes against Iraq still unpunished

On false pretences on March 19, 2003, the United States, along with coalition forces primarily from the United Kingdom, initiated a war on Iraq, which would not liberate the people of Iraq, but in many cases would even bring them much more misery.

We cannot deny that many have walked in what the US government wanted everyone to believe, that chemical and nuclear weapons would be readied by Hussein’s government to attack the West.

Hans Blix, chief weapons inspector, was clear that they could complete their job of checking Iraqi compliance with UN resolutions in months, not years. Nevertheless, despite the evidence that Saddam was far less powerful and that the moral basis for war was lacking, British participation in the invasion came about because so many of my parliamentary colleagues had managed to convince themselves that it was justified.

In Great Britain many Labour MPs who voted for war later expressed their resentment.

*

To remember

• protracted armed conflict in Iraq from 2003 to 2011 that began with the invasion of Iraq by the United States-led coalition that overthrew the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein.
• invading a sovereign country+ ousting its government
• Much of the country’s infrastructure destroyed during relentless bombings launched by the U.S.-led coalition.
• more than 200,000 civilians were killed and over 9 million others displaced in Iraq
• justice has not been done for Iraq & its people, many of whom are still suffering from pain created by the unjust war.
• Iraq = rich country before the invasion => degenerated into a poor state and + political instability + economic hardship caused by U.S. invasion & its impact => still mired in poverty + chaos
• United States remains the sole superpower => little can be done to bring the American warmongers + criminals to justice

 

+

Please find also to read:

1. 31 years ago also facing a world threat
2. History.com: This Day In History (March 19-2003): Invasion of Iraq begins
3. Weekly World Watch 1-7 August: UK and US – Iran, Israel, Elam and Media (Our World) =  Weekly World Watch 1-7 August: UK and US – Iran, Israel, Elam and Media (Some View on the World)

+++

Related

1. Jeremy Corbyn MP – 20 years on from Iraq, we must strive to build a more peaceful world
2. Iraq war’s essential outcome was to demonstrate US and UK weakness for all to see
3. I spearheaded invasion of Iraq – we only had 20% chance of survival but when we arrived something bizarre happened
4. I can say British soldiers did not die in vain as we mark twentieth anniversary of the Iraq War, says Head of the Army
5. Iraq war 20 years on: The most mined country on earth and clearance efforts will take ‘decades’, experts warn
6. Dodgy intelligence and US hubris brought death and destruction to Iraq
7. 20 years on, ‘shock and awe’ remains relevant
8. The US in The Middle East: From Glory to Ruins
9. Bush wanted cover from Blair – Lynne Jones on the #iraqWar 20 years on
10. 20 Years Ago Today, the Bush Administration Launched the Iraq War: Juan Cole: “I Have a Bad Feeling About This”
11. War Made Easy
12. From The Archives: The Iraq War
13. 20 years after the invasion of Iraq, will the media’s complicity be ignored?
14. West Virginia Veterans reflect on 20-year anniversary of Iraq War
15. Feehery: The Ides of March remind us to take risks for liberty
16. Twenty years already?
17. The Iraq War didn’t kill liberal internationalism, just our ability to debate it
18. The Iraq War 20 Years On – What Have We Learnt? 
19. McCarthy signals support for Iraq war authorizations repeal
20. Criminals at Large: The Iraq War Twenty Years On – » The Australian Independent Media Network
21. IRAQ 20 YEARS: Sam Husseini — The Lies, and Lies About the Lies, About the Invasion
22. The Invasion of Iraq Wasn’t a “Mistake.” It Was a Crime.
23. How I Became Anti-War, Part 4
24. How America’s $8trn ‘war on terror’ haunts US decisions, from Afghanistan to Ukraine

Levant's Agora

Editor: Li Jiayao.

During the more than eight-year war and ensuing years of violence after the 2011 U.S. pullout, more than 200,000 civilians were killed and over 9 million others displaced in Iraq. Much of the country’s infrastructure was also destroyed during the relentless bombings launched by the U.S.-led coalition.

