The Problem with Inflation & Cost of Living

Just about everything comes at a price. No matter what it tends to be. It could be buying a coffee, food at a restaurant, or even playing your favorite sport. The cost of all of these and so much more continue to rise. So, what’s the reason behind it? Will it ever stop, let alone slow down? Come with me (as Neil deGrasse Tyson would say) and we’ll go on this exploration with my theory.

As the population around the world continues to increase, that means more mouths to feed (no, I’m not trying to sound like Thanos and wipe out half of civilization to fix this). But it’s not just that, it’s everything that goes with it; clothes, housing and all of its’ components, and pretty much everything to keep everyone entertained. And what do all of these elements create…? Supply and demand.

Because of the rise in population, the demand for products is growing exponentially. Businesses have to comply to these in order to stay running. If you can’t meet expectations to where the world has evolved to, there’s a good chance you may go out of business. Hence the term, “survival of the fittest.”

I hate to say this, but demand has felt higher than ever. Since covid, it appears that people are making up for the loss of loved ones. Prices of eggs are insanely high. It made me have to stop buying them for a long while. Either I have to have a little farm for myself or switch over to being a vegan. Since I’m somewhat broke and don’t have my own land, I chose the latter.

Anyway, I’ve lost my point (as always), but I digress. Leading me to my next point. Can we do something about it? I believe we can. It’s going to take some work, but if we all do even a small part, it will make all the difference. At my school growing up, they taught us a valuable lesson in the 3 R’s: reduce, reuse, recycle.

Something tells me that as an entire civilization that we consume way too much. For example, if something is used up a little bit, it gets thrown out instead of looking to see if it can be refurbished. I know this isn’t one of the 3 R’s, but it still has the “reee” in it. But what I mean is can this item, this product still be used just fine if we put a little TLC to it? And by that of course; tender, love & care. If you don’t treat your personal items like this, then I don’t want no scrubs. (I… am an idiot, I know)

Again, as I was saying, the biggest thing about recycling is that if we don’t do it, we are literally destroying the planet. There’s an actual garbage island from what I saw on Family Guy. I know, it’s a cartoon show but that doesn’t mean they don’t have valid points in them. I believe we keep forgetting that every resource on this beautiful planet is limited. But we have to do better. Otherwise, it’s like we failed, and I would hate to see that. In a way, I see myself to be like Captain Planet.

Let’s do our part and make these changes now. Even if you’re just one person, anything helps. But deep down, we’re all one (whatever that means… use your imagination).

What I’m Thankful For

It’s that time of year again. If you’re getting together with family, friends, or just anyone you care about. The holidays are there to bring us closer together. Although, it can be a stressful time of year (from what I heard on the radio), it’s also a wonderful time to be grateful. As we get older, we start to appreciate the little things more. The memories we made growing up and don’t receive as much of in our adulthood.

Life is a passion. Even if it may not go as well as you would like it to. But you can always change it. Change your mindset to something positive and you may just notice things will begin to look up for you. I have experienced lots of negative situations in my life and it also took over my mindset of negative thinking. So, from there that little snowball trickled into a raging snowman, then became an avalanche (wow, that was a terrible metaphor).

Over time that can weigh you down and mess with your mindset. But you can’t let that change who you really are. There’s a caring and loving person within all of us. No matter what your motivator is, whether it’s music, TV, someone you care about, etc. you are driven to always do better. Just gotta figure out what works for you.

Which is why I’m thankful for the world we live in and the life I have. There’s greatness from everywhere within our beautiful planet. The motivation we can receive from just about everything and everyone. Even though we’re not perfect and it may seem like we’re destroying this world, it only takes one of us to change that. Do your part to inspire others and help mother nature so she can take care of us.

Rewarding Yourself

So you want to be productive, but you don’t know how… I can help! The answer is quite simple, but it’s not going to be easy to achieve. With some thought and planning though, you will be one step closer to being happier and of course, healthier.

