A friend sent me a coffee mug. The logo said “Why do you think your 5 minutes on Google trumps my 5 years of medical school” . I laughed and mentally added "and my 6 years of postgraduate training, my research doctorate and my 25 years of practice?”  But then I reflected on how generally the internet has contributed to a decline in the valuing of specialty training, academic knowledge and professional expertise. It’s not just medicine or science but in every trade or professional arena. 

“Walking is the best possible exercise. Habituate yourself to walk very far.” (Thomas Jefferson 1743 -1826)

Within the last three months, three of my friends have had falls, resulting in fractures. One with depth perception issues, tripped over a step and fractured several ribs. The second slipped on a pool deck and had a fractured wrist. The third, a fit, active younger person, tripped over an unseen hazard, spraining one wrist and fracturing a carpal bone in the other.

“Genes are merely the blueprint, epigenetics is the contractor." (Bruce Lipton 1944 - )

Epigenetics is a word we are hearing a lot about these days. Epigenetics refers to changes of gene expression that are not due to changes in the DNA sequence of the gene. 

Way back when I was  first taught  about genetics in school, the focus was on Mendelian genetics, and autosomal dominant and recessive genes.

"We should consider every day lost in which we have not danced at least once” (Friederich Nietzsche 1844-1900)

I took up ballroom dancing in my sixties, after I retired. In my blue print for a rewarding and fulfilling retirement, three activities topped my list; growing my website (reviewfromthehouse.com), studying ballroom dance and ticking off destinations on my travel bucket list. Becoming a network entrepreneur, as I did 10 years later, was not even remotely on my mind at that time.

“The key to every man is his thought. He can only be reformed by showing him a new idea which commands his own.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

If you think back to your childhood, you may realize how easy it is for a child to become labelled, slotted into a category, which often becomes self-fulfilling. This child is athletic and strong. This one is a dreamer. This one is creative and artistic. This child is shy, this one outgoing.  This one is smart, this one not so much. Looking back, I think I labelled myself very early as being more cerebral than physical.

“Aging is not “lost youth” but a new stage of opportunity and strength" (Betty Friedan 1921 - 2006)

When was  the moment when you realized that you no longer felt young and invincible? Was it turning 60 or 65? Suddenly overnight you are a “senior”.  You get lower priced tickets at the cinema, cheaper fares on transit but those television commercials about drugs for arthritis, high blood pressure, dementia ... you realize that they are directed at you.