The Significance of Laughter

While I diligently work on juggling several projects, most notably the relaunching of my video site, editing my Green Tea video and my self-help book, I am republishing some of my favorite posts.  This one is always needed, a shot in the arm of laughter that helps get ya through the day.  And a few goofy videos too!

Please enjoy:

 The Significance of Laughter

Such a serious title for something as benign as laughter. Yes, it is, but for a reason. The need to laugh, to find humor in things sometimes unfunny, to chuckle, giggle, guffaw, shriek, snort, or titter, may be one of the best remedies for whatever ails you.

Humor is serious business. Huh? That's right. We need to laugh just as much as we need to eat or sleep. Think about how you feel when deprived of your recommended nightly hours of sleep - not too good, right? How about when your stomach is reminding you that you have not eaten recently, or that you have and that it was not sitting well down there. Again, not a pleasant sensation. Same can be said about those who do not get enough laughter in their daily lives. Eat, drink, and be merry. Perhaps there was something to that ancient adage after all?

One of the reasons I created livelife365 (both my website and this blog) was to be able to reach as many people as possible, sharing with them all the myriad ideals and ideas, videos and music, helpful programs and proven theories that I have amassed over the years. But the best part is that I not only can help others lose weight or eat right, gain self-esteem or proper balance, but that I can entertain them. Make them laugh. It's no accident that livelife365 offers more than most blogs or websites, a diverse menu of entrees. I want to be able to help and teach, council and coach, share and learn, yes, but I also get a great deal of satisfaction when I put a smile on someones face.

I have been asked,"Mike, how can you be treated seriously as a self-help guru when you are constantly acting like a goofball in some of your videos?" My response to that is: If I made you laugh, then it was worth it. Livelife365 is all about life, and the importance of living your life each day to its fullest. Yes, adhering to a healthy lifestyle is vital, as is proper mental focus and self development. But all that and not enough joy, humor or laughter in your life is an incomplete life. An unfulfilled life.

One of my favorite programs is the Triad of Balance. This is about getting your mind, body, and spirit in balance as one, after working on balancing each individually. It is easier said than done, but finding daily laughter in your life will help your balance in each area--Mind; Body; Spirit. That, in a nutshell, should underscore the importance of laughter. The significance of finding humor every day.

Good luck, here's to a hearty chuckle today, hopefully much more than one.

Until next time...


peace,

Mike

The Power of Positive Thinking

Mixing Pleasure With Healthiness

Recently I was on vacation, away from work and my life back home. Maui, the place my lovely wife and I opt to visit to get away from it all - relax, refresh, rejuvenate, reinvigorate, rest…and those are just the “R”’s!

But even while embracing all of the above, I still work on practicing healthy habits, by continuing to focus on the things I need to do each day to stay happy and keep living life every day in every way.

* Every morning I sit on the lanai and read, mostly catching up on my backlog of magazines and newspapers. The sound of crashing waves, chirping birds, and trade winds rustling the treetops my background music, I also use this time to reflect on all that I have ingested, letting it settle into my brain, along with the tranquil reward of my picturesque surroundings.



* Just about every day I walk across the street and visit the local farmer’s market, picking through the fresh fruits and veggies - papaya, pineapple, guava, avocados, apple bananas, tomatoes, star fruit, passion fruit, and more. This not only supports the community but promotes healthy, nutritional eating. I also make a point to lessen my carbohydrate consumption, with an overall goal of returning from my vacation weighing the same as I began it.




* I take an hour walk every morning. This is a key for me - not only does it kick start the day, but it is spiritually relaxing, walking along the ocean path, taking in the breathtaking sights and sounds. It’s also a wonderful way to burn calories early in the day so I feel less guilty later, when I kick back and indulge in some gastronomical treats. (hey, I’m on vacation, gotta mix some fun with the fitness, right?)

* After my walk I meditate for thirty minutes. Embracing my surroundings, I sit in a quiet, dark area, close my eyes, suck in a couple deep breaths, and focus on the now, the moment. I gently push any invading thoughts from my mind, nudging them aside as I allow only the present existence into my being. This exercise puts me in the place I need and love to be to start my day.