Let’s first take a look at what you’re eating. Chances are the food you put in your body determines your daily output in life. That’s why it’s so important to eat your fruits and vegetables. Because they are Earth’s natural creation, they provide many nutrients for our longevity in life. Then there are poisonous berries and greens. I’m sure they have consumed many lives in our past, but we learn from it, even if it’s the hard way. With that, there are still those guilty pleasure foods we just need to have. And I’m all for it. Like pizza, or a big hot bowl of pho. They may not be the healthiest for you, but they definitely are good for the soul.

Now, we’re going to check out the bed you sleep on. This is just as important as what you eat. Know what works best for you. As in the quality of your sleep is much better than the quantity. I’m sure you already know that, but in case you don’t… figure it out! Does a firmer mattress work better for you or a softer one? It’s all about getting yourself into a deep sleep, that REM sleep. Then, once you’re in it you’ll dream of a life filled with everything imaginable to you and wake up feeling so refreshed ready to take on the day. Go out there to capture the dream.

So, just by looking at how you eat and sleep, these are more than enough to get you going towards your better life. Take a moment to yourself, figure out if anything in your life is in need of change so you can thrive for a happier tomorrow. Have you been eating pretty healthy? If so, reward yourself with your guilty pleasure food. Do you wake up feeling refreshed? If not, find out the problem and determine a plan to change that. If you have a baby that’s preventing you from a good quality sleep, that’s something for you to figure out. Sorry, I don’t have kids of my own so I can’t help ya there. Try just these 2 things and see what that does for you. And there’s plenty more where that came from!

Why We’re All Sensitive People

It’s time to let your guard down a bit. Don’t always feel like you have to put on this tough person façade. Every now and then, let people in. I’m certain you’ll be a much better person for it. Otherwise, you’re just showing us the Ogre that’s within you. Sorry Shrek. Didn’t mean to call you out. But still! Even Shrek has feelings despite all the layers of onions he hides behind. You’ve seen the movie, I hope. If not, go watch it. Just remember that even though it’s just a movie, it doesn’t mean the point they’re trying to make isn’t true. And that just hits way too close to home with probably most of us.

On the inside we’re all sensitive (just like me), so embrace it. Share your feelings with the ones you trust the most. And to quote Shrek, “better out than in.” Although, he is referring to something else. But it’s the concept of your feelings we’re talking about. By expressing yourself out loud, you’re letting others in. Then, there comes a time in your life when your relationship with others may end. No matter who’s fault it may be, it just happens. You just don’t see eye to eye and have a falling out. And that can be a part of life. You learn and you grow from it. But you’ll be a better person in the end (at least I’d like to think so).

What every experience has taught me in life is that I take the time to learn from it. Good or bad, it becomes a memory that I can take with me and share it with others. If you embrace your feelings, who knows, maybe you’ll find yourself just a little bit happier. And that’s the right step towards a brighter future.

My Perspective On ACNE

As I’m sure anyone who has researched anything with acne, they tell you that it’s more common when you’re a teenager. But even as adults, you can still get them. Ever wonder why that is? Whatever anyone or anything you have heard or read from would tell you, the truth may be a little… different.

CAUSES

As one website has mentioned, greasy foods and hygiene are just a myth when it comes to break-outs. Yes and no. It really depends on the person. The thing is, you know your body better than anyone else. Have you ever tried eating certain types of food and coming to the realization that you break-out more than normal, or not at all? I have this theory that one of the main sources for why people get acne is from what they eat. I’m sure not all greasy foods will affect you, but some surely do. What it really breaks down to is the sodium. I’ve had more than my fair share of what is considered unhealthy food, and after several days to a week, I will start showing pimples. It took me a while to put the pieces together but eventually it really did come down to what I put in my body. And that is just the beginning. When it comes to your hygiene, it’s the lifestyle that you live that can cause more pimples to show up or not. And if that isn’t convincing enough, there’s always you constantly touching your face with your greasy and dirty hands (I’m guilty of this myself).

