Lifemates Blog

The following, taken from an article by Rebecca Urban in 'The Australian', is perhaps a huge wake up call for all levels of our society to treat everyone with respect, with human dignity, with honesty and integrity: "...Research from the OECD's Program for International Student Assessment has revealed that Australian classrooms are among the most disruptive in the world, ranking 63rd out of 68 countries. The report, which analysed what went on in science classrooms and used data from a survey of more than 14,000 students from 760 schools, revealed 40 per cent said there was high levels of noise and disorder in class, that students didn't listen to the teacher, and "they found it difficult to learn"..." Where does respect start - in the home! Husbands and wives honouring one another - which includes 'respect' - especially, but not exclusively, by wives to their husbands. This 'respect' being modelled in the home by spouses to each other and to their children. Children honouring and obeying their parents. Our challenge to you, as well as to ourselves, this year is to look for ways to love and honour each other extravagantly! Let each of us [...]

We are rapidly approaching the holiday season when busyness often takes centre stage and more than ever we need to make the time to be present. Dave Boehi wrote: The problem is, "We are tempted to think that our little 'sips' of online connection add up to a big gulp of real conversation. But they don't. E-mail, Facebook, Twitter, all of these have their places - in politics, commerce, romance, and friendship. But no matter how valuable, they do not substitute for conversation. The drift from conversation to connectivity - from 'talking to texting' - should be a concern for any married couple and any parent. Other technologies - particularly television - have distracted us from conversation for many, many years, but recent advances give us the option to replace it. How can you develop and maintain a strong relationship with your spouse or anyone else in your family if you aren't talking to each other?" Steve & Cindy Wright wrote: "Now, we understand that sometimes a phone call or a text comes in where you need to tend to it because it's an emergency or it's from someone you've been trying to get a [...]

Winter will soon pass on to be replaced by spring. Now may be the time to start some spring cleaning by injecting laughter into our daily routine. "Laughter is our birthright, a natural part of life that is innate and inborn. Infants begin smiling during the first weeks of life and laugh out loud within months of being born. Laughter is a powerful (and free!) medicine that we probably are not taking enough of. Read on to see some of the many free benefits from this simple remedy: A good, hearty laugh relieves physical tension and stress, leaving our muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after. The number of Gamma-interferon and T-cells, which are the disease and tumor hunters of the body, are increased through regular amounts of laughter, and other sicknesses like respiratory infections and the common cold can be inhibited and decreased if laughter is a regular part of a person’s life. Laughter has also been shown to fight against cancer by increasing the levels of IFN (Interferon-gamma) in the body. IFN stimulates the B-cells, T-cells, NK cells, and immunoglobulin, and it also works to regulate cell growth. These compounds are integral to [...]