OurHealth Magazine for Roanoke and New River Valleys

28/09/2022

15/08/2022

Reversing Course of Regret Starts Within Ourselves

“Better late than never” is what they say.

I’ve always believed this to be true. But when it comes to regret, the longer you wait, the harder it becomes to reverse. I was reminded of this recently through a story shared with me from a friend.

My friend’s story begins with him coming across a gentleman in his 80s who was recently having lunch at a local restaurant. The old wise gentleman sat alone in a booth where he was observing life in full motion all around him. My friend stopped to speak with him.

“I’m happy, but I’m mad as hell,” the old wise man exclaimed.

The old wise man’s words caught my friend’s attention. He sat down and joined him to hear more. To learn more. The old wise man obliged and began to elaborate.

“I’m 83-years-old, and I have always done what was expected of me – all the way through my life,” the old wise man explained. “I’ve married my high school sweetheart. We raised children together. I worked and provided for my family. I did everything that I was expected to do. What others’ expected me to do.”

He paused during his reflection on his years. His smile slowly began to straighten. All of sudden, he appeared stoic.

“I’m 83-years-old, and I am alone. My wife is gone. My son is gone. I’m estranged from my daughter. I have more money than I can ever spend. I don’t regret what I have done in life, because I can’t change any of it,” he noted.

“I regret what I didn’t do. And now it’s too late.”

What the old wise man regrets not doing isn’t important. We all have regrets. We all make what we believe is the best decision at the time we make the decision. The question is whether the person has the courage – the strength – to make the right decision again – for him or herself – and recognizes doing so will make all the difference for the better.

I believe the old wise man knows this. I don’t believe he was talking about going skydiving or swimming with the sharks or sprinting to victory in a senior marathon. Those are feats that Father Time will prevent us from doing no matter what we think we can do. Or should do.

I believe the old wise man is mad as hell because he believes there’s no chance to rekindle or repair lost relationships. As wise as the old man may be, I believe he would be better served if he revised his rationale. Better late than never can always apply, until it’s too late. Because there are no second chances after we’re gone.

People do what their expected to do because they think it makes life easier. We please others in hopes of becoming accepted by those who we believe we need acceptance from. But we don’t need acceptance from anyone if we accept ourselves as good enough for ourselves. The rest takes care of itself. If we let others control what they believe we need to do, then we will fail to live a full life that leaves us feeling content – completely content. The mixed emotions of happiness and regret wrestling for top position in our minds will lead to hopeless if the latter is allowed to win.

Without hope, is it really worth the fight? Is it really worth getting mad over? I don’t believe so, in my opinion.

What does the old wise man think? That’s up to him. It’s up to each of us to think for ourselves. That’s one lesson we should never lose sight of no matter how old we become – or how wise we believe we are.

Credit: Stephen Corder McClintic Jr.

08/08/2022

Making Mondays The Most Anticipated Day of the Week

I used to dread Mondays. Like the plague. But then I heard a story about a family man who turned Mondays into the most anticipated day of the week. Now, I see Mondays in a whole different light.

We’ll call this family man Sam. Sam loves the weekends with his family. He loves every night of the week with them, in fact. He listens to them. He wants to make them happy. He has a particularly positively approach to life that’s contagious, in a good way.

A while back, Sam noticed his family complaining about the start of week, particularly on Sunday evenings.

What did Sam do? He started the tradition of “Good Mondays”.

“Good Monday” is “good food and game night”. Each member of the family takes turn choosing his or her favorite dish to be served along with a favorite game to play that night. The winner of the game gets to throw in a vote for where the family may go on their summer vacation. But the winner must follow a set of guidelines for the vacation destination, namely that it must be somewhere everyone in the family will enjoy. Those ideas are presented by each family member during discussions at dinner.

The key is listening. Learning. Loving.

After a few months of consistently having “Good Mondays”, Sam noticed a change for the better in his family. For starters, he had established a new tradition. A good one. That’s important.

Secondly, and perhaps just as important, Sam noticed something that he had hoped would happen had actually started to happen.

On Thursdays, his family began talking about Good Mondays. They also did so on Tuesdays. On Wednesdays. They were still excited for the start of the weekends. They still enjoyed life on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. But they especially looked forward to “Good Mondays”. All week long. They still do. It’s now their favorite night of the week.

Who would have ever thought? Well, Sam did. Sam values the reward that comes from making others happy. He doesn’t need the credit. That’s why we’re calling him Sam and not by his real name.

I believe we can learn a lot from people like Sam. We can learn that listening to others more closely instead of thinking about what we are going to say next is advice that’s good. We can learn that putting others’ needs before our own tends to reap greater rewards for everyone. We can learn that greatest happiness is usually found in the company of those we love and cherish – who we truly love and cherish – and only want the best for, collectively.

That’s a good lesson to learn from, and on a Monday, no less. All thanks to Sam.

Words by: Stephen C McClintic Jr

26/04/2022

On a editorial note, we are kicking off the newly revamped editions with a series on The Americans with Disabilities Act to help clear up some of the common misconceptions about this landmark legislation that was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush in 1990.

The first in our series will focus on the role of ADA Advocates in helping to protect people with disabilities against harassment, retaliation and false accusations during courtroom proceedings, including people with mental health conditions such as Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), the most common mental health condition in the U.S. affecting more than 40 million Americans, including myself. Mental health conditions affect many people who are very close to me. These conditions don't define any one person. Learning more will allow you have a better understanding about it while helping to break the silence on the stigma.

https://equalaccessadvocates.com/ada-advocate/

ADA advocates simply ensures the executive functionality of the client as protected under the ADAAA against all harassment, retaliation, false accusations

26/04/2022

I am proud to announce that following a complete restructuring of my consumer healthcare magazines business - OurHealth Magazines - we are scheduled to resume publishing in our markets throughout Virginia beginning June 1st.

Over the next week, we will be unveiling the newest changes on our OurHealth pages, including the launching details of our new websites, among many additional new and exciting changes designed with our readers' health in mind, supporting our mission of connecting our communities to trustworthy healthcare close to home just as we have for nearly 16 years.

07/02/2022

OurHealth returns this month! Stay tuned to learn how we have made OurHealth an even better resource for our local communities who depend on us for local coverage of healthcare, medical experts and wellness services available to you!