I take a lot of pills every day; some are prescription, others are natural supplements. All are intended to keep me healthy, but I often question whether they do keep me well or serve as addictive placebos. Are we addicted, America?

I take natural supplements after careful personal study, but I often wonder if the medical profession as we know it in the United States is missing the boat when it comes to offering natural alternatives to what they prescribe. For instance, Valerian root has properties akin to Valium since its the root plant for the prescribed medication. Some will dispute the natural alternative’s value but it works for me and I can stop using it any time.

America, we are a nation of addicts. Forget about the cartels and illegal drugs flowing into our country. Think about our health care system instead. What typically happens when you visit a doctor in our Western society?

First, you are weighed, have your vitals checked (blood pressure, pulse, etc.), and answer questions about how you’re feeling. Then you wait.

Second, the doctor comes in, reviews the notes, and does a cursory check of your eyes, ears, nose, chest, lungs, reflexes, and probably asks you to bend over and cough. Then some advice about losing weight.

Third, the doctor may ask if you need any refills or…depending on what they have observed, will write you a prescription with little explanation of what the benefits or side effects might be. Out you go to pay the bill if you haven’t already coughed up the co-pay.

Some of us remember the old wives’ remedies that worked as effectively as the pills prescribed today. Cures like apple cider vinegar or castor oil. Nope! Can’t have that today; we trust what the doctor says we need, which is often an addictive medication like the crisis we face today over opioids. If you read the prescription label carefully, you may often find it tells you NOT to stop taking it without talking to your physician. Interesting.

Perhaps the cartel we need to worry about most is that linking the medical profession with the manufacturers of “legal” drugs and the insurance companies which support the writing of prescriptions with endorsements and television commercials encouraging us to “check with your doctor.”

The manufacturers make bundles of money, so they can afford to lobby politicians and get legislation enacted that favors their continued addiction of America’s citizens. Seems like rather shady business, but we have succumbed to it because it is legal and we are unsure of the consequences if we quit taking the prescribed medication.’

Is there a solution? Perhaps a widely-read expose on the problem, or transparency on the part of the cartel members but neither are likely. The media like their advertising revenues.

How many prescriptions do you take daily? Do you really need them?

Success is being recognized as an expert in your chosen field of endeavor. At least that’s one of my responses for defining success.

Another is that success is an intangible feeling that accompanies a sense of accomplishment…a job well done whether anyone else notices or just you.

A third definition of success is the ability to live comfortably within one’s means. How many million-dollar-plus lottery winners have lost it all because they couldn’t live within their means? They splurged or over-spent without thinking about stashing half the cash off the bat in retirement savings or some safe investment.

How do you define success?

A person can strive all their life pursuing an ideal that is unattainable but yet they believe it can be achieved. Is that person successful because they are passionate about their objective?

Consider a destitute person with an addiction to alcohol whose daily goal is to find enough cash to scrounge up a cheap bottle of wine and drink themselves into a state of oblivion. Is that person successful if they get the money and the bottle? Deep down, yes…if you believe success is achieving a goal. Some, however, would consider this person a failure for other reasons even though they succeed on a daily basis.

Let’s put it this way: If you are passionate about what you do–professionally or personally–and pursue that passion with purpose, you will be successful. You know what you want and how to get it. Those are important elements in defining success. Let’s leave it at that.

When snow falls in Wisconsin, an inch or two is nothing. When a foot or more blankets the ground, we know winter is going to be around for a while. After months buried in it, we come to despise the white stuff.

I have often told people about how much snow we “used to get” when I was younger. Most don’t believe me when I explain it was piled up along the road so high you could touch the power lines from the top.

At right, for those doubters out there, is proof from this 1962 image. There’s barely enough room for one vehicle to pass through the snow banks along the road.

Imagine having that much snow in the city or town where you live. My memories are digging through the piles to create tunnels or under-snow fortresses for snowball fights.

Today we grow weary of too much snow and curse a new dusting of the white stuff when we should look at it differently. Father Mark Vander Steeg in his sermon today (March 3, 2019) suggested he try to remember and look at the snow as though we were children. Find joy instead of drudgery.

In the United States of America, we often take what we have for granted. We lack appreciation for the freedom and blessings we enjoy. Let’s take a look at what we have to appreciate, and be appreciative for.

Let’s start with the basics. If you have a roof over your head and that convenience provides shelter from the elements, you are fortunate. Consider how many inhabitants of our planet sleep in squalid conditions, exposed to the elements or subjected to violence and civil unrest.

