The Health and Well-Being of our Youth

There is tremendous sympathy today for mental illness. But what is not considered by many is the widespread permanent damage drug abuse is doing to our young people --the future of our country.

Drug use, both rx and illegal can permanently damage the brains of our youth. That is why China keeps us supplied with illegal opiates.

Education and discipline and, sometimes, forced commitment to excellent institutions is called for, not sympathy. Sympathy encourages self-pity, self-indulgence, paranoia and worse.

It's worth noting that excellence in our institutions does NOT translate to costliness.

**America's public enemy number one is drug abuse. --Richard Nixon paraphrased, 1971**

 I Remember

... when my mother-in-law reported that she caught my daughter looking out the window and laughing.
"Reminiscing?" she asked her.
My daughter nodded. "We took Dad's brand-new red canoe to the top of the hill for sledding. Us,and all the kids in the neighborhood jumped in and down we went. And we'd drag it and push it back up and sled down again.
"But here came Dad over the horizon. We all bailed and disappeared into the woods. Only Chrissie was left sitting in the canoe --holding the bag."
Chrissie was my youngest. He took the rap for the whole caper

** Kids' eternal cry: But I dint DO nuthin! **

 I Remember

Before my second was born --my husband's grandmother was elderly and quite frail even then --she had a litter of about ten puppies in her garage and garden. They were forever tearing full speed ahead and wrassling and tumbling everywhere. When we went out to feed them, I said, "Don't let them trip you!" 

She said, "Oh, no, they know better than that," and sure enough, they kept their distance, trotting along behind. They sat on their little bottoms and waited patiently all in a big circle around her, scooting (backward!) out of her way as needed. I couldn't believe it, they were tiny little things. 

Well-behaved puppies --rare and just about priceless, I thought.

**Happiness is hot chocolate, a soft blanket, and a warm puppy**

 Lithium deficiency in the brain is believed to cause Alzheimer's. The nightshade family and lentils and eggs, among other foods contain lithium

 The 43rd Wellness

Patience, whose stylized symbol is the Ancient Ocean. I am serene.

Patience is a virtue. Impulsiveness is its extreme opposite, with indecisiveness at the other end of the spectrum. 

Sometimes we can summon a calmness for ourselves by practicing the 2nd Wellness, Emotional Wellness. Sometimes we can achieve calm and check manic behavior by meditation or by distraction.

The person I admire is the Sitting Yogi.

** C'mon, inner peace! I haven't got all day. **

 The 42nd Wellness

Adaptability, whose stylized symbol is the Patient Octopus. I am resilient. 

The most important tool for our survival is our ability to adapt to change.

Remember that the elderly are notoriously set in their ways. Stay loose.

The personality I admire is the Road Runner