Daily Archives: March 6, 2022

Empathy is not a weakness, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson told a live audience gathered virtually to hear her insights into an artificial division that continues to plague society known as caste, and its contribution to health injustice.

Empathy is a window into the fellow members of our species. Empathy is a superpower that would heal the world if we could only harness it, said Wilkerson.

Dedicated to building a more equitable and just health care system and educational pipeline through engaged empathy and compassion, the UC San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, the Center for Empathy and Social Justice and Human Health at the T. Denny Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion, and UC San Diego Health invited Wilkerson to discuss her research into the history of caste in the United States and the resulting No. 1 New York Times bestseller she authored, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.

Isabel Wilkerson

It was not a book that I wanted to write, Wilkerson told the UC San Diego audience. It was a book that called to be written, insisted upon being written in the era that we find ourselves in.

The intense national conversation about anti-Black racism, structural and systemic racism, and the historic number of deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic can be partly explained by societal divisions, she said.

There are many, many reasons why we find ourselves in a current crisis. But caste and the divisions that it sells surely are among them, said Wilkerson.

Wilkerson defined caste as an artificial, arbitrary graded ranking of the human value in a society designed to keep people in a fixed place. She compares caste to bones, the invisible structure that forms the basis of our divisions. While race, like skin, is the visible manifestation of where a person is assigned within a caste system.

In the U.S., Black and Latino communities faced a disproportionate number of COVID-19 cases and deaths. However, COVID-19 is not the first public health crisis to highlight health disparities among individual populations.

Differences in access to health care and treatments, quality of care, culturally competent resources and research that is not representative of the community adds to health care inequities.

Dr. Crystal Wiley Cen

The road to health, healing, equity, and social justice starts with a conversation. Conversations like this, and the history and science that they are grounded in, will give us a common language, framing and knowledge to guide our work, said Dr. Crystal Wiley Cen, chief administrative officer for healthy equity, diversity and inclusion at UC San Diego Health.

Armed with this foundational knowledge, we can then do the continual work required to transform our organization into one that is truly anti-racist. In doing that, we will not only transform ourselves, but our city and surrounding communities.

UC San Diego Health, the regions only academic hospital system, is setting yearly antiracism goals for the institution to achieve and has built equity, diversity and inclusion into its overall strategic framework for how it operates as a health system, said UC San Diego Health CEO Patty Maysent

Whether we realize it or not, what happens in our communities can affect how we approach our work, and as health care providers, we need to ensure that every patient receives the respect and fairness he or she deserves, said Maysent. Hopefully, supporting conversations like the one with Isabel Wilkerson can help us continue on our anti-racism journey.

During her research for the book, Wilkerson met a Nigerian immigrant in his 50s who was shocked to find himself diagnosed with high blood pressure and diabetes, something he attributed to living his adult life as a Black man in the U.S. given that his 90-year-old father in Nigeria did not suffer from either of these conditions.

Gentry N. Patrick

This is a reminder that many of the of the health inequities that might show up in the bodies of Black people are not as a result of genetics, said Wilkerson. They are a result of the exposure constantly pressing against the expectations and constantly having to address and navigate a society that has been hostile to them and to people who look like them going back centuries.

Dismantling the causes of health inequities requires identifying necessary changes to policies and system level structures, said Gentry N. Patrick, director of the Center for Empathy and Social Justice in Human Health.

Each of us here today must do our part in our respective spaces to commit to those changes in order to eradicate health injustice, said Patrick. Importantly, these changes must be rooted in compassionate action by rephrasing the landscape of health equity through the lens of casteism. We can re-envision our path to success and, to borrow a term from Ms. Wilkerson, the role that radical empathy must play.

Nothing will change unless people recognize the unconscious biases that has been programmed into our society, said Wilkerson.

People are walking around with worsened health as a result of the effect of 400 years of the social order that has been built into the infrastructure of our systems and has permeated our subconscious to the degree that it does, said Wilkerson. And, it has health consequences for everyone. Our collective health is worse than other nations.

Wilkerson said the country is in a unique situation to learn from recent events to expand our definition of who we are as a nation and to remake ourselves in a way that's more holistic, more humane, more empathic and more compassionate.

Cheryl A.M. Anderson

Cheryl A.M. Anderson, founding dean of the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science and inaugural Hood Family Endowed Deans Chair in Public Health, believes the country is poised and ready for change.

This conversation will kick off and energize what weve been intellectually describing to catalyze a more equitable health care culture and system. We are all coalesced around this concept so let's build systems and structures that really put our next generation ahead of where we are today, said Anderson.

Higher education institutions and their leadership have a responsibility to define and effectively commit to their own accountability for improved justice in health care via systemic change as well as in public health research and interventions.

UC San Diegos Office for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) leads the universitys efforts to cultivate a welcoming campus climate where all students, faculty and staff have the resources they need to thrive. This includes leading UC San Diegos Strategic Plan for Inclusive Excellence, which is deeply connected to the UC San Diego Strategic Plan. The Office for EDI also oversees the Center for Faculty Diversity and Inclusion and the six campus community centers that serve as places for belonging, open dialogue and education about identity and social justice as well.

In addition, numerous educational and advocacy programs engage the campus community, including the Black Academic Excellence Initiative, which works to foster an environment of equity, diversity, and inclusion for our Black community. In addition, the Latinx/Chicanx Academic Excellence Initiative was formed as a holistic infrastructure of support and community. UC San Diego is an emerging Hispanic-Serving Institution with a 20% population of students who identify as Latinx/Chicanx.

