On Our Minds

     A roundup of baby boomer blogs this week finds that we have an abiding interest in both our mental and physical health.

     Take a drive over to Six Decades and Counting where Meryl Baer examines the rules regarding car seat regulations, and how they may or may not affect senior citizens. She wrote about the problem a few years ago, and has updated the article for her latest post Car Seats for Seniors.

     As for Laura Lee Carter, she's concerned about the stress and the environmental problems of city living. After residing in the city for most of her life, she finally moved to a rural community this summer.

     Since B and I have been talking about when and where we should move in retirement, this is a subject near and dear to my heart. One of our ideas is to move into the city, from the suburbs where we've both been hanging our hats for the past few decades. We're thinking city life would be exciting, at least for a period of time, say a year or two.

     But after reading Carter's post, I'm not so sure. In City Living … Not So Much Laura Lee offers up a few thoughts, along with some informative research, on urbanization and mental health.

     Meanwhile, on The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide, Rita R. Robison, consumer journalist, warns us about two potential threats to our health. In FDA Issues Warning Letters to Five Companies that Sell Pure Powdered Caffeine, she points out the dangers of the supplement to children and adults alike. Pure caffeine should never be sold to consumers, she says, pointing out that one mere teaspoon can be a fatal dose for a child, and two teaspoons are fatal to many adults.

     In Tiny Concentrations of Teflon Harmful to Public Health, Robison refers to a study by the Environmental Working Group that says federal guidance on safe levels of Teflon in our drinking water is way too weak. One study she cites detected Teflon chemicals in 94 public water systems in 27 states. And exposure to these types of chemicals have been associated with cancer, high cholesterol, obesity and other problems. For more on the issue check out Robison's report and her links to the studies. 

     Meanwhile, if you’re interested in self-awareness, self-improvement and self-actualization, you might want to check out the recent post on SmartLiving365 called Is Finding Your Balance Point a Smart Way to Live? Blogger Kathy Gottberg takes a look at some work by Brian Tracy and his daughter Christina Stein who talk about how each of us has a balance point where "we feel in perfect harmony, grounded, happy, connected to others, and where our mind, body and spirit are in alignment." 

     Gottberg also notes in Wayne Dyer: The Passing of a Self-Help Master that the popular author and motivational speaker Wayne Dyer died last Sunday, Aug. 29. Dyer was suffering from leukemia, diagnosed in 2012, but that never dimmed his optimism and love of life. As noted on the Dyer website: "Wayne has left his body, passing away through the night. He always said he couldn't wait for this next adventure to begin and had no fear of dying.”

     One of Dyer’s famous quotes was: “Don’t die with the music inside you.” So Gottberg has isolated five ways that the music of Wayne Dyer will forever be a part of her life . . . and maybe yours.