.SOMETIMES RAW.

Hello! 

“Health is not valued till sickness comes.”  – Thomas Fuller

This is the music I am listing to while writing this. I am in love with it ever since my husband listened to it in the car on our way to Canada. My days are filled with change – constant change. Even though it is better now that I am in Germany, but the future is uncertain. The future is mostly uncertain – but with my family these days it is different.  We do not come home at night and have dinner together, let’s say. However, we all do have to keep in mind that no matter how awesome a plan for the future may look – it could all change in one second. We do hear stories of someone going to the doctor for a routine check-up and leaves with the most horrible news. 

I would consider my lifestyle as healthy. I could exercise more of course – I could eat healthier, but guess what? I feel okay this way.  I believe that being healthy is just tied into everything else. I am writing about this because I try to stay positive and focus on solely on my husband since he told me he is not feeling well. Currently, he is working in Kinshasa/Congo for the United Nations. Previously, he worked in Bamako and Gao/Mali. Yep, crazy, I know. Jokingly, upon his departure, we gave each other “the promise” that we won’t let anything happen to us while we are apart. He did not feel 100% himself since Mali actually, but just carried on – he is very strong. How long can you “go on”? Only to a certain extend. At some point, the body tells you to stop and slow down. Last year in July I was a little worried how he looked when he picked us up at the airport in Paris. Not scared or anything – just surprised that he looked pale and just not the way I remembered him. I know my husband and when he admits not feeling well, he really must feel horrible. 

To know that he is there and I am here has given me a whole new outlook on life. I have so much time to think and sit and miss him, you know. It is so different to have a relationship like mine. If your partner would be home in the afternoon every day and you could make him a hot soup and a cup of tea if he is not feeling well seems is just not possible for us these days. I think that we do put so much importance in useless stuff or worry about things we cannot change. I close my eyes for a bit and my husband’s face pop’s up. We are indeed very close – even though we are so many miles apart. He really is my best friend and I want him to feel good. I want him to be healthy. I am able to talk and share things with him for so long now and we created this special bond that I don’t want to miss anymore. He is dealing with my bitching (Hello, I am a woman!) sometimes and did not lose his mind yet. Isn’t it sad that we only really wake up, once something bad happens? Do we only pay attention to the love around us when times get rough? To realize that health and family are so important is key. Also, all this negativity is a waste of time and pointless. I keep in mind to treat every days as it would be my last. And my husband will be fine. I know he will! 

Je t’aime mon amour.

Thank you for reading my blog. 

So I have this new project that I will include in this blog. I will start “The Book Review”.  I think by now it is obvious that I love to read. I mean, LOVE to read – if I could I would read all day long probably. If I am not reading for myself I am reading to my son and he is into book already which I think is great. He is not even two years old. On an average I read two to three books a week. Yes, I do find the time to do it because I love it. The idea is, that I write about at least one of the books I have read during the week and review it. These days I am into Joan Didion. It all started with the book “Slouching towards Bethlehem” that I really enjoy. Today I want to review her book “The white Album Essays”.

With this book, as well as “Slouching towards Bethlehem” it is all the same. I did not love the book at first but once I started reading a couple of pages it somewhat started to grow on me and I was hooked. “The White Album” is a collection of events and narratives that occurred in the 60’s and 70’s and examines the lives of infamous and famous places and people. To name a few: Doris Lessing, Georgia O’Keeffe, Charles Manson, the Hoover Dam and many others).

I love that Didion gives just thoughtful and candid bits and pieces of a time that has past and many things that are just unique to California. I like how she describes how life was back then because she makes all her essays very personal and almost mundane. I have never been to San Francisco so this book is kind of a tribute to a place and time I know almost nothing about. I wish I could turn back time and just be there in the 60’s with her. I have to admit that I was not interested in all the subjects she was writing about but all her articles kept me captivated for some reason. It is just this awesome style of writing she has. Some great writers just have this skill to make any topic awesome or keep the reader interested and make them read on. Even though you have this feeling … yeah… this is not really what I usually read. Well, with her essays you are just caught in this loop of awesomeness and keep on reading if you like it or not.