Ultimately, it is the collective impact of students, faculty and staff across the university that makes a difference. There are numerous ways to move from awareness to action, including participation in the White Allyship, Action & Accountability Initiative. The self-paced educational program is open to people of all races and ethnicities with a focus on engaging white campus community members in organizing and partnering to eliminate systemic racism.

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Understanding Caste and the Power of Empathy in Human Health - University of California San Diego

Fridays speaker at the Tulsa Town Hall lecture series challenged Tulsans to think collectively rather than individually about improving longevity and quality of life.

Nick Buettner is director of community and corporate programs for the Blue Zones Project, a community-wide well-being improvement initiative based on lessons gleaned from locales around the globe with the highest concentrations of people living to 100 years and beyond.

He began with a quick audience survey of predictors of longer-than-average life expectancy: Do you sleep at least 7 hours five days a week? Do you eat at least three full servings of vegetables and get at least 30 minutes of vigorous exercise daily?

Had no unprotected sex during the last year? Belong to a faith-based institution and attend three times per month? Do you have three good friends who would answer if you call on a bad day? Have you not smoked in the past five years?

Do you actually want to live to 90?

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If you raised your hand all eight times, youre dismissed I have nothing to teach you, Buettner ended the survey, prompting uproarious laughter.

The Blue Zones Project, which was founded by Buettners brother and best-selling author Dan Buettner, is based on observations and scientific data from centers of extraordinary human longevity including Ikaria, Greece; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Okinawa, Japan; and Loma Linda, California.

The Blue Zones Project aims to improve the quality of life and longevity of individuals through community-wide improvements in cities, states and even within workplaces.

Unlike many health or wellness initiatives, the Blue Zones Project addresses the environment, not just individual behavior changes in an effort to have widespread, long-term impacts.

The nearest locale to try it has been the Pottawatomie County Blue Zones Project, which began in 2017, Buettner said.

For example, instead of nagging people to exercise, communities can make walking not only the healthy choice but also the easier choice through sidewalk improvements and walking initiatives.

And communities can work together to make wholesome foods more accessible at schools, restaurants and food banks so people in Blue Zones begin to eat healthier naturally.

The crux of Buettners message is what his brother dubbed The Power 9, the common lifestyle habits found in the worlds healthiest, longest-lived people.

The first is to move naturally. What does that mean?

It doesnt mean going to a gym or training for marathons, which Buettner said the vast majority of people wont sustain as a habit. Its about habitually walking or biking to a friends house, to the grocery store, to school, or gardening and other active activities.

Next is purpose. Buettner said the loss of purpose and engagement, with that reason to get up each morning, is what makes people 30% more likely to die in the year after they retire.

The Japanese call it Ikigai, which translates to lifes purpose.

Third is having routines to shed stress, or what Blue Zones calls down shift. This varies by centers of longevity and includes praying, napping and even regular happy hours with friends and family.

Fourth is the 80% rule: Stop eating before your stomach is all the way full as a simple means of managing caloric intake. Buettner said people in the Blue Zones also eat their smallest meal in the late afternoon or early evening and dont eat again until the next day.

Fifth is having a happy hour of one to two glasses of wine regularly and that does not translate to having 14 drinks on the weekend, Buettner said.

Sixth, active, regular engagement in faith-based communities was common across all centenarians studied by the Blue Zones Project.

Seventh was a mostly plant-based diet.

And no, Buettner said that doesnt mean vegan or vegetarian. But in large centenarian clusters, cow milk is not part of the diet, meat is limited to fewer than five meals per month and fish to three times or fewer per week; water, tea, coffee or wine are the common beverages consumed.

Eighth is a family-first priority in life, including not just children but also maintaining a life partner and caring for nearby, aging parents and grandparents.

Lastly is what Blue Zones refers to as having the right tribe. Simply put, it means being in social circles with people with similarly healthy habits and behaviors.

Buettner said it is critical for communities to identify what is working and what isnt and to implement the kinds of changes that make healthy choices easier to make.

To date, 56 communities and 4,823 organizations participate in the Blue Zones Project, but the lessons about what improvements work are applicable most everywhere and urgently needed, he said.

The life expectancy of our kids is less than our own, Buettner said. We spend $3 trillion on health care costs for (preventable) diseases.

201 E. Second St.

An ideal place for people-watching, the ground-floor patio is open to the public. As always, we LOVE the cheese-fries.

222 S. Kenosha Ave.

The patio area at this new addition to the East Village neighborhood wraps around two sides of the building, giving diners plenty of vantage points from which to watch lifes rich pageant. The food has a distinctive Middle Eastern flair, paired with its range of craft cocktails, wines and beers.

1816 Utica Square

Queenies Plus moved up the sidewalk this year to a larger space, complete with a much larger patio area that faces 21st Street. Its the perfect place to enjoy a breakfast treat or lunch.

1551 E. 15th St.

The restaurants staff used the down-time to spruce up its patio area and space out the tables to put more distance between groups of diners. Otherwise, the same good vibes and fine foods remain at this Cherry Street hot spot.

1740 S. Boston Ave.

The Tulsa Worlds pick as the best restaurant of 2020 has a covered patio outside its entrance, equipped with fans and heaters, to allow diners to savor chef Lisa Becklunds 10-course tasting menu in the cool of the evening.