If you have air conditioning to keep you cool, there are millions of people who lack that luxury. Be thankful! In America, most of us also have refrigerators to keep our food preserved while others lack that convenience. Consider how much food we waste and discard to pile up in landfills.

If you have a comfortable bed to sleep in, show your appreciation by giving thanks for what you have. How many stories do you hear about families sharing a bed or people sleeping on park benches, under overpasses, or in the subway? How comfortable can concrete be?

We think that having electricity and running water are basic to living in America. You turn on the light without thinking and expect the power to be there. Be appreciative for what our nation’s infrastructure provides; there are millions of humans without that convenience.

It’s the same with water. You go to the faucet, turn it on, and expect there to be clean water for cooking or drinking. Be appreciative of the fact that the lion’s share of the world’s population lacks clean drinking water or the ability to shower or bathe whenever they feel like it. We let the water run and think nothing of it.

Give thanks to God. Be mindful of wasting the resources you take for granted. If possible, do something to help those who lack what you have, even if it means sacrifice on your part.

As I develop chapters for a book on connecting with people who have passed to the other side, I certainly want to share memories of my father’s father, Grandpa John Regard.

Here’s a start for Grandpa’s chapter:

When I got home from officiating a soccer match today, I needed to shower. I had slathered on sun screen before the match and was sweaty, too. What I did, however, was not shower. Instead, I got out of my referee uniform and donned a ratty, sleeveless t-shirt with my uniform shorts. I was comfortable to watch the baseball game and snack. Yes, I was hungry.

The game started at 1:00 p.m. but I had left the house a few minutes before noon. I’d eaten a large breakfast after mowing the lawn an hour or two before.

As I pondered why I didn’t jump in the shower right away, I recalled my paternal grandfather. John Regard Misfeldt rarely dressed up, except for going to church with my grandmother. Grandpa John loved to wear comfortable clothes. I share that trait with him.

I think my grandfather was a laid-back man. He worked hard on the family farm; there was always some task to be done. He would rather tackle a chore than do nothing. His comfortable clothes might consist of bib overalls, mended and washed so often they were soft and felt better to wear than a new pair, without doubt.

Grandma Mabel made an excellent farmer’s wife. She worked as hard as grandpa, doing laundry on Monday, mending on another day, and cooking over a wood-burning stove every day for several meals.

I was only 10 years old when my grandfather passed away at the age of 81 (January 26^th birth to October 31^st death). I remember sitting with him in the front yard of his home when he and grandma moved into town. They had sold their Breezy Hill Farm, so he could retire. He loved to sit in an Adirondack chair and I vividly recall the bird he drew on the arm with a pencil. It was like what Audubon would paint, detailed with feathers, beak, wings, and legs; yet it was merely doodling.

Grandpa John is someone I would love to connect with on the other side.

Clouds roll over the barn on the farm of John J. Mutter Jr.

It is fascinating to watch white, fluffy clouds that look like people or animals as they float across blue skies. It’s fun to lie in the grass or a field somewhere and observe those spectacles of nature. You can try to determine whether one looks like a walrus lying on its back, a medieval battering ram, or a cartoon character.. If you have a vivid imagination, you can unlock the secret of life in the clouds. Identify whatever image it is that comes to mind. The one over the barn looks like a dolphin.

I don’t know the scientific name for this type of cloud formation, but it is a phenomenon that is remarkable to observe. Some look like people doing tasks, such as wielding a shovel or throwing a ball. Others resemble animal shapes like teddy bears and fish.

Clouds roll over the skyline of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as traffic enters the city.

The point of this blog is that you should take time to enjoy the simple things in life. No matter how busy your schedule or hectic your life, stopping to lie in the grass and watch the clouds float by can be therapeutic and relaxing. Slow down and take the time to smell the proverbial roses. One of those clouds may look like a bouquet of them. Clear azure skies bathed in sunlight with fluffy white clouds are a gift of nature. Nature is given to us by the Supreme Being I refer to as God. Even dark clouds can leave an impression that stirs a feeling of God’s presence in our lives.

If you choose to skip these simple opportunities in your life, you miss a chance to reflect on your own life and where it’s going. Are you heading in the right direction, or is it time for a change? Too often, we are hell-bent on crashing through the world like a tornado, leaving a path of destruction behind. We should think and be more like those passing clouds that leave a joyous, pleasant impression on those who observe our passing. Life’s too short not to enjoy it!