Alice’s Book Club – SPRING session of 2024

 The complete briefing will be available soon. Thank you!

MENTAL well-being

Mental health is extremely important for everyone and it needs to be carefully taken care of in order to have a good quality life. But what is this “mental health” since so many people are talking about in our society nowadays?

Well, before I progress with my thoughts on it, here I begin (as I often do) with the scholastic definition, most accredited academics of the world agreed upon: "Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behaviour".

According to several organizations from the health field, mental health is "the state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and can contribute to his or her community". In other words, "it determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making, including subjective well-being, perceived self-efficacy, autonomy, competence, intergenerational dependence, and self-actualization of one's intellectual and emotional potential, among others".

Pretty complex, isn’t it?! Of course it is, and that’s why governments allocate tremendous resources (accessible and comprehensive) in order to empower individuals with knowledge, but it is up to each person to be willing to stay informed and up to date on this matter. 

For your reference, here I’m sharing a fragment from the Government of Canada's website (the Division of Public Health Services), which lists few valuable points, concerning mental health:

Fragment: "How can you take care of your mental health?"

Take care of your mental health in the same way you would take care of your physical health. It takes practise, patience and support.

You can maintain or improve your mental health by following the advice below:

- Know and accept that life can be challenging.

- Know and accept your strengths and weaknesses.

- Set realistic goals for yourself.

- Accept yourself and others. This is the basis of self-esteem.

- Learn to recognize and understand that you and others have both positive and negative feelings.

- Create a sense of meaning in your life by learning and trying new activities, like starting a hobby.

- Create healthy, trusting relationships with people who accept and support you.

- Building a supportive community is an important way to improve mental health.

- Making meaningful connections with your family, friends, peers, colleagues and other members of your community can help you feel: like you belong, safe and secure, free to express your thoughts and feelings on issues that are important to you.

- You can help create a healthy and safe environment where you live, learn, work and play by:

* knowing and accepting that everyone has difficulties in their lives

* taking part in local events and getting to know your neighbours

* finding ways to get involved and giving back to your community

* supporting and including people of different ages and backgrounds in your community

Also, for my Romanian readers, below I’m publishing a text written by professor, doctor Leon Dănăilă, for whom I have a tremendous respect.

(As a courtesy, here I’m publishing the text in original, asking the non-Romanian speaking readers to use the automated translator installed at the bottom of the page. Thank you!)

NOTE: Neuroplasticity is the brain’s capacity to continue growing and evolving in response to life experiences.

"Dragii mei, dragile mele,

Astăzi vreau să împărtășesc cu voi câteva modalități simple de a stimula neuroplasticitatea:

- Utilizați mâna nedominantă: Faceți activități zilnice, cum ar fi spălatul pe dinți sau folosirea furculiței cu mâna mai puțin folosită. Acest exercițiu, cunoscut sub numele de neurobice, consolidează conexiunile dintre celulele creierului.

- Călătoriți: Explorați locuri noi și expuneți-vă creierul la stimuli inediți și medii înconjurătoare noi pentru a deschide noi căi neuronale.

- Antrenați-vă memoria: Utilizați mnemotehnici pentru a vă exersa memoria, stimulând conectivitatea rețelelor neuronale.

- Citiți ficțiune: Cititul unui roman și implicarea în acțiunea acestuia îmbunătățesc conectivitatea creierului și activitatea în regiunile responsabile pentru senzații și mișcare.

- Dansați: Practicarea dansului reduce riscul de dezvoltare a bolii Alzheimer și îmbunătățește conectivitatea neuronală, datorită implicării multiplelor funcții ale creierului.

- Asigurați-vă un somn adecvat: Somnul ajută la consolidarea învățării prin creșterea spinilor dendritici și transferul informațiilor între neuroni. Recomandat este un somn de minim 7 ore pe noapte.

- Faceți exerciții fizice și meditați: 30 de minute de exerciții fizice zilnic sau meditația contribuie la formarea de noi sinapse, iar consumul de flavonoide (cacao, afine) și antioxidanți (ceai verde) susține plasticitatea creierului.

Încercați aceste metode pentru a vă menține creierul în formă și a spori agilitatea mintală, indiferent de vârstă!"

So, dear friends, reading only the brief thoughts shared above, I guess we could safely imply that more often than we think, our mental health is in our hands and taking it seriously is an essential part of our overall well-being.

Your mental health is crucial; make time for it like your life depends on it, because it does!

POEM: “Mother o’ Mine”

“Piano Concerto No. 1” – by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (classical music)

Here is a short poem, written by Rudyard Kipling, highlighting the unconditional love of a mother for her child. Depicting different situations, the author assures that his mother’s love would sustain him throughout any hardships he might encounter in life.
Extrapolating a bit, this poem is focusing on a personal and universal theme, which “reflects the Victorian era's emphasis on domesticity and family values, while exploring the enduring power of maternal love. Through its concise language and evocative imagery, the poem encapsulates the timeless bond between a mother and her child”.

🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿

~ short video clip (this poem in audio version) ~
 

May 2024: “Happy MOTHER’s Day!”

It’s a well-known fact that celebrating a Mother’s contribution in our life cannot be celebrated in a day or two. But a day has been dedicated to make all mothers out there feel proud of themselves, emphasizing that life would not have been the way it is today, had they not been there.

Wishing to all mothers out there a very  Happy Mother's Day! 