1820 Utica Square

The Wild Fork is another Tulsa landmark that took advantage of the lockdown to transform itself, with a completely renovated interior and slightly slimmed down menu. The restaurants sidewalk seating was also given a boost with new seating and an expanded footprint. The food and the people watching are just as good as ever.

3324 E. 31st St.

Bird & Bottles neighbors gave the restaurant permission to put tables out on the sidewalks to augment the small open space it uses for outdoor seating. Its something of a secluded spot, but its likely youll be too focused on chef Stephen Lindstroms food to miss any people-watching.

319 E. Archer St.

The interior of the new French Hen is spectacular, to say the least. But the restaurants patio area gives one the sense of dining at a Parisian outdoor cafe in the middle of downtown Tulsa. Whether enjoyed inside or out, chef Kathy Bondys food is superb.

817 E. Third St.

One of Tulsas finest restaurants just happens to have one of the citys finest patios. Thats one reason why it fills up quickly, as seating here is first-come, first-served.

9999 S. Mingo Road

One of the more spacious patios of any local restaurant can be found at this south Tulsa restaurant, where people can enjoy its specialty burgers and craft beers as well as a bit of the great outdoors.

1324 S. Main St.

What general manager Tracey Sudberry once described as the most under-utilized space in the Ambassador Hotel was transformed earlier this year with louvered awnings, fans and heaters, new tables and chairs, to create a comfortable space in which to enjoy the Chalkboards acclaimed cuisine.

108 N. Detroit Ave.

Duets patio also serves as the stage for many of the local, regional and national jazz acts that perform there regularly. But its also a good place to enjoy Duets array of good food and libations.

4532 E. 51st St.

When this outpost of a small regional chain moved into town, it completely transformed the space once home to the Green Onion, adding a spacious patio on the buildings north side.Its a good place to work ones way through the restaurants extensive drinks menu.

201 W. Fifth St.

About half a dozen or so tables take up the patio area of this family restaurant, which is almost always full on pleasant days. Enjoy one of the variations of pho, the savory broth loaded with noodles and your choice of proteins.

1124 S. Lewis Ave.

Mother Road Market reopened its patio area to give its merchants who werent able at the time to handle curbside delivery a way to serve their customers. Now, with the markets app, one can have just about any dish from any vendor delivered to ones socially distanced table.

318 E. Second St.

Arnies renovated its courtyard area last year, adding a stone fireplace and a mosaic of the classic Lovely Day for a Guinness image.

514 S. Boston Ave.

Libby Billings helped kickstart the parklet boom in downtown Tulsa, turning a parking space or two into a welcoming place to enjoy Elotes signature puffy tacos and other area-sourced Mexican specialties.

121 S. Elgin Ave.

Hotel Indigos rooftop patio, home to the Roof Sixty-Six Bar, boasts some of the best views of Tulsa. Because the patio faces west, visitors are also able to grab epic sunset photos during their stay.

3509 S. Peoria Ave.

Cafe Ol has been a dining destination on Brookside for 30 years, serving up Southwestern-inspired cuisine with some Oklahoma flair. The Tin Pan Tuesday specials let you sample street foods for $2 each, and the housemade queso is a must.

Mayo Hotel, 115 W. Fifth St.

Almost 20 stories off the ground, what better way to enjoy a specialty cocktail and one of Tulsas phenomenal sunsets?

818 E. Third St.

This East Village spot has a cozy patio space that is the perfect place to enjoy some treats, such as the Craigies Angry Bee pizza, which tempers the bite of hot peppers with honey.

122 N. Boston Ave.

Amelias offers patio seating in the heart of the Tulsa Arts District. Enjoy a glass of wine or one of the wood-fired pizzas while people-watching on the patio.

7501 E. Kenosha St., Broken Arrow

The Rocking R Ranch House at Forest Ridge Golf Club offers patio seating in nice weather. Try the Sweet Heat shrimp appetizer, featuring crispy shrimp tossed in a sweet and spicy aioli.

111 N. Main St.

Right in the heart of the Tulsa Arts District, Laffa Medi-Eastern Restaurant and Bar has a great patio to watch the world go by. Check out the Mezze Medley small shareable plates with a huge piece of laffa bread. Our favorites are the West African hummus with sweet potatoes and peanuts, or the Anatolian labneh, a creamy yogurt dip.

304 S. Elgin Ave.

Enjoy a view of the Tulsa skyline at the biergarten at Fassler Hall. Grab a beer and an order of duck fat fries.

1004 E. Fourth St.

Grab a brew and relax in the outdoor area at Dead Armadillo Brewery.

325 E. Reconciliation Way

Pizzas dominate the menu of this family-friendly sports bar, with its 55 TV screens. One of the more unusual, but tasty, choices is the white potato thin potato slices topped with pecorino cheese, rosemary and onion on a relatively thin and crispy crust.

River Spirit Casino Resort, 8330 Riverside Parkway

The patio of the Margaritaville restaurant is part of a triple-decker outdoor venue. Above Margaritaville is the Salty Bar, an area typically reserved for private events, with lounge furniture and a dedicated bar area. On the ground level is the Landshark Pool Bar, which serves the resorts guests in the lounge pool and the hungry and thirsty trekkers along the River Parks trails.

Oren

3509 S. Peoria Ave., Suite 161

This stunning restaurant on Brookside features a plush patio that is perfect for drinks.