* The rest of the day I do all that fun, vacation stuff, be it catching some rays by the water, exploring local sights, or chilling with my significant other. Does this sometimes lead me astray toward less-than-healthy choices? You bet it does. But I also strive to eat as healthy and nutritiously as possible, even while sampling the local delicacies.

* Every afternoon I take a dip in the ocean and swim for at least fifteen minutes. This gives my arms and upper torso a nice workout, along with soaking the rest of my body in a saltwater embrace. Not only physically satisfying, an ocean swim enhances my mind and spirit.



* Lastly, after enjoying another wonderful day in paradise with my wife, I kick back and read for pleasure, indulging in any number of the myriad tomes I bring with me while on vacation. This is also the time, when the mood strikes, that I do my writing, working on new projects, developing ideas that have been taking up room in my brain, journalizing. In fact, it was this very practice, after a day of aloha spirit in Maui, that the concept for my website, livelife365, was inspired.

No on enjoys or looks forward to getting away from it all more than myself. The thought of being able to sleep in, relax, and do whatever I like is tempting. But I also know that I need to do it all in as healthy a fashion as I can, while always making sure to balance my mind, body, and spirit in the process.

Even while on vacation. Ahem…especially then.

Until next time…

peace,

Mike

The Moment Is Now

One of the best ways to ruin a day is to rush it to its end.  How often have you heard someone say, “I can’t wait until it’s Friday!” - and it’s only Tuesday?  That wishing-for-the-weekend mentality, when there remains dozens of excellent hours left in your week, is not only poor thinking, but an unhealthy way to live.

I write this post on the lanai of a Maui condo, the Pacific’s soothing purr serenading me, the trades flitting the tips of the palm trees gently massaging my brain, my soul, my essence.

What could possibly upset my mood? (besides, of course, the guy in the condo next door, constantly clearing his nose and throat - or is that an imitation of a constipated seal?)…anyway, where was I?

Living in the moment.



That’s not to say that all moments are ones that we relish living in, but they are our moments, good or bad, breathtaking or prosaic; ours nonetheless.  And ours that need to be embraced each and every day.

A few days ago, while sipping a refreshing beverage at an ocean-side establishment, sun-soaked and so relaxed it hurt, the familiar refrain of stress and irritation associated with my mainland job somehow nettled its way into my mind.  They can be persistent, pesky little irksome imps, these stressors.  My aloha spirit suddenly shifted with the speed of a nearby jet ski racing along the water.

I mentioned this to my wife, and she gave me a look that only nearly twenty years of coexistence can clearly be communicated without words.

Something like: “Knock it off, moron, you’re on vacation in Hawaii!”

The moment, good or bad, has to be where you are at now.

There’s an old saying from back in the day that goes something like:

“Right now is a great place to be.”

Is this an easy task?

Heck, no.

If, like me, you are a planner, someone who is constantly juggling a plethora of thoughts and ideas, brainstorms and things-to-dos, in his head, living in the moment can be a constant challenge.  Especially while on vacation, a time to pretend that you haven’t a care, possess endless streams of cash, and your career back home is nonexistent.

Meditation helps.  I sit and try to clear my mind through meditation daily.  And for that half-hour I do a pretty decent job of letting go, living in the moment.  They key is to then take that focus of existing in the now along with you the rest of your day.
Again, easier said than done.

But do you really want to wish your life away?  Dream of doing something else or being somewhere else or thinking about anything other than where you are…right…now?  This moment?

Good or bad, amazing or mundane, superb or sub par, this is your life.  Your moment.

Live it.

Every day in every way.

Until next time…

peace,

Mike

**Please check out this video I made for a contest my friend Robin Easton is having at her amazing site, "Naked In Eden."  And please also read her book by the same name.

What Is Guava?

Whenever I have the good fortune to visit Maui, I often partake in the regional produce.  Across the street from the condo where my wife and I stay, a farmer’s market, loaded with local fruits, veggies, and other homemade products, conducts a brisk and relaxed, aloha-spirited exchange of goods and smiles bartering for our hard-earned mainland cash.



Each time I visit Hawaii I make it a point to try something different, something healthy, while learning as much about it from the friendly island folk as I can, helpful souls who take the time to explain, no doubt for the hundredth time, what it is they are vending.