● Few video clips featuring Mother’s Day:

         (In English language): “History of Mother's Day” (via History Channel)  | “A Mother’s Day Tribute”

        (A brief musical moment): “A Mother's Prayer” (interpreted by Céline Dion)

● My previous greetings on the same theme: MOTHER’s Day – 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019

6 Years Anniversary of ALICE & FRIENDS CIRCLE™

 Romanian literary evening featuring 6^th year anniversary of ALICE & Friends Circle™

as well Importance of Continuity, Spring & Mother’s Day

With much joy and gratitude I’m sharing with you all that on Thursday (May 9, 2024) we celebrated the sixth anniversary of ALICE & Friends Circle™, together with a group of loyal friends, who were able and willing to join us despite their busy agendas. It was super nice to meet in person!

This time, at our gathering we were pleased to have with us a special guest – Hon. Gabriel Rotaru, who is the General Consul of Romania in Vancouver and the Head of the Romanian Diplomatic Mission here, as well as Minister Plenipotentiary of Romania in Canada.

After the introductory remarks were delivered, Consul Gabriel Rotaru expressed his appreciation for the activity of our Literary & Socio-Cultural Circle, assuring an ongoing encouragement for the initiatives aimed to keep the Romanian language and the Romanian cultural-artistic heritage alive, reiterating the permanent support of the diplomatic mission for any project generated on the west coast of Canada for the benefit of Romanian-Canadian citizens. Indeed, very beautiful!

Further, our program continued with a number of personal impressions shared by participants, emphasizing the significance and the relevance of our Circle for each of them. All the thoughts my friends shared openly that evening really brought so much joy to my heart, realizing once again how blessed we are to be able to have genuine heart to heart conversations in a world where many people are focusing mostly on ‘having’ rather than ‘being’.

Additionally, our discussions referred to the significance of continuity, which is an important life concept.

As I always do, for your convenience, below I’m sharing only few highlights as well as few supplementary points, while maintaining the confidentiality of the personal aspects discussed:

Few thoughts about the significance of CONTINUITY:

(definition: continuity is the consistent existence of something over a period of time, a state of stability and the absence of disruption/s)

- According to many scientific studies, it is important to know how to address changes of different situations in life, while continuing to maintain your identity

- It helps to clearly identify what could or should remain constant, even when some circumstances might change

- Objectively recognizing that a particular situation, for instance, might change but your more profound sense of self can stay steady while you adapt

- Analyzing and understanding how your past events have shaped your present self, can help you see a sense of continuity in your life

- It is essential for your wellbeing to keep engaging in hobbies or routines that reflect your values (even in new environments), while continuing to maintain a healthy and accurate sense of personal identity

- “Continuity in psychology highlights how our sense of self remains consistent over time, even as we face life changes. We can maintain a strong identity by recognizing our external behaviors and internal psychological experiences. Coping strategies such as focusing on core values, embracing flexibility, and reflecting on past experiences help us manage challenges while staying true to ourselves.”

Furthermore, here is the link of a briefing I wrote some time ago about the concept of continuity. Pleasant reading!

Subsequently, our conversations were followed by a traditional Romanian song (called 'La multi ani!'), time when we raised our glasses with (non-alcoholic) champagne, toasting for togetherness, happiness, good health, prosperity and peaceful longevity!

Further, we all were heading for light refreshments, which allowed for more pleasant conversations around the table, refreshing that food always tastes much better when you share it with like-minded friends. 

Also, an old Romanian tradition was not forgotten, and at this gathering we brought red eggs (since the Easter recently happened) and we had the chance to practice the old custom of “egg tapping” (aka: egg knocking, egg fights, etc.) ….it was truly enjoyable!

On the other hand, I would like to mention that soon, on this part of the world, people will celebrate Mother’s Day, fact which allowed us to comment on the occasion ahead of time, while honoring each of our mothers. Those friends whose mothers are still alive, are truly blessed! For others, whose mothers departed, we would always honor them to the best that we each can.

As you can easily imagine, time was flying by truly fast, but the new memories we’ve got the chance to produce will stay with us forever.

Concluding, before I wrap my briefing, I would like to express again my most sincere gratitude for all the love, appreciation, loyalty and support I received from my friends over the last six years!

Until our paths will meet again, my warmest regards to my dear friends for a wonderful rest of the spring!

Sincerely,

Alice

CONTINUITY provides meaning and coherence to our lives.

Mesaj personal din partea lui Alice, adresat la ceas aniversar

Dragii mei,

Doresc să vă mulțumesc şi pe această cale pentru că ați fost alături de mine într-un moment important, când împreună am putut să ne bucurăm de-a şase-a aniversare a Cercului nostru literar şi social-cultural, fapt ce ne-a adus la toți foarte multă satisfacție!

De-a lungul acestui drum special, mi-a făcut o deosebită plăcere să ne însoțim într-o camaraderie deosebită, ce cu siguranță că are la bază dorința de bine, de frumos, de trăinicie, asezonată din plin cu disciplină şi consecvență.

Noi cu toții am văzut şi ştim că de multe ori viața se compune dintr-o multitudine de lucruri mai mari sau mai mici, mai importante sau mai puțin importante, dar la un moment dat toate erup în ceva special, ce lasă o amprentă unică peste timp!

Să alegem să continuam în a crede, în a clădi, în a spera, în a dăinui...aşadar călătoria noastra continuă – cu multă grație, demnitate şi integritate.....

“Curajul de a continua este ceea ce contează!“ (Winston Churchill)

Cu (o continuă) prețuire,  

Alice 

“Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.” AliceFriendsCircle.blogspot.com

This event has been delivered in Romanian Language, featuring Romanian culture.

● Previous anniversaries of Alice & Friends Circle™: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019

NOTE: Dear readers, please be advised that on this website each of the previous postings, pertaining to the recurrent annual themes, portray a different perspective of the subject/s presented (same theme/s, but a different outlook without duplication due to the cultural richness of the specific topic/s discussed).