3523 S. Peoria Ave.

The front patio is good for people-watching in Brookside, and the back courtyard has been popular among evening diners. Both are dog friendly. Try the shrimp and grits.

8921 S. Yale Ave.

The patio was the main reason owner Todd Billingsly took over the space that used to be Jamesons Pub, to make it a venue for live music and televised sports, as well as dining.

3301 S. Peoria Ave.

Bricktown Brewery in Brookside specializes in local and regional craft beers. As for the food, the Loaded Nachosaurus is a perfect partner for a flight of beers.

402 E. Second St./211 S. Elgin Ave.

Guests can get a two-for-one deal here. The Dilly Diner courtyard has a bocce ball court, picnic tables and playhouses for the kids. The quirky Dust Bowl patio has artificial grass-covered sofas and spring stools. A walkway connects the two.

7031 S. Zurich Ave.

This companion restaurant to McNellies Pub downtown has become a popular destination spot for south Tulsans looking for a great brew, outstanding pub food and a good time. We recommend the lobster roll or the top-flight fish and chips.

151 Bass Pro Drive, Broken Arrow

300 Riverwalk Terrace, Jenks

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Improving quality of life and longevity in communities is topic of Tulsa Town Hall - Tulsa World

Many experience increasing "aches and pains" as the years roll on. Most older people have a litany of joints and body parts that hurt. We eventually realize conversations with friends, relatives and neighbors are often dominated by recounting all these medical conditions and complaints.

Common topics are high cholesterol, high blood pressure, arthritis, stiff joints and doctor visits -- all sorts of problems. Sometimes it's not just the person you're speaking to -- you often get reports about what their friends and neighbors are going through.

Usually people just say, "It's is part of aging."

However, we actually know many of these problems can be avoided with a healthful diet and proper exercise, caution and other preventive health care. Yet, being human, often we do not follow these measures, so here come aches and pains.

I'm not talking about serious illness, accidents or surgeries, which of course must be addressed and communicated. We all need support, and need to support each other, when a big health issue strikes. And of course we must tell our loved ones and close friends what happened. I know, personally, I hope to be kept up to date on these matters and would feel terrible if not kept in the loop.

I'm talking about day-to-day chitchat and constant complaining about aches and pains. Before we know it, conversations are almost totally dominated by reports of medical issues and concerns. Over and over. Now, this becomes a danger zone. Right after the weather, this becomes the new "small talk."

It cannot be healthy for mind or body to have every casual conversation taken over by telling medical stories and reports. And to make it worse, these tend to be negative and complaining conversations, which are not healthy for the spirit. There are other matters to discuss -- and uplifting stories to tell.

Recently a friend told me she was together with friends for dinner when one said: "Do you realize we've been talking for an hour and no one has mentioned even one medical thing?" So they laughed. But it's true. It's hard for people to avoid the medical topic.

What shall we do about this?

First thing that comes to my mind is self-protection. In my experience, it's not good to be constantly engaged in worry and complaints. Change the topic.

When people sincerely want to know, they ask.

People live to be real old these days, which is a blessing. I just read an essay that "80 is the new 60."

If we ignore health advice about diet and exercise, that's a choice.

And some of those aches and pains are simply a toll we pay on the highway of longevity. They are one topic of course, but not the whole phone call or meeting.

The point is: In my experience, we need to take this in hand and consciously avoid constant "medical complaint" conversations and not let them dominate our minds and interactions with friends and relatives. It's a matter of selection and balance.

There are other interesting and important matters to discuss. Let's not have these endless complaints and stories be the new small talk.

Susan Anderson-Khleif of Sleepy Hollow has a doctorate in family sociology from Harvard, taught at Wellesley College and is a retired Motorola executive. Contact her at sakhleif@comcast.net or see her blog longtermgrief.tumblr.com. See previous columns at http://www.dailyherald.com/topics/Anderson-Kleif-Susan.

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Don't overemphasize tolls on the highway to longevity - Daily Herald

A whopping 93 per cent of Indians live in areas where air pollution levels exceed WHO standards, according to a global report.The report revealed that life expectancy in India, as a result, has been shortened by about 1.5 years.The findings by Health Effects Institute (HEI) in Washington, US, is part of its annual State of Global Air annual analysis for 2020.The study showed that with an average annual population-weighted PM2.5 of 83 microgram/ cubic metre (mg/cu) in 2019, as many as 9,79,700 deaths in India can be attributed to PM 2.5.

It showed that almost 100 per cent of the world's population lived in areas where the PM2.5 levels exceeded WHO recommendations - which is average annual PM2.5 exposure levels of 5 mg/cu.

On average, more than 40 per cent of the world's population lives in areas where ozone levels exceeded the least stringent WHO interim target in 2019.

Globally, India ranks ninth highest population exposure to ozone (98 per cent), following countries like Congo, Ethiopia, Germany, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Pakistan, Iran and Turkey taking the top eight positions and China ranking 10th.

"Air pollution is a leading risk factor for deaths and disability around the world; in 2019 alone, exposure to air pollution was linked to 6.7 million deaths," the authors wrote in the study.

The large exposure to PM2.5 has also reduced life expectancy for countries and regions -- Egypt (2.11 years), Saudi Arabia (1.91 years), India (1.51 years) China (1.32 years) and Pakistan (1.31 years).

