Life skills
Many diplomas and grades, but no life skills? That is a very common issue. Lack of life skills leads to numerous problems: we are tested every single day. It is a wide area of not only good practical habits and best recipes for many situations in life, but also people skills and knowledge of things that help us get through illnesses and mentally challenging periods.
Let your experience guide you
Our experience and life skills are a huge treasure. We should have learned something about living and getting along with other people at some point in our life. We could have become expert with our daily tasks: cooking, cleaning, maintaining health, using natural products, staying fit, staying young and maintaining a good energy for life. Do not let somebody convince you that you know nothing and only internet couches and self-help books can tell you what you should and shouldn’t do.
You know who you are
We usually know who we have become by the age of 40 or at least 50. We have some idea of what we have achieved or not, what we would love or not and how we would like to continue. We know our pains, we have a long history of events behind us. We know our weaknesses and strength. We know how to overcome cravings and what has been left unresolved.
Happiness or joy?
While there is a big push towards happiness wherever we look, the main task of life is being satisfied, accepted, having pleasant memories and things we enjoy doing. I leave happiness for special moments, for special occasions, and I think having happy meals every day is a bit too much. If we have only vacations and no work days, we lose the feeling of being rewarded with time off and we get bored. If we eat only dessert, we do not perceive the special taste and delight of a dessert. That kind of thing. There are not only Sundays in our life. When we enjoy the things we do, we invite pleasure and satisfaction in our life leaving less time for disappointments and arguments.
My perfect cures and treatments
If you have a job that does not make you feel good, you should have at least something that takes care of your physical, spiritual and mental wellbeing. I do art and gardening to lift my mood. Art is a very specific area which has so many functions that it is difficult to even list everything great that happens when people start almost meditating when creating art. Gardening keeps one in good shape and puts clean, healthy food on our table.
Real versus improved, modified and altered
Less stuff from the health food store and more from your own backyard and garden is a huge advantage. The older I get, the more I learn about everything simple herbs and plants can do. If you grow your own vegetables, fruit and herbs you most likely not only water them, but also send them some good thoughts, you really enjoy turning seeds into plants, and plants into food.
Do you think there is a difference between an apple that has been grown in a garden for profit and with use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and a very naturally grown apple from a tree to which you have sent your happy thoughts while it was blooming and ripening? The difference is as big as between day and night.
Beet we grow is good because it has balanced amounts of all nutrients. Beet powder might be advertised as wonderful, but it will cause imbalance in your body. Plant proteins are great, but they come in the right amount only in plants, especially plants which are almost alive and come straight from the garden.
Natural treatments
By using pills, powders and liquids that have been modified and altered, we are always at risk of destroying the balance between nutrients our body needs. Our body definitely does not need or consume properly synthetic vitamins and minerals.
Natural treatments can be a huge health boost.
Warning: if you suffer from serious conditions and if you have to use medications, you should always check with your doctor how the natural products will affect your condition and whether it is safe to use such products.
I will share with you a very simple recipe of tea that will definitely make some positive changes and cost you absolutely nothing, just a little work picking and drying apple tree leaves.
Apple leaves: have you ever tried this tea?
Apple leaves have more nutrients, vitamins and minerals than apples, and tea or extract in boiling water are easy to make.
We collect medium size healthy looking leaves either in early spring before blooming or in the fall after fruit has been removed. Apple trees grow almost everywhere, therefore, the main ingredient is easy to find and will cost you nothing.
Tea made of dried apple leaves is recommended for:
Anemia: use 200 ml boiling water over 1 tablespoon of dried, crushed apple leaves, allow to steep for 1 hour, strain, use 100 ml of extract with honey 3 times a day 1.5 hours after meal;
Cold, bronchitis, cough, hoarseness: use 200 ml boiling water over 1 tablespoon of dried, crushed apple leaves, allow to steep for 30 minutes, strain, use 1/3 of 200 ml glass 4-5 times a day. Such apple leaf extract kills germs and causes you to sweat;
Colitis, inflammation of gastrointestinal tract: 200 ml water pour over 3 tablespoons of chopped apple leaves and boil for 15 minutes, cool and strain. Use 2-3 tablespoons of extract before meals 4-5 times a day. Such extract can be also used to improve digestion, decrease the low density (bad) cholesterol level and to facilitate liver function;
Insomnia: cup of warm apple leaf tea will help falling asleep and relaxing;
Nutrient balance, lack of vitamins, depression, fatigue: if you are lacking vitamins, essential nutrients and minerals, apple leaf tea will bring you back to balance and increase energy levels, use approximately 1 tablespoon of dried leaves on 200 ml of boiling water and drink as tea a few times a day;
Skin problems, skin inflammation and wounds: washing face with extract of apple leaves in water will clear your skin, compresses will decrease inflammation and heal wounds faster.
Just like dried apple tea, apple leaf tea will warm you up and help maintaining good health during winter months and in any occasion when you need extra vitamins and minerals.
I know people who used apple leaves as tea or extract regularly for many years, and they reached 100 years while staying energetic and fit.
I will share more extra simple and effective health improving recipes as soon as I will have time again. Good luck!
Inese Poga Life School 
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks!
LikeLike
Pingback: Becoming a magician and the power of plum tree leaves | inesepogalifeschool
Hello Inese, I read this too and tried to click like but for some reason, it doesn’t work for me. Apple tea sounds wonderful! Guess I’ll need to grow an apple tree. 🙂
❤️carmen
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t know why you couldn’t click on like, who knows, they should be the same, but whatever. You just might grow an apple tree, why not?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I went to the WordPress Reader page and was able to click like. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, thanks, you didn’t have to bother, but I certainly appreciate that! I haven’t been blogging much with all the moving and I was in Europe for a month, so, some things are still in boxes. I need some time to re-group. Thanks a lot!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wonderful advice Inese.
