David Nelson, Author & Cowboy Poet | PALS: Hope

David Nelson, Author & Cowboy Poet | PALS: Hope: Hope By David Nelson The positive physiological effects of hope are well-documented, most eloquently in Jerome Groopman...

Hope

Hope

By

David Nelson

The positive physiological effects of hope are well-documented, most eloquently in Jerome Groopman's "The Anatomy of Hope," where he writes: "Researchers are learning that a change in mind-set has the power to alter neurochemistry.

"Belief and expectation -- the key elements of hope -- can block pain by releasing the brain's endorphins mimicking the effects of morphine. In some cases, hope can also have important effects on fundamental physiological processes like respiration, circulation and motor function."

·       Having hope is to imagine a positive outcome. The directive of many motivational principles is to visualize what you want and imagine positive outcomes so that your behavior is unconsciously structured to create them. Basis for Treasure Maps.

·       The way in which a hopeful person handles disappointment differs from those who are not. Even if the present is unpleasant, the thought of a positive future can be stress-buffering and can reduce the impact of negative events or disappointment. Being unrelentingly optimistic about the future helps you to recognize that you are adaptable and capable, enabling you to reassure yourself that you will get through a tough time.

·       Hope can flourish only when you believe that what you do can make a difference, that your actions can bring a future different from the present. To have hope then, is to acquire a belief in your ability to have some control over your circumstances. You are no longer entirely at the mercy of forces outside yourself.”

·       But it is not only in medical journals where we gain the knowledge we need to cultivate real hope. We also learn from reading or hearing about other people’s stories and how they survived their challenge. 

·      
Our hopes are very personal. And no one gets to tell us what to hope for. We are allowed big hopes, medium hopes, small hopes and very teeny, tiny hopes. Our job is to be hopeful about something everyday and keep those good chemicals flowing through our bodies like Morse Code messages across the Atlantic so that we can return to wellness.

“There is no medicine like HOPE, no incentive so great and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something better tomorrow.

Orison Swett Marden

www.davidnelsonauthor.com

David Nelson, Author & Cowboy Poet | PALS: Life's "Oh WOW" Moments

David Nelson, Author & Cowboy Poet | PALS: Life's "Oh WOW" Moments: “Oh WOW!” The exclamation I named this blog doesn’t relate to my drawing of the 4 th Street Elevator in Dubuque, Iowa. While...

Life's "Oh WOW" Moments

“Oh WOW!”

The exclamation I named this blog doesn’t relate to my drawing of the 4^th Street Elevator in Dubuque, Iowa. While I have never forgotten my roots and enjoy drawing scenes from my hometown, I refer the “Oh WOW” to moments I stepped through opened doors and my life changed.

Years ago I gave speeches on health-related topics across the country. At that time I was a physical therapist and ergonomist. I taught others from the front of many a conference room up on a stage wearing my suit. Being a member of the Central Florida and National Speakers Associations, my public speaking skills became honed. In the early 1990’s I started writing cowboy poetry. It was Christmas in 1994 that the president of our speakers group suggested we entertain ourselves by appearing before fellow members and do something we don’t normally do on the speaking stage. The venue was our Christmas party.

When the crowd almost fell out of their seats with laughter, I knew right then and there it was an “Oh Wow” moment. I replaced my suit with spurs, chaps, cowboy hat and boots. Nearly twenty-five years later I am still performing my Cowboy Comedy Show across America. I was honored when the Governor and General Assembly designated me as the first-ever “Cowboy Poet Laureate of Tennessee.”

The touch on my forearm decades past snaps back in my mind like it happened seconds ago. It also was an “Oh WOW” moment. The respected newspaper editor was my patient. While she rested on the treatment mat, I shared another funny life story with her and was about to walk away.

She grabbed my right forearm and looked me in the eye. “David, you have to write a book one day. You are an excellent storyteller. Make sure you share those with others and write that book.”

I wish Dell Lockwood sat next to me right now. I suspect she’d smile when I told her I was a national storyteller and an author of many books and have won national awards for my short stories and my poems.

A little over a year ago I was flipping from one video to another on You Tube and stopped to watch an artist draw a tree with a pencil. I was mesmerized and intrigued watching him draw. I followed along and became hooked. That too was an “OH WOW” moment in life for me. Several months later, I now have two books of art and have begun teaching others how to draw. I enjoy sharing my passions with others. I sell my prints and book on my web site.

Everyone has a talent and a gift. Not everyone listens when the door of opportunity in life opens. Discovering a new hobby is like Marco Polo stepping on to another ship to explore new adventures. I challenge you to listen to that inner voice and feel the “Oh WOW” rush over you like a waterfall. You will know it when it happens. And you will smile if you step through that open door.

www.davidnelsonauthor.com

www.cowboycomedyshow.com

David Nelson, Author & Cowboy Poet Laureate | "If The Hlls Could Talk" Christmas Fruitcake: To Eat or Not To Eat

David Nelson, Author & Cowboy Poet | PALS: Christmas Fruitcake: To Eat or Not To Eat: The following is one story from my book, "If The Hills Could Talk" www.davidnelsonauthor.com The Christmas Fruitcake I...

David Nelson, Author & Cowboy Poet Laureate | "If The Hlls Could Talk" Christmas Fruitcake: To Eat or Not To Eat

David Nelson, Author & Cowboy Poet | PALS: Christmas Fruitcake: To Eat or Not To Eat: The following is one story from my book, "If The Hills Could Talk" www.davidnelsonauthor.com The Christmas Fruitcake I...

