cognitive model, Effects of stroke, Heart and Stroke, self-talk, Stroke Recovery and Background1 Comment

Behaviour Amplifications as a result of stroke

rbspecht

I’m just giving some serious thought to the amplified behaviors I’ve experienced as a result of my hemorrhagic stroke and the embolization used to stop the bleed in my brain. I’m still fighting some of those amplified behaviors, desperately working to wrestle the bad ones into submission while trying to coax the good ones  into becoming the representative ‘me’ which the real me hides behind. I’ve tried to find some sage articles on the subject that may be lurking in the corridors of the internet, but without a lot of success. There seems to be a passing nod of acknowledgement  and validation  given … Continue reading Behaviour Amplifications as a result of stroke

My Cancer Journey, teethLeave a comment

10+ years on

rbspecht

  Here’s the latest panoramic x-ray of my jaw, taken in early May of 2017 by my current dentist.   its not a great illustration of everything that has happened in my mouth, but it works for what he needs at the moment. Highlights; that glow in the centre of the image is part of the x-ray apparatus.  It’s a bit disconcerting on first blush, isn’t it? to the left of the glow is the plate that was used to bolt my lower jaw back together, after they split it. starting on the right side of the image and trailing along … Continue reading 10+ years on

Mom's Fridge, Moving through the world, Observations, participate in your own life!Leave a comment
Finding om's Fridge

finding a new “mom’s fridge”

rbspecht

I have observed that hiding our non-work related talents, accomplishments and interests “under a bushel” as we get older seems to be a ‘thing’ with some people ‘of a certain age’ here in North America.  Once we get past the ‘mom-will-stick-it-on-the-fridge’ stage of celebrating talent and accomplishment, some of us become very bad at tooting our own horns for anything we do outside of the jobs that dominate a third of our lives. So much of what we share about ourselves outside of the realm of family and friends is parenthetically qualified by how it relates to the job, to … Continue reading finding a new “mom’s fridge”

Continue reading finding a new “mom’s fridge”

Moving through the worldLeave a comment

We teach what we need to learn

rbspecht

We teach what we need to learn.  (attributed to Irene Tomkinson) This truism is illustrated in the way we deal with our children, our grandchildren, our co-workers and friends.  Take note of what you are teaching…and understand why. There is more to this.  Richard Bach offered a variation on it; We teach what we need to learn most. Continue reading We teach what we need to learn

Last Known Good, Last Known Safe, Moving through the worldLeave a comment

When Last Known Good becomes Last Known Safe

rbspecht

Last Known Safe  We live in a country on a continent of prosperity, a land of plenty where there should be no one living on the streets. Okay, some make the choice to be on the street, yes, sure, and I understand how the spectre of mental illness and addiction haunt so many of the homeless and the street people. I have met those who have chosen the street as their home that will talk somewhat uneasily about their choices and their lives on the street offering a bit of an apology punctuated with an inference that they’ll try to do better and … Continue reading When Last Known Good becomes Last Known Safe

Effects of stroke, Moving through the world, participate in your own life!, Stroke Recovery and BackgroundLeave a comment

Outside looking in…

rbspecht

I have these moments when I feel like I’m on the outside of my life, looking in… a peeping-tom trying to catch glimpses of the real me, and the real parts of my life. I sometimes imagine that I am walking along a darkened street, glancing in the windows of the houses I pass, the windows framing the activities of life and living.  I wait for the bits where its me doing the living, but it feels like they are few and far between.  I generally feel disconnected from forward momentum of my life. I’m not sure when this started … Continue reading Outside looking in…

RetirementLeave a comment

I don’t have the self-esteem to do nothing

rbspecht

‘Doing nothing’… Think about what that actually means in the context of your life, and then consider what it means to your life in retirement. It takes knowing a lot about yourself, and what is important to you to be able to sit and contemplate the world.  Some of us need more than just a good book, a good cup of coffee and good company to feel good about doing nothing.  This isn’t the same as ‘being still‘.  Doing nothing in this context is about just that; doing nothing.  Its about not participating, not interacting, not getting out there and … Continue reading I don’t have the self-esteem to do nothing

Moving through the worldLeave a comment

It doesn’t need to be this difficult

rbspecht

Moving through the world should be an almost effortless thing.  There are so many people there to help, so many ‘things’ available to help remove obstacles.  Why does it feel more difficult then it needs to be? I find myself struggling lately. It all feels very much like that running through thigh high water kind of struggling.  I just can’t seem to get any real traction on so many things, yet I know I’m moving forward, but with great difficulty, and I am getting wet so I must be accomplishing something more than just expending energy.  I suppose that the sensation … Continue reading It doesn’t need to be this difficult

Moving through the world, Vanity1 Comment

Sunrise coloured boots

rbspecht

My fascination with boots and my preference for them over regular shoes has been with me for over 30 years.  To be entirely honest, I just like the feel and the look of boots better than shoes.  Call it ‘vanity’ if you will, but I feel better wearing boots. Snugging up the laces on a pair of shoes over my somewhat pronounced bridge that goes with my high arches has always been a little uncomfortable.  there is a vein that runs along the top of my feet that gets constricted and affects the circulation in my feet.  I’ve also discovered that … Continue reading Sunrise coloured boots

Moving through the world, ObservationsLeave a comment

‘Radicalization’ as a form of Intellectual Suicide.

rbspecht

I’ve come to believe that, in spite of the inferred violence inherent in the term, giving in to radicalization is a passive act of intellectual suicide, one in which the individual gives up the freedom and the right to think for themselves. I went looking for a definition that would make sense to me and found that the term radicalization is defined by the Wikipedia encyclopedia as “a process by which an individual or group comes to adopt increasingly extreme political, social, or religious ideals and aspirations that (1) reject or undermine the status quo or (2) reject and/or undermine … Continue reading ‘Radicalization’ as a form of Intellectual Suicide.