The lowest impacts of pollution on longevity is in Norway, Sweden, Australia, and New Zealand.

Read more:
93% Indians live with air quality below WHO standards; life expectancy reduced by 1.5 years: Study - Times of India

by Pope Francis

Pope Francis General Audience Address March 2, 2022

In his second reflection in a new catechetical series on old age, Pope Francis said the earliest moments of human history required a slow and prolonged initiation, as human beings, created in Gods image and likeness, yet bearing the fragility of mortal existence, needed time to decipher experiences and confront the enigmas of life. During that same time, he said, the spiritual quality of man was also slowly cultivated.

Vatican, March 2, 2022

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

In the Bible account of the genealogies, one is immediately struck by their tremendous longevity: we are talking about centuries! When does old age begin here, we wonder? And what is the significance of the fact that these ancient fathers live so long after fathering their children? Fathers and sons live together for centuries! This passage of time in terms of centuries, narrated in a ritual style, confers a strong, very strong symbolic meaning to the relationship between longevity and genealogy.

It is as though the transmission of human life, so new in the created universe, demanded a slow and prolonged initiation. Everything is new, at the beginnings of the history of a creature who is spirit and life, conscience and freedom, sensibility and responsibility. The new life human life immersed in the tension between its origin in the image and semblance of God, and the fragility of his mortal condition, represents a novelty to be discovered. And it requires a long initiation period, in which mutual support among generations is indispensable in order to decipher experiences and confront the enigmas of life. During this long time, the spiritual quality of man is also slowly cultivated.

In a certain sense, every passing epoch in human history offers this feeling again: it is as if we had to start over calmly from the beginning with our questions on the meaning of life, when the scenario of the human condition appears crowded with new experiences and hitherto unasked questions. Certainly, the accumulation of cultural memory increases the familiarity necessary to face new passages. The times of transmission are reduced, but the times of assimilation always require patience. The excess of speed, which by now obsesses every stage of our life, makes every experience more superficial and less nourishing. Young people are unconscious victims of this split between the time on the clock, that needs to be rushed, and the times of life, that require a proper leavening. A long life enables these long times, and the damages of haste, to be experienced.

Old age certainly imposes a slower pace: but they are not merely times of inertia. Indeed, the measure of these rhythms opens up, for all, spaces of meaning of life unknown to the obsession with speed. Losing contact with the slower rhythms of old age closes up these spaces to everyone. It is from this perspective that I wished to establish the feast of grandparents, on the last Sunday of July. The alliance between the two extreme generations of life children and the elderly also helps the other two young people and adults to bond with each other so as to make everyones existence richer in humanity.

There is a need for dialogue between the generations: if there is no dialogue between young people and the elderly, if there is no dialogue, each generation remains isolated and cannot transmit the message. Think: a young person who is not bonded to his or her roots, which are the grandparents, does not receive the strength, like the tree, the strength of the roots, and grows up badly, grows up ailing, grows up without points of reference. Therefore, it is necessary to seek, as a human need, dialogue between generations. And this dialogue is important between grandparents and grandchildren, who are the two extremes.

Let us imagine a city in which the co-existence of the different ages forms an integral part of the overall plan of its habitat. Let us think about the formation of affectionate relations between old age and youth that irradiate out onto the overall style of relations. The overlapping of the generations would become a source of energy for a truly visible and livable humanism. The modern city tends to be hostile to the elderly (and, not by chance, also to children). This society, that has this spirit of rejection: it rejects so many unwanted children and it rejects the elderly. It casts them aside they are no use to rest homes, hospitals, there The excess of speed puts us in a centrifuge that sweeps us away like confetti. One completely loses sight of the bigger picture. Each person holds on to his or her own piece, that floats on the currents of the city-market, for which slower pace means losses and speed is money. The excess of speed pulverizes life: it does not make it more intense. And wisdom it takes to waste time. When you return home and see your son, your daughter, and you waste time, but in this conversation that is fundamental for society, you waste time with children; and when you come home and there is the grandfather or grandmother who is perhaps no longer lucid or, I dont know, has lost something of the ability to speak, and you stay with him or with her, you waste time, but this waste of time strengthens the human family. It is necessary to spend time, time that is not lucrative, with children and with the elderly, because they give us another ability to see life.

The pandemic, in which we are still forced to live, has imposed very painfully, unfortunately a halt to the obtuse cult of speed. And in this period, grandparents have acted as a barrier to the affective dehydration of the youngest. The visible alliance of the generations, that harmonizes pace and rhythms, restores to use the hope of not living life in vain. And it restores to each of us the love for our vulnerable lives, blocking the way to the obsession with speed, which simply consumes it. The key word here to each one of you, I ask: do you know how to waste time, or are you always in a hurry? No, Im in a rush, I cant. Do you know how to waste time with grandparents, with the elderly? Do you know how to spend time playing with your children, with children? This is the touchstone. Think about it. And this restores to each person the love for our vulnerable life, blocking the road of the obsession with speed, which simply consumes it. The rhythms of old age are an indispensable resource for grasping the meaning of life marked by time. The elderly have their rhythms, but they are rhythms that help us. Thanks to this mediation, the destination of life to the encounter with God becomes more credible: a design that is hidden in the creation of the human being in his image and likeness and is sealed in the Son of God becoming man.