Most of the essays I enjoyed the most are found on Chapter IV – Sojourns. Here “In Bed” I loved when she wrote how she had been doing while trying to easy the massive migraine she suffered from.

“And once it comes, not that I am wise in its ways, I no longer fight it. I lie down and let it happen. At first ever small apprehension  is magnified, every anxiety a pounding terror. Then the pain comes, and I concentrate only on that. Right there is the usefulness of migraine , there is that imposed yoga, the concentration of pain. … The migraine has has acted as a circuit breaker and the fuses have merged intact. There is a pleasant convalescent euphoria. I open the windows and feel the air, eat gratefully, sleep well. I notice the particular nature of a flower in a glass on the stair landing. I count my blessings”. 

I believe her essays are very personal and sharply observed. In her first essay she describes her pervasive sense of detachment that she felt constantly from this world. Well, I believe she was in a very fragile mental state when she wrote most of her essays in this book and even some others. In the other essays she writes more clearly and let’s say more put together. Didion herself stated many times that she puts personal issues into some of her essays; however, I feel it is courageous for her to reveal herself this way.

It is just a great read overall and was challenging for me at points because English is not my first language. I had to look some words up which is fine. If you read any of her books let me know your thoughts.

“It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.” – Mahatma Gandhi

I have been using Sunrider Products for quite some time now. I started with this one  which I use for occasional headaches (Thankfully I do have headaches very rarely), soar throat, a cold or flue and simply for fresh breath. I do not chew gum because of all the chemicals in it. For my teeth I use their toothpaste (read more about it on my recent article here). I also have been using their soap and have been loving it. Spending some time on their website makes me want to buy everything really. So my friend in Germany recommended Calli Tea to me. We have been drinking it after Meditation Practice every Wednesday evening (Hello, Martina!) <3

I did some research on the tea and ordered a box. It is pretty pricey ($ 70 for 60 teabags) but you make almost one liter (4 cups of tea) out of one teabag so it all worth it really.

Let me explain a bit about the tea according to the research I did. That green tea is healthy we basically all know. Sushi Restaurants, Chinese Restaurant, they all serve it and we all heard or know about the great benefits of green tea. Calli Tea has a special concentration of herbal ingredients such as, according to the package: perilla leaf, mori bark extract, alisma root extract, imperate root and camellia leaf. Say whaaaat? This is what I thought so I googled all of them and believe me, these things are really awesome. Further, the tea does not contain sugar, or any other type of sweetener which is key and no caffeine.

The tea is really good for digestion if you have any problems in that direction. My son was a bit constipated when we did a long road-trip to Canada recently and I mixed a bit of the tea with apple juice and water and he was all good again. It just improves digestion but does not work as a laxative. It is also great if you have an upset stomach or nausea. It also cleanses the body, nourishing the kidneys and liver and enhancing mental alertness (Yes!)

Like any other form of green tea Calli Tea detoxifies the body. The Camellia leaves in the tea contain antioxidants which absorb harmful free radical in your body and remove them before they can do any damage let’s say. The tea is supposed to take the garbage out of your body and is to increase your mental clarity. 

I have been struggling recently with a bit of a cold due to the air condition in the car and everywhere else in the U.S. We do now have AC in the house however. So aside from the detoxifying abilities, the tea acts antibacterial which made me not get a real outbreak of this cold I believe. After I drank my cup of Calli Tea in the morning the symptoms were almost gone – symptoms like sinus congestion, coughing and such. The tea is also calming the mind for a better sleep at night. It really works!

To give this magic tea even more credit: drinking it helps the body to get rid of unwanted cholesterol and fat.  Kind of like I am losing weight without trying. 🙂 The tea comes in three favors: mint, cinnamon and regular. I have been trying “regular” so far and I love it. I would describe the taste as very mild and calming and different than regular green tea. I think the cinnamon favor would be awesome in winter.

Try a cup.