Message from the Director - Mary McCluskey - 7/03/08

      If you've been reading this message with any regularity you know that I have been including more photos.  I can finally manipulate photos for the web with ease so it doesn't take me long to get them ready to post.  So what does this have to do with a health and wellness message?  Well, I propose that one way to slow down, de-stress, and enjoy the miracles of summer is to grab a camera and get out into nature.

       For much of the year I'm bundling up in many layers to go outside.  I'm battling strong and cold winds to get myself and my 2 dogs through our 2 walks a day.  We get back dizzy and frozen and just getting back into the house is a project:  take dog coats off outside, shake off, wipe bellies and paws of the grit and snow that has accumulated, get in, undress myself, put everything away, whew! 

       In summer we clip on a leash and go and we get back and walk right in.  It's such easy living.  And the miracles, like I said, are all around.  Here I have a doe for you who was contemplating suicide at the side of the road, but I eased by her in my car, convincing her to stay put.  If you look closely you'll see her mouth is open.  Is she saying, "Hey, thanks for saving my life?"

          In this next photo you'll see that even the ugly things in God's summer are fascinating.  This huge wasp-like creature landed on a stone on my porch.  It had a huge stinger-thing out it's backside.  I started shooting and it got agitated so I got out of there so I didn't have to find out what it could do with that thing!  But look at the pattern on its body.  Yellow zigs separating rusty parts and see-through wings.  Very sharp.

            The next one is these lovely gasses along the Milwaukee lakefront.  The photo helps you notice all the greens in nature:  silvery bluish green in the leaves, yellowish green for the flowers, dark green in the background, and sunlit bright green up above as the trees catch the last rays of the day.  It's something you could walk by without giving a moment's notice to, but with a camera in hand you slow down and look at everything differently.

             I believe it's this slowing down and looking at your world through different eyes which lends the serenity to the activity.  All of a sudden I'm not a massage therapist, car driver, teacher, dog walker anymore.  I'm an observer and recorder of the myriad of little miracles to notice everywhere around me.  The breathing naturally deepens and slows.  The musculature lets go.  The brow unfurls.  Ah.  Summer!  Give it a try.  Grab a camera and get outside.  You'll be amazed at the therapeutic benefits.