Today there is a greater longevity of human life. This gives us the opportunity to increase the covenant between all times of life. So much longevity, but we must make more alliance. And this also helps us to increase with the meaning of life in its entirety. The meaning of life is not only in adulthood, say, from 25 to 60 years no. The meaning of life is all of it, from birth to death, and you should be able to interact with everyone, and also to have emotional relationships with everyone, so that your maturity will be richer and stronger. And it also offers us this meaning of life, which is everything. May the Spirit grant us the intelligence and strength for this reform: a reform is needed. The arrogance of the time of the clock must be converted into the beauty of the rhythms of life. This is the reform we must make in our hearts, in the family and in society. I repeat: what must we reform? The arrogance of the time of the clock must be converted into the beauty of the rhythms of life. The alliance of the generations is indispensable. A society in which the elderly do not speak with the young, the young do not speak with the elderly, is a sterile society, without a future, a society that does not look to the horizon but rather looks at itself. And it becomes lonely. May God help us to find the right music for this harmonization of the various ages: the little ones, the elderly, adults, everyone together: a beautiful symphony of dialogue. Thank you.

Greeting in English

I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in todays Audience, especially the groups from Norway, Ireland and the United States of America. May the Lenten journey we begin today, with prayer and fasting for peace in Ukraine, bring us to the joy of Easter with hearts purified and renewed by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Upon each of you, and your families, I cordially invoke Gods abundant blessings.

Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2022

This item 12640 digitally provided courtesy of CatholicCulture.org

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Library : Alliance of Generations Is Indispensable - Catholic Culture

Consistency and longevity have become the defining traits of Queens-native Homeboy Sandman, whose first EP turns 15 years old this month. Though nowhere near as verbose as his regular collaborator Aesop Rock, hes almost as prolific, with a consistent stream of albums and mixtapes under his belt, as well as full-length collaborations with the likes of Blu and Quelle Chris. His latest album There In Spirit, produced entirely by Detroit beatsmith and emcee Illingsworth, is more condensed than his previous solo records: It plays like an unassuming notebook more than a full-fledged piece of art.

While other backpack rappers might have spiraled off into abstraction, Homeboy Sandman has found a bluntness in maturity, bringing a deadpan precision and defined sense of melody to his flow. On the anthemic Stand Up, each couplet and bar comes together like two hands shaking, interlocked tightly together. The words arrive fairly directly, without much dense metaphor or description, his voice endowing even the simplest of words with a charismatic weight. Though hes capable of constructing dense bars and elaborate webs of words, theres a restraint to There In Spirit that feels slightly more intimate, an acknowledgement that sometimes the most straightforward word is the most evocative.

Sandmans more unguarded bars pair well with the enveloping beats of Detroit stalwart Illingsworth, who has previously appeared on records by Open Mike Eagle and R.A.P. Ferreira. Fittingly, his productions are somewhere between Dilla-ish soul chops and the cartoonish electronics of the L.A. beat scene. Illingsworths beats have an analog warmth, pulling samples of string tremolos, piano lines, and soothing vocals from soul and vintage pop, to most vivid effect on Voices (alright). But the production is not entirely a throwback, fused with electronic wonkiness, like the fluttering hi-hats and bassy synth lines on Keep That Same Energy. These are beats that sound like they were chopped up live on an MPC, unquantized and human even when flirting with more futuristic textures.

As he enters his 40s, Homeboy Sandman is more mindful and cautious, sounding like a rapper who has worked too hard to chase clout or confine himself to trends. With sarcastic defiance on album closer Epiphany, he declares a well-earned indifference to the opinions of critics, haters, or jealous peers: These people do not have swag. While hes concerned about the world at large, he ultimately keeps a cool distance by recognizing that those who would try to make him feel insecure are deeply dissatisfied themselves.

The key to his longevity is moving at a consistent pace, rather than dashing to get the first word in, like a veteran fighter choosing his blows carefully instead of rushing in hot. Hes more than able to pick up the tempo when he wants to, but here, he focuses on forming a melodic chain of allegory and slice-of-life-imagery, stretching his muscles more than flexing them. Repetition becomes a pointed rhetorical device, forming the very structure of his songs. Album opener Something Fly hinges on his inflection of the word something, which he clips and twists into a multitude of meanings. The hook of Stand UpIf you dont stand up, theyll never stopis repeated with a clipped ferocity more befitting a battle cry or mantra than a chorus.

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Homeboy Sandman: There In Spirit Album Review - Pitchfork

When it comes to aging, research shows that, next to genetics, lifestyle habits are the biggest shapers of the human body. That means your destiny is largely in your hands, and not your DNA. This should be enough to motivate you to fine-tune your diet, start a regular exercise routine and ensure you get eight hours of sleep.

Is this enough though? The healthy lifestyle drill is something weve all become accustomed to, so why do we tend to revert to our old habits? Perhaps this is down to following trends because we think we ought to, rather than really wanting to. The want needs to come from within and, post-lockdown, we now have a choice and, more importantly, a reason.

Our priority should be focused on building a strong immune system and looking after our mental health. And what better way to start than with exercise?

When you exercise and learn to relax, your immune system lifts, cortisol, and blood pressure levels go down, and your mood is enhanced. Bone density increases with weight-bearing exercise; you have improved joint mobility, and a stronger heart and lungs.

Nowadays, with many of us working from home, its become clear that we dont need the most high-tech gym equipment to get a great workout, but still, theres Im pressed for time when it comes to taking action and getting to exercise.

