June 29th 2023: Clarence Thomas Day

 

My opinion about justus Thomas

Today, Clarence Thomas, and his buddies, decided to declare that Affirmative Action should essentially be no more.  It’s interesting that this decision should come at this time, but we as Black people will do what we have always done—grow and prosper.  It may take a little time to adjust, but not long.

As in all things now, time has considerably sped up and we are on a trajectory to overcome that cannot be stopped. Clarence Thomas, and his ilk, are but a cog in a wheel. And when cogs go bad, they are replaced.

I declare today Clarence Thomas Day because I want people to remember what NOT to be when you are in a position to do good for others.  Self-loathing, non-self-aware and a grifter, are all the traits he seems to display in his position as a “Supreme Court Justice” … or maybe he’s the supreme court jester, I can not tell. Let this day be a day that all remember and let it be said: He did all he could to keep his people down. May God wrestle with his soul.

Enough about Clarence. It’s time now for us start making decisions that benefit us as black Americans. Leave the parties, become independent and vote for those who hold your best interest at heart.

Ways to Reduce Water Retention

 

Since I’ve been back in my hometown, I’ve noticed I’ve been putting on weight… and my ankles look swollen. 🤨 In doing a few searches online, I discovered it could be from water retention. So, I thought I’d write an article about it.

There was one particular article found on Healthline.com that I thought was very interesting.  It’s was called 6 Ways to Reduce Water Retention (Edema).  Generally it said to:

1. Eat less salt

2. Increase Magnesium

3. Get more vitamin B6

4. Intake more Potassium

5. Try Dandelion

6. Limit refined carbs

Edema, water retention, happens when excessive fluid is retained in the circulatory system or within tissues—causing swelling in the hands, feet, ankles, and legs.  There are several potential causes for this.  Hormonal changes, lack of physical activity, kidney disease, obesity, and even allergies are a few that I'll mention.  The article I mentioned above names others as well.

My concern at the moment is with my ankles--so I was looking at ways of addressing that issue.  If you have a concern with water retention, please check with your doctor (if you have one), to make sure it’s not a serious condition associated with why you’re retaining water, otherwise there are a few things you can try to maybe help reduce the amount of water being retained.

NOT Drinking water is NOT THE ANSWER.  Surprisingly, you may not be drinking enough water to begin with—which adds to the problem of fluid retention.  So, one option to address fluid retention should be: DRINK MORE WATER.

High Points:

1. Exercise more. Who wants to do that right? …lol.  Subtle changes can make big differences.  Consciously add more movement and activity to your daily routine.  Do things that you will enjoy and know that you will continue to do. Then continue to add other things to your daily routine.
2. Eat less salt/sodium. No doubt this is hard…cause salt tastes so good. I know. Enjoy it in moderation.
3. Eat more fruit and vegetables. I read that eating fruit high in potassium like bananas, tomatoes or avocados could help reduce the fluid retention. Eating other fruit like peaches, watermelon and cucumber could also help.  Of course, eating a variety of fruit and vegetables can help with a lot of issues and get you looking right.
4. Eating herbs or making herbal teas could be a natural diuretic to add to your mix. I was surprised to find out how many edible things just grow out there in the yard.   I think you should absolutely investigate and learn about plants before you make a tea or soup out of it, but there are a surprisingly number of good plants that are helpful and used to be used as home remedies, but today we call them weeds or flowers.

There is a lot more information about this topic to be found in the links below.  I just wanted to write a few notes on what I found to get you started.

Thanks for reading and I hope you keep coming back to the site and exploring.  Tell your people about me and contribute to our grow!  ✊🏾

 

Resources:

Stop Retaining Water…By Drinking More Water

Google Search about Water Retention

Some Days are Meant for Gathering

Some days are meant for gathering. Many of you know this already. You may not call it that--or even realize that is what you are doing. But for me, gathering days are crucial. I used to think I was being lazy or wasting time, but in actuality I was allowing me to get in contact with my surroundings, recharging my idea pool, and just letting things go.

It reminded me of when some folk fall asleep in church --then "explain" they were either meditating or resting their eyes. lol... 

But, it's true. You need times like that and you should not feel guilty about having them.  Listening to music, talking to a friend, meditating—they all count; as do many other activities or no activity at all.

Whenever you get to read this—I hope you decide to live your best life! 

Brand Authentically

I recently attended a panel event in which they were discussing branding. And the term "brand authentically" came to mind.  They did a great job talking about how important branding is--and in essence, is a way of setting a standard for your business.  It helps set the expectation of what your clients and customers should receive from you or your business. 

During the conversation, someone in the audience pointed out that they had an experience in which the outward appearance of the business was great, but the product or service received --not so great.  Which again made me think of the term, brand authentically. 

 It is my hope and belief that only a small percentage of businesses set out to scam people or do sub-par work.  Everyone else really wants to offer good products and services.  But sometimes, you can oversell what you do. Your intentions may be pure, but inadvertently, you may set yourself up for failure by setting expectations too high. 

Authentic branding is realistically assessing what you can achieve or offer considering resources, time and skills available to you. Remember, you want to do the best you can do. The only one you are truly in competition with is yourself. Maybe you are the best in the world at what you do. If so, great! Go on with your bad self and get that money! But if you have the slightest doubt that you are not, then set realistic goals and expectations so that you and your customers can walk away with an enjoyable experience. You can always work towards your goal of being the greatest. 

People can tell when you are over exaggerating. So, surprise them by slightly underselling. Let them be surprised in a good way with what they receive from you. In my opinion, that is the fastest way to get good word of mouth advertising, and your brand will authentically reflect you. 

#branding #marketing #CorporateImage