The Power of Music

I was out for a run today with my trusty side-kick Mr. iPod, when I started to lose my energy. You know that feeling you get when your body wants you to stop, find a couch, and park it?

Well I was about to cave into those feelings when a new upbeat song came on. All of a sudden I got this burst of energy to keep going. For those 3 minutes and 45 seconds I thought that I was unstoppable. Is it because I'm a super fit? No, it was because music is a powerful thing.

I love music. No matter what I'm doing, I have to have music on. At night time I like to listen to soft relaxing music. When I'm getting ready in the morning I like to listen to fun music that I can sing too. When I'm sad I like to listen to music that makes me cry. I even find that music helps me remember those special moments in my life. Haven’t you ever heard a song that felt like it was was written for you because the words really captured what you were feeling? Basically music has always been a constant in my routine but I don't think I have ever truly acknowledged its importance in life. I think we take it for granted.

For years people have been conducting studies that have resulted in hard facts about the power of music. Quite simply, music is good for you physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Particular sounds, tones, and rhythms have been proven to strengthen the mind, unlock the creative spirit and miraculously even heal the body. A perfect example of this is the phenomenon called The Mozart Effect. It offers dramatic accounts of how doctors and health care professionals use music to deal with everything from anxiety to cancer, high blood pressure, even mental illness. Students who sing or play an instrument score higher on standardized test than the national average. During strenuous exercise the upbeat music can lessen fatigue and release endorphins, the body's natural painkillers, like what happened to me. It is even documented that half an hour of classical music produces the same effect as ten milligrams of Valium. That is crazy people!!!

So the next time you want to sit down and watch the television, try turning on the radio instead. Who knows, maybe in twenty years they will realize that listening to a Lionel Richie song at least three times a week will reduce your chances of getting cancer. A girl can always dream!!

I’m AMAZING!

I was at a wedding shower last night that consisted of a lot of laughs and some good old-fashion bowling. I am a terrible bowler. I may have a few good one’s but I realized that they are few and far between a.k.a the lucky one’s. My lack of talent sparked this entry.

Have you ever noticed that no one ever says that they are great at something, sports in particular? Now, I do not know any professional athletes (minus Mike Iggulden – soon to be the next big name in hockey...haha!) so I don't include them in this discussion.

When asked if you are good at a sport have you ever said, “Yes, I’m amazing!”?

Last night I listened to everyone say they were not good at bowling yet many were really good. You can say you are good at your job or cooking, and even admit you are good looking but never in a sport. Is it because sports can be unpredictable and you want to avoid embarrassment or is it the thrill of exceeding someone’s expectations? I often wonder if it is a culture thing. Canadian’s are known to be considerate and somewhat passive. Is it ingrained in us not to brag even though we may be really good at something?

I don’t know the answer but I have really started to notice how many people do this. So to change things up a little, the next time someone asks me if I’m good at golf, I think I may say, “I’m incredible” just to see their reaction.

By the way, I’m only decent at best.

Seat 12C

Watching the news and reading the paper can be addictive. There is always so much going on from shootings to political platforms, but lately the one story that really caught my attention was the imbecile who traveled with tuberculosis.

Health authorities around the world have been scrambling to track passengers from two transatlantic flights after the unidentified 32-year-old man from Georgia supposedly ignored strict advice not to travel and flew to Europe for his wedding and subsequent honeymoon. The man was infected with a rare but dangerous case of "extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis" or XDR-TB. This form of tuberculosis is estimated to be fatal in more than half of the cases.

After flying from Atlanta to Paris, the newlyweds had already passed through Athens and the Greek islands before the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) tracked him down on his cell phone in Rome. They told him his infection had progressed to XDR-TB and asked him to turn himself in to Italian health authorities. He was also placed on a U.S. no-fly list. Told he would be placed in isolation at a hospital in Rome until the CDC figured out how to proceed, the man and his wife decided to circumvent the no-fly order by returning home via Canada. They flew from Rome to Prague and then boarded the flight to Montreal the same day. Unfortunately, Canadian authorities were unaware that an American infected with a potentially deadly form of tuberculosis was on a plane to Montreal until the day after he landed.

The man proceeded to contact the CDC after arriving back in the United States, where he agreed to go into isolation in a New York hospital before he was transferred to Atlanta on a CDC plane.

This is unpalatable behaviour!

Granted, I think it is bad that something so serious was missed or not communicated amongst the airlines, but to me this is not the real issue. The real issue is - when did people stop taking responsibility for their own actions? It is not the airlines responsibility to keep this man from flying. He is a grown man. This man was told to not fly and did. This was a selfish act in what is becoming an "it's all about me" society, and it makes me sad. Instead of thinking of himself he should have been thinking about the children he may have infected or a senior citizen sitting near him whose immune system could have been low. He may survive this disease but others that encountered him may not. This man's actions and disregard for others may cost people their lives. It is a form of murder, similar to people who knowingly have HIV and do not tell the people they have intercourse with.

This incident makes me so angry that I would be speechless if I ever saw this man.

I have heard a rebuttal on the news that the man did not know it was "that bad". My response to this is simply bull. He blatantly avoided flying into the U.S because he knew he would have been stopped. He also contacted the CDC as soon as he returned, which means he knew he was carrying a serious disease and needed care. This is an open and shut case - guilty!!

I hope that the people who were on his flights have not been infected. As for everyone else, I hope the lesson reinstates in all our minds that you and you alone are responsible for your actions, as well as the consequences.