A workout Ive been teaching for years that has finally been given an official name. Peripheral heart action is a time-efficient training formula that gives you a great CV workout, while simultaneously toning up the muscles all in one session.

It can be completed almost anywhere with minimal equipment, such as light weights and resistance bands. Your own home can save you time traveling to and from the gym, but it can also be done in the gym, incorporating both resistance training and CV equipment.

The theory behind PHA training is that, by alternating between upper and lower-body exercises, the heart has to work harder to divert blood from one end of the body to the other, which is further enhanced with bursts of CV training. However, Ive also found that switching between the upper and lower body allows you to achieve more without realizing how hard youre working because you work the lower body to fatigue and then rest it while you train the upper body, and so on.

Whatever your current level of fitness, incorporating even two PHA sessions into your schedule will make significant improvements to your fitness levels and all-around conditioning.

Once youre into the PHA routines, youll notice changes fairly rapidly, and realize just how effective and challenging they are. Its certainly a smart way for time-pressed individuals to train with or without lockdown.

Prepared by Jenni Rivett

Equipment needed: a chair, 6-8kg kettlebell, 2kg dumbbells

Warm-up for 5 minutes.

REPEAT ABOVE ROUTINE

REPEAT ABOVE ROUTINE

Photo by AirFit from Pexels

REPEAT ABOVE ROUTINE

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Now You Have A Reason To Exercise - Longevity LIVE - Longevity LIVE

(Photo by iStock/Chinnapong)

The figures on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investment weve been seeing over the last few years are substantial. According to the US SIF Foundation, $12 trillion in assets under management using ESG strategies at the beginning of 2018 grew to $17.1 trillion by the beginning of 2020, an increase of 42 percent. Bloomberg Intelligence reports ESG assets at $35 trillion in 2020, up from $30.6 trillion in 2018 and $22.8 trillion in 2016, accounting for one-third of total global assets under management. The same study holds that by 2025 ESG assets are on track to exceed $50 trillion.

These are big numbers, and they are already bearing dividends: many businesses are starting to get environmental action rightthe E of ESGand through paying attention to executive compensation and getting more diversity on boards, many companies are also starting to get governance right, the G of ESG. Environmental impact is relatively easy to measure: carbon emissions, deforestation, waste management, and water usage are all tangible factors lending themselves to quantitative assessment. Governance matters too can be held to account by quantifying executive pay, representation of non-white, non-male board members, political contributions, and large-scale lawsuits, all of which can be reduced to numbers.

But what about the S, or the social component? By comparison, the social component consists of much more qualitative factors, things like employee gender and diversity, data security, customer satisfaction, human rights, and fair labor practices at home and abroad. Because these more amorphous factors are a lot harder to measure in numbers, the S factor is always prone to falling out of ESG considerations. For this reason, it is all the more important to emphasize social factors that are measurable, such as public health. While Public Health might be implicit in Social, it is not explicit. Therefore, by attaching an H for Health and broadening the mandate to ESHG, well come closer to a more inclusive form of capitalism, one that places equal emphasis on causing human capital to flourish as it does on financial capital.

The pandemic has not only exposed health inequalities that run from school to community to the workplace. Health should be of immediate importance to business: Public Health is analogous to climate in that a businesss activities will have health impacts, positive or negative, across three broad areas: employees, customers/consumers, and the communities in which it operates. The right actions can reduce absenteeism due to sickness while increasing productivity and enabling better management of risks of regulatory, taxation, and litigation risks.

Even before the pandemicas Sir Michael Marmots groundbreaking 2010 study Fair Society, Healthy Lives (and his 2021 follow-up, Build Back Fairer demonstratehealth not only stopped improving over the last decade, but health inequalities increased, and life expectancies for the poorest people went down. Marmot has identified six areas that are essential to meeting the health inequality and life expectancy challenge head on: giving every child the best start in life; education and lifelong learning; employment and working conditions; ensuring that everyone has at least the minimum income necessary for a healthy life; healthy and sustainable places in which to live and work, including housing; and taking a social determinants (data-based) approach to prevention.

The UK is in a bit of a bubble with health initiatives, compared with the United Stateswe have the NHS, which is a public health system, whereas, as pointed out in Michael Lewiss searing book on the pandemic, The Premonition, the United States. does not. But various surveys show that roughly two-thirds of the American population is stressed over the cost of health insurance and health care in general. An equivalent to Marmot as a US spokesperson might be Harvard professor David Sinclair, an expert on longevity, who believes that as population growth begins to slow, saving lives and making people more productive by helping them to live healthier longer is a massive economic benefit for society. He also points out that currently, the rich are investing in these new longevity therapies, and they are the ones who benefit. But he hopes to democratize his findings to include a broader swath of society.

Can we come up with compelling alternatives that might reduce the strain on the system? We certainly must try new ideas, because hitherto, the old ideas are only working for the select few. Most of these areas can be addressed by deep, long-term investment. But as Professor Marmot and many others have pointed out, government funding alone isnt going to get things done. Business must step in. Companies can play a role in broadly improving public health by such means as rethinking their products, investing in health tech projects, developing programs and policies that promote health both within their companies and externally. By setting frameworks around hot-button industries and influencing ESHG outcomes, asset managers will pre-empt both stakeholder and regulatory pressure.