Christmas Fruitcake: To Eat or Not To Eat

The following is one story from my book, "If The Hills Could Talk" www.davidnelsonauthor.com

The Christmas Fruitcake

I like all kinds of traditions. I especially like the Christmas tradition of standing in long lines at the post office to mail packages that have a high probability of getting delivered six months later. The term Postal Service is an oxymoron. I like watching television reports of people standing in long lines outside closed stores, in the middle of the night waiting for the store to open. I enjoy the news showing the rush of people fighting, punching, and kicking to buy some toy that the media convinced us we should own. I wonder if that’s what is meant by tidings of good cheer? One tradition I don’t like is paying off my credit card in January.

I like food and I like to eat. I like the tradition of preparing treats that are only made at Christmas. It’s fun to re-invent the learning curve because I forgot how to make an item during the past year. It’s also fun to learn the same thing new each December. I think that might be one definition of insanity. The added holiday stress is something my Type A personality enjoys. So does my pharmacist because I have to load up on anxiety medications. My heritage is German and Norwegian. We talk a little funny but we enjoy our Christmas foods.

Each year at Christmas my family makes potato bread and a cookie. The bread is called lefse. It’s a large round flat piece of dough. It’s warmed in the oven, covered with butter, rolled up and vigorously chewed with every bit of jaw strength one can muster. And that’s just to bite off a piece. The Norse god, Odin, first had it served to the souls of slain warriors because it would last an eternity. My brother, Richard calls it reindeer hide. He doesn’t like the stuff. But he’s not much of a traditionalist. Lefse is a Norwegian version of beef jerky. It can last forever. Krumkake is a Norwegian waffle cookie that takes a long time to make. Each cookie is made by hand one at a time. The first bite crumbles the cookie into hundreds of tiny pieces. As a kid I always liked watching adults make a mess. Uff-Dah!

There is one tradition I do not like - that is the re-appearance each December of fruitcake, the most disgusting food item ever created. Fruitcake was discovered by accident by a Greek fella named Imus Disgustus.

He was sitting around one day fully crocked on some fermented apple juice and felt creative. You probably don’t know this, but he was the first person the see a chicken lay an egg. There he was, soused to the gills and saw what appeared to be a white oval-shaped thing fall from what he thought was the chicken’s butt. He scratched his head and pondered. “Hey, we can crack that thing open and eat it.”

Later that day, ole Imus was out of his happy juice and was scrounging around his bachelor pad trying to find more alcohol of any type. All he could find was dried up raisins, hardened cranberries, crusty blueberries, chunks of cherries, fermented figs, dehydrated apricots and he finally came upon some brandy. He thought he’d have some fun.

He decided to cook something during his drunken stupor. He mixed the five-year old, dried up ingredients with some flour, sugar, baking powder, allspice and baking soda. He tipped some brandy into the mess for good measure. And presto! He created the first fruitcake. The year was 1170 AD. There are still edible pieces of his original cake displayed in Athens at the Martha Stewart Museum for Aged Products.

I got to thinking. Who in the world should be given this disgusting, vile, repulsive food as a holiday tradition? Politicians. Politicians should be given fruitcake. The descriptions of the food and the profession are the same. An added benefit might be their inability to swallow and thus hinder their ability to talk. We could all prosper from that. When a politician isn’t talking, there are no lies being told.

I think we should give one to our judges each December. Surely, they would write a court order of protection that no normal citizen could be within a half-mile of fruitcake. Those folks waiting in lines in the middle of the night at closed stores would be exempt from that order because they are not normal anyway. Plus the name itself pretty much describes these folks – fruitcakes.

I gave a loaf to my neighbor last year. He owned a dog that barked constantly. The neighbor fella must not have liked my fruitcake. I saw the fruitcake thrown out into his back yard. He probably figured the dog would eat it. That dog has been trying all year to eat and swallow the stuff. Ah-ha. I just noticed there has been no more barking.

Workers in the pharmaceutical industry should be given fruitcake and forced to eat it. The side effects include constipation, upset stomach, difficulty swallowing and nasty residual taste, inability to speak for hours, loss of sex life (because all they are too busy chewing), painful jaws, and seventeen others.

I sent one last Christmas to some prisoners sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. I figured it would take them that length of time to eat my gift. After all, fruitcake does last a lifetime. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.

Some dentists set out trays with bite size morsels of fruitcake in their lobbies. This stuff will chip or loosen a perfectly good tooth after just three bites. I figure it’s good for the dental business. But then, maybe some of the dentists just want to use their new reciprocating saws they bought at Home Depot. I found that to be the best tool to cut this stuff into pieces.

There is one time a person should never eat fruitcake. Never attempt to consume this vile concoction if you are scheduled for a colonoscopy in the next six months. The ingredients will still be embedded inside and can appear as radioactive polyps. Then your medical insurance rates will increase because you will have a new diagnosis.

Lastly, I don’t know of a single person who claims to like fruitcake. If I hear of someone who claims to enjoy fruitcake, I can never locate him or her for an interview. Trust me, I have tried. They are nowhere to be found. That’s like the people who were supposedly asked questions in a national survey or a political poll. I’ve lived a long time. I know lots of people and never met a person yet who claims to have been a part of some survey.

If you do ever meet one of those folks, they are probably lying. I’ll bet they will tell you that they like fruitcake also.