People hold anti-war banners and wave Iraqi flags during a protest in Baghdad, Iraq, on May 24, 2019. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)

Though 20 years have passed since the United States launched a blatant invasion into the sovereign state of Iraq, justice has not been done for Iraq and its people, many of whom are still suffering from the pain created by the unjust war.

During the more than eight-year war and ensuing years of violence after the 2011 U.S. pullout, more than 200,000 civilians were killed and over 9 million others displaced in Iraq. Much of the country’s infrastructure was also…

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Identifying discourses

” identifying discourses is one of the most effective strategies to “unlocking” the sociological lens.”
+
discourses allows us to step outside of what we consider as our reality
and question whether that reality might be inaccurate or just different from others’ reality.

{Of discourses and sociology }

~ Lyn from lilyellownotes

Dig a Little Deeper

Before we know it, we are so much further along in life, married and our children out of the house, while we may have changed so much, yet some have remained the same, looking back on those many years that have flown by so much.

Roth Poetry

When the honeymoon is over, and things have settled down

And the exhale that follows leaves you fully unwound

Dig a little deeper… create another round.

**

She’s pregnant with one and then there are two

And there’s no sleep at night and more work to do

Dig a little deeper… do your share too.

**

There are diapers to change and babies to feed

No time for you, life spins at warp speed

Dig a little deeper… let her know she’s the one you need.

**

When the kids have grown, and activities never stop

Enjoy those moments, help them come out on top

Dig a little deeper… cheer them on, enjoy their shouts.

**

When the empty nest is now your own

And all of your sweet children have long since flown

Dig a little deeper… as life moves on.

**

Time to rediscover who you are now

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The Sounds of Peace

Roth Poetry

Soft notes roll off strings

Music passed from old to young

Teaching sounds of peace

Brings joy to all of our hearts

Crossing all boarders with love

***

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

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Groene aanslag

De lange, grauwe regenperiodes zorgen ervoor dat het terras bedekt raakt met groene vlekken en mos zowel op het terras als op de tuinpaden. Als de lente in aantocht is, zijn de sporen van de lange winter maar al te goed te zien. Om de tuin weer mooi voor de dag te laten komen is het belangrijk om de boel grondig te reinigen. Lees in dit artikel enkele handige tips om zowel het terras als tuinmeubelen vrij te maken van groene aanslag.

Lees verder: Hoe groene aanslag verwijderen van je terras?

The Old Man of the Mountain

Roth Poetry

The Old Man of the Mountain

“You must see it,” Robert told Jen. “It’s breathtakingly beautiful sitting five thousand feet above sea level. The rock formation looks just like an old man in repose. That is why they call it Grandfather Mountain.”

The more he talked, the more excited she became. “And there is a mile-high swinging bridge stretching from the gift shop to the foot of the climb. It is made of metal and anchored with thick steel cables keeping it from swinging too much on windy days.”

As they drove along, Jen’s mind floated in and out trying to visualize what he was telling her. Winding their way up the narrow road, they arrived at the gift shop. The view was spectacular.

As they sat atop the “Old Man’s” head, Jen turned to Robert and said,“In space in time I sit, thousands of feet above the…

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On our Mistakes, sometimes we feel hopeless, and lonely

To remember

• The  burden of being Human, is to be moral, and distinguish good, from wrong, or even evil.

• asking for forgiveness = most beautiful thing for a heavy heart.

Kone, Krusos, Kronos

Loneliness is an

Essential friend

On our way

To bravery.

Ibn Arabi

I got to confess I had committed many mistakes through my life, a few very costly, and what is worst, the most grave with no remedy!

As we age, we slowly, or suddenly we realize, this fact, and grieve us, what to do?

When you do not even have the chance to ask for forgiveness, or do nothing to repair them, your heart grows heavy with pain, and despair, and we only have a tool in repentance, and prayer if you are a believer, those who are not, I wonder what they do? What their hearts tell them to do, and how can they lift the heavy weight of guilt from their hearts, I guess despair, pain, and tears and regret are common to our Human condition, and also our burden.

To have a conscience it’s good, but…

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