Its an idea as old as Adam Smith that its in the self-interest of an insurance company for people to live out their lives healthier and longer. And while were waiting for Dr. Sinclairs longevity practices to find a wider audience, companies can start putting the trillions of dollars they are sitting on, earning nominal interest, to work. It is nothing if not enlightened self-interest for businesses to help improve the health of many more peoplenot only their own employees but those in the community that both need and support a company or consume its goods and services. But getting to a more virtuous cycle with public health is going to take action and vision, not to mention putting the necessary investment on the line, to do it.

In my role as part of a council of businesses working with the U.K. Prime Minister on Building Back Better, and even prior to that, my company has taken on several health-first projects, including making direct investments in health science and tech research, community and elder health, and supporting a global challenge that elicited tech-driven solutions to the next pandemic. These initiatives have a few principles in common, which are worth mentioning here, as the goal is to get many more businesses and investors, along with government, thinking this wayin the United States, too:

1. Invest in health versus remediation. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cureand that also goes for investing in health. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) emphasizes preventive health measures such as vaccinations, altering risky behaviors, and banning substances known to be associated with a disease or health condition. Businesses can invest and become involved in these measures and others that will have broad benefits, such as building wellness and mental health in the workplace. Initiatives could take the form of healthier cafeteria food, gym memberships, well-being services and incentives, and better working conditions. There are greater gains to be made through early intervention and prevention of physical and mental health issues, than when a situation requires controlling absenteeism or limiting healthcare costs. Recent research suggests that CEOs are starting to pay attention and make the necessary investments.

2. Keep it local. Any health-related investment comes down to people, to individuals, and to a community. While health is certainly a global issue, governments and businesses alike must start investing far more meaningfully in it at the local level. By partnering with a local university or identifying a specific community need for, say, a health technology or healthier housing, businesses can become involved in a clear and tangible way, which is why were working with university research facilities in Edinburgh, Newcastle, and other local venues on initiatives to develop new models for delivering elder care, especially to facilitate aging in place rather than in institutions. This is a multi-disciplinary approach across medicine, engineering, data science and architecture.

3. Build a model that has measurable impact. Outcomes should not only be felt by the recipients of health investments but observable to the investors. To achieve this, any successful health initiative needs to be based on a model that is observable and fact-based. One example is the way business and research so speedily mobilized to get billions of vaccinations made and distributed for the pandemic. But while the pandemic was a relative snapshot, over two years, the challenge is greater when results are delivered over decades. This may partly explain low investment in dementia and Alzheimers, relative to the proportion of the population at risk. There are many models to emulate, but to be successful from a business standpoint, they need trackable metrics.

4. Harness the COVID-19 disruption to think deeply about workplace changes. Required vaccination, changes in building management with testing for COVID-19and other safety measures, and remote working have touched all businesses as well as everyone connected to them. Many people are missing the support systems and wellness components found in many workplaces as they continue to work remotely. Businesses should educate employees about health, make products and packaging healthier, and make health available. And as Professor Marmot points out in Fair Society, Healthy Lives, the social gradient on health inequalities is reflected in the social gradient on educational attainment, employment, income, quality of neighborhood. Employees need to make a living wage. There is a close correlation between social/income inequality and health inequality. While its understood that around 20 percent of an individuals health outcomes are genetic, the other 80 percent is environmental and predicated by economic success: the poorest decile have significantly lower healthy life expectancy, some twenty years less, than the wealthiest decile.

5. Gig workers need a framework that includes healthcare and retirement. This is extremely important, as the number of workers who dont have employers or regular workplaces keeps risingcurrently more than a third (36 percent) of USworkers are part of the gig economy, and by 2027 more than half will be.With no health benefits and often little in the way of retirement plan, these workers represent a special challenge for health investing. Marmots studies show that poverty breeds ill health; you can have happier, healthier employees by paying them better.

6. Hold companies and investees accountable. Impact investing on the ESHG level is about investing in companies. A strong condition for including companies in the ESG roster is their stance to providing access to proper healthcare or healthcare insurance to their workers. ESHG-minded Investors can leverage their financial power by divesting from companies that arent doing healthy business. Companies need to understand that good health is good business.

This begins with a recognition that many products and outputs negatively influence health, and so need to be redesigned to improve health outcomes. Think about health as we do about climatethe health of any organizations workforce could be viewed similarly to its direct greenhouse gas emissions.

Health costs from negative corporate activity are often borne by the consumers or taxpayers. So conversely, companies can proactively engage to improve public health by self-regulating before regulators impose product bans or punitive taxation. For example, rethink sourcing of materials or change ingredients to promote rather than impair customers health. Bottom line, companies can look up and down their value chains and identify points where a positive health outcome could replace a negative one.

7. Corporate taxes low? Reinvest. How can businesses be made responsible for a wider swath of society that goes beyond their employees? Some portion of taxes are allocated to public health, but the corporate tax rate is the lowest its ever been (21 percent) and many of the wealthiest individuals have devised ways of legally minimizing their tax burden.With all of these funds stashed away at low interest rate returns or negative gains, wouldnt it be better to put this money to work in high return investments that promote public health?

While none of these ideas will get us there alone, the aggregate will move the needle. All positive, innovative change can be said to be an outcome of much thought and action that came before it. We live in a moment that calls for deep change in the way we invest in and care for our communities and our environment. Asset managers who have done so much to bring ESG to the fore can add this new mandate. Lets not waste this opportunity.

Read more stories by Nigel Wilson.

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Adding Public Health to ESG - Stanford Social Innovation Review