Over the past few years I have been lucky enough to discover:

* Papaya 
 
* Passion fruit
 
* Star fruit
 
* poi

Recently, I grabbed a handful of green and yellow orbs, asked my friend across the table what they were, and happily discovered guava, adding that tasty and healthy fruit to my growing repertoire of nutritional delights.

What is guava?

So glad you asked.

Guava grows on trees (in fact, my local amigo at the market informed me that in his backyard grew a prolific guava tree that produced the very fruit in my hands, but he was constantly battling his Vietnamese potbellied pig for them; yes, pigs, and most animals, love guava!) in tropical climes like Hawaii - also Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, Africa, and even Florida.

Guava has both a sweet and sour taste, depending on ripeness (you gotta try it yourself to fully understand), with little edible seeds one has to navigate as you munch your way through one.


But taste alone is not what makes guava a worthwhile venture to discover.  Guava is also considered a super food -  and that’s a good thing!

Why, you ask?

* loaded with dietary fiber
* four times the vitamin C as an orange
* low in calories
* no fat or cholesterol
* good source of folic acid, potassium, copper, and manganese
* antioxidants! (high in carotenoids and polyphenols)
* vital part of POG

Huh?  Um, what the heck is POG?

Oh, POG is an Hawaiian fruit drink made from Passion fruit, Orange juice, and, you guessed it, Guava.  (stay tuned for a couple of videos from my recently concluded trip to Maui about POG in the coming weeks)

Guava can be enjoyed in many different ways:

- smoothies
- juices (like POG)
- ice cream
- with fish
- or right off the tree (watch out for pigs, though)

You need not travel all the way to Maui to taste guava (though that’s not a bad idea, is it now?), just search your local produce aisles and ask around.  I wish you luck, because besides tasting amazing, guava is a super food worth discovering.

Until next time…

peace,

Mike

livelive365

This past week a good friend of mine passed away. Sad, very sad. He was my age. We grew up together, played baseball together. Used to hang out Saturday nights together before we started hanging out with our future wives. But that was a while ago; decades. Why did I lose touch with this old pal?

It doesn’t matter that I hadn’t seen or spoken to my friend who is gone for ages; his lose struck me as strongly as if I’d just recently spoken to him. I understand that childhood buddies often grow apart through the years, due to geographical, philosophical, or any or ophical-reasons. But just like reminiscing about an old flame or ex-wife, even a relationship that sadly turned sour after it was once nothing but sweetness, one should not forget what was, especially now when they are no longer here.

This was the third contemporary of mine to have died over the past few years. One sad, but true, commonality was the state of each of their health, and how they lived their lives (not as healthy as I wished they did) every day—a very common topic of this website.

I have mentioned many times over how the death of my father—twenty years ago this coming January—changed my life. How through his death I grew stronger, healthier, more focused and determined…you could even say that my dad’s death was the genesis of livelife365.

All this leads me to the theme of my website, of Mike Foster:

Livelive365!

Every day in every way.

That doesn’t mean to just work at losing weight, eating better, turning bad habits into better ones, enjoying hobbies, bettering relationships, laughing, loving, living. It means to cherish your time on earth, this precious commodity that sometimes seems ridiculous or stressful or mundane. But more often than not is wonderful, inspirational, amazing and worthwhile.



When we lose someone close to us, mortality pokes a finger on our shoulder and whispers the frailty of life into our ears. A wake up call, a reminder. Sad, for sure, but something that we need to hear from time to time.

The best send off for my friend, for me at least, is to remember the good times, the smiles and giggles, those years we hung out together as if they were yesterday.

And mostly to learn through this unfortunate death how vital and precious our time on earth is, and the lesson we must all remember: not to waste a second.




r.i.p…

M.T., B.H., D.W. R.J.P




Until next time…



Peace,



Mike

Aloha From Maui

Aloha!

I have just returned from a two week vacation on the amazing island of Maui. I am in the process of editing hours of video to share with everyone. I am rested, relaxed, reinvigorated, and ready for action.

Please enjoy this ono view from my lanai as I get my mainland act together...



Until next time...

peace,

Mike