How To Fix It

If food is your enemy, of course I mean when it comes to this subject of acne, then seriously, start eating more of what mother nature has to offer. I mean fruits and vegetables that grow from this beautiful planet. Unfortunately, I’m still having issues with this myself. I do try to eat them when I can. Like I’ve mentioned before about you knowing your body better than anyone, figure out what works and what doesn’t. Experiment a little. Especially if you get pimples often. If you don’t then there might be something else clouding your judgement (don’t worry, we’ll get into that topic in another post ( 😉 wink)). So, with food already been discussed, it’s time to get to your hygiene. In the last paragraph I’ve only briefly mentioned how this causing more pimples. Depending on what you ate growing up, for years it’s going to affect you in some way. It’s the reason why some people naturally have more oily skin than others. And with showering daily or not does affect certain tendencies as well. Then again, who knows? Only you can figure that out for yourself. As long as you’re somewhat healthy, why not experiment with some things like I have. You might learn something.

The Unknown Breakout

Stress. That’s about it. During part of my high school, I have gone through some shit that I hope that others don’t have to deal with or worse. But one of my closest friends just out of nowhere (yes, like Randy Orton with his RKO), decided to roast me for days. Where it came from or why, I have no idea. The only explanation I gave myself was that if anyone made fun of you, it’s because they secretly had a crush on you. But I’ve been told otherwise. So, it is what it is. Anyway, a moments later, I mentally could not take it anymore. The insults, constantly being put-down and made fun of because my vocabulary was not the greatest at the time… it hurt. And because of only what I knew growing up from family and friends that influenced me, I did the only rational thing that I could. Which ended up with me yelling in disagreement with anyone. And unlike what we see in movies and TV shows, where the characters who go through alternating life events, talk their problems out with one another, I never had that happen to me. All I got was just being made fun of and holding that feeling inside. No one to talk to about it, because at least during this time, unless you have a therapist to talk to you can’t express your feelings to anyone because everyone will tell you to stop being a little bitch… and OMG did this spread like a virus. Generations after mine would go through similar situations and no one, I MEAN NO ONE! Would just have the decency to pull each other to the side and talk their problems out with each other. It’s sad. Because the truth is, we are all in a way like the iceberg in Titanic. Or in Hitch. Where 90% of what we’re saying, isn’t coming out of our mouths. And for those of you who still don’t know, it means we keep way too many things to ourselves and don’t talk about our problems and issues with… anyone! Unfortunately, this is part of being human. We are not perfect, and we will never be. But the least we can do is learn. Learn from our mistakes and learn from one another. Because that’s how we grow as a species. All I ask is that we stop for a moment and take the time to be aware of our surroundings.

The Breakdown

I’m sure professionals and anyone else that say they’re pros will tell you the difference between simple and complex carbs. That complex carbs are good for you. Which is true. But! In my perspective, let’s reverse the roles a bit. Natural carbs, as in what we get from fruits and vegetables, are the best carbs we could ask for. To me, I like to look at that as simple carbs. The complexity is when you start mixing ingredients together to form something completely exotic. Ramen noodles, SPAghetti, pizza and so on. Those carbs aren’t necessarily the best for you. Don’t get me wrong, they taste great! But that’s why we should be eating them only so often. Make a treat out of them. Do something that’s out of your comfort zone and that you know benefits you health-wise. Anyone who has pets, like dogs and cats should know better. You don’t feed your animal(s) treats all the time. You reward them when you feel they’ve done something that amazes you and whatnot. And that’s exactly how you should treat yourself. When it comes to being human, we have the will power to easily eat anything and everything we like. Just because it makes us feel good, but in the end, our stomachs aren’t saying the same thing and our bowel movements as well (unless you’re into that sensation). Look, the thing is we need to have better self-control. Otherwise, we’re just proving Wall-E right. That in the future we’re just going to become fat/obese and become mesmerized by modern technology and forget the beauty of what’s really in front of us. But it’s your life, do what makes you happy… and I mean really happy, like deep down and not what you show yourself to be in front of others. Just remember what you’re doing and how it affects others. Not just yourself.