A flower
cannot blossom without sunshine,
and man cannot live without love.
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INTERVIEWS
Patricia Raskin Joslyn Wolfe
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A weed is but
an unloved flower.
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 Thank You
for helping us become a ConstantContact All Star for the second year
in a row! |
Life is the flower
for which love
is the honey.
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I'm Rodelinde.
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"If you want
to grow up to be a big, strong pea,
you have to
eat your candy,"
Papa Pea would say.
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Q: What's sweeter than candy and good for you too?
A: Love.
Q: Why is love better than candy?
A: Love is free of calories, free of carbohydrates, free of sugars, free of fats, free of cholesterol, free of additives, free of allergens, free of preservatives, and (best of all)... free!
Q: What else is so good about love?
A. Experience and common sense tell us that love makes us feel good. But it's nice to know that research has caught up with what we already know by identifying a clinically verifiable byproduct of love. For example, when we snuggle up (even with our cat or dog!), our pituitary gland secretes a powerful hormone called oxytocin. This brain chemical is also known familiarly as the love hormone, the cuddle hormone, the trust hormone, and the moral molecule.
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Love has its own instinct, finding the way to the heart,
as the feeblest insect finds the way to its flower,
with a will which nothing can dismay nor turn aside.
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In his book The Moral Molecule, neuroeconomist Paul Zak, PhD, maintains that there is "a very clear mapping from positive social relationships back to health." (And is there any more positive social relationship than love?) Simply put, more oxytocin means less cardiovascular stress and an improved immune system.
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Us sing and dance, make faces and give flower bouquets,
trying to be loved.
You ever notice that trees do everything to git attention we do,
except walk?
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An article in Prevention magazine, " How Love Keeps You Healthy," cites a study by doctors at the University of North Carolina, who found that hugging can dramatically lower blood pressure. "Women who hugged the most daily had the highest oxytocin levels, and their systolic blood pressure was 10 mm/Hg lower than women with low oxytocin levels - an improvement similar to the effect of many leading blood pressure medications," says Kathleen Light, PhD, one of the study's authors. |
If instead of a gem, or even a flower,
we should cast the gift of a loving thought into the heart of a friend,
that would be giving as the angels give.
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What else can you do to boost your oxytocin levels for a healthier, happier you? Another Prevention magazine article, " How To Be a Better Lover," lists ten ways; among them are to watch a tearjerker, to dance, to treat a friend, to speak the word love, and even to check Facebook! It seems that any activity that engages your emotions, or involves any kind of positive interaction between living beings, contributes to our well-being. |
I usually spend Valentines Day with my friends.
But if I did have a girlfriend, I'd bring her flowers and candy.
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Traditions are very tender, so go ahead and give candy, and flowers too. But the best Valentine's gift is still the gift of love itself: good for the one who gives as well as for the one who gets!
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