It may be difficult thing to get some apple tree leaves around here, not very common.
I see you are being busy with your Art blog, but not with this one, hope everything it’s well with you, I rather comment here, than there, about subjects not related to painting, I was hoping to hear from you, and your travels, but figure you are busy as a bee, as usual.
Warm wishes! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Maybe apple trees are quite rare over there, but they are extremely common here. Well, it’s just something simple and very useful.
I am still setting up the studio and I have still unpacked boxes. It’s not even a month since I returned from Latvia, so, yes, it is kind of time-consuming to get everything where it belongs to.
I was hoping to get more students to improve the cash flow which was totally depleted while being overseas, but, since I am absolutely new here, I hope for better response in November.
I intend to write about the new model of self-awareness in a world where there are no enemies, no struggles, but only learning, using the info we have forgotten, but which is inside our ancient genetic memory, that type of thing.
I shared the tea ideas because I had beautiful pictures from the Latvian garden.
I don’t think I can create lots of interest because very few people read anything, but I hope to.
I am on the opposite side now: I haven’t watched any TV for more than 3 months, but I have read numerous books. I have to admit 90% of books I read were very average despite the description and status of some superb bestseller, they were even boring and very superficial. It is just like with any art now: quality has suffered enormously while there is huge quantity. Sad.
It is very nice you stopped by and left a comment. I hope things are ok for you, too. I will stay in touch, but do not promise to respond immediately.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Not worry, I understand you are busy.
About reading books, I read many books, about subjects I care for, but usually few novels, and they have to be very good, mainly classics of past eras, or someone whose literary knowledge, and style it’s superb, of course, the subject is important as well.
I am pretty eclectic so my taste of subjects, it’s all over the place, I am in the bad habit of having many books on my reading table, and read a chapter or so, of each one at a time before switching, the problem it’s the pile of books on my table keeps growing with every new book I get, and have now many books unfinished!
Anyway blogging it’s for mornings, reading for afternoon, and late into the night.
Time for me of taking care of other business!
Thank you for your response, and take care. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks! Well, I do the same, I have about 10 books next to my bed usually, I switch not only between subjects, but also between languages. I read a few chapters in Russian, some articles in Latvian, something in German and then there are books and magazines in English. When it comes to reading, I prefer the original. I have been a translator for many decades, but I am one of these disappearing ones who explored all the cultural background and did a lot of research. Therefore, I feel hurt when reading a negligent translation. LOL, the editor sets in, and I’m trying to figure out what made somebody to go with a wrong translation because you can feel it by recalling the phrase or word in the other language.
I know what you mean that in order to like something, it must be good.
I just rarely write something serious in English because I’m aware of how short my knowledge still is, no comparison to my native Latvian language.
I like reading your blog posts because they hit another angle of subjects we have heard or read about.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I read proficiently only two languages, and can manage badly three more, I am now in doubt I write really well in any of the two, I can read, both very well, but even my own, I find myself doing a lot of changing, v, for b, or c,s for z so many years of reading and writing English only, and the almost abandonment of writing my native language, not to say the academy of my native language had changed some rules since!
I had an English keyboard, and lacks ñ, that I have to resort to use Alt+code number, instead of a key, of recently I had to buy a new keyboard, but my computer doesn’t recognize it, I could switch it to Spanish, but then I would loose my English key positions on the board, and get me even more confused, it was bad to try to figure it up the first few days, imagine hitting a particular key with the sign on it, and another one coming instead!
Luckily I didn’t threw away the old keyboard, and keep it on hand just to make sure I can find a sign I rarely use. 😦
Now that I am teaching, a class in Spanish I have to write in Spanish, and I can see how difficult can get sometimes to remember the proper spelling of a word, that I have to make sure to check it before typing it, which of course make me waste time, not to say I need to double check it all the time.
Best regards Inese. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
That is great, you are teaching a Spanish class!
Well, I studied linguistics, and as the first foreign language I had Russian since age of 6. Then I added German which was mandatory again, so, I suppose I could read and speak German by 12 quite well. I always wanted to learn English, and they didn’t teach it in all schools, I only started to study it in the University. When I arrived to Canada, I could see how wrong my academic language was, never mind, I took a course even with Oxford, it was a distant learning for teachers, something sponsored by government.
I am not saying I write always 100% correct in English because I’m doing it mostly in rush or when I have strong poetic inspiration. I usually do not proofread my own writing, and so it goes out. I have been sometimes embarrassed what silly mistakes I had left, but I believe I’m ok with that. However, as a professional editor and proofreader I see errors in any written text, just automatically.
I have noticed that your posts are well written, and that is also because the content is number 1 and style and expression, as well as grammar comes way after that.
I have read about 20 books recently, just in the last few weeks, and I do not like how most writers use too many words, or most of them suffer from verbosity.
I think it’s ok to give some background of a character and description of place, but when it becomes abusively huge description and the entire life of a bypassing character is told who knows why, I do not appreciate that.
It’s interesting how you are saying you have to check your native language spelling after such a long time speaking only English. I suppose my visual memory which is developed because of drawing does not allow to forget spelling in any language.
I also know now where you are getting all great insights about Spanish literature from.
Well, not many people globally know or speak Latvian, but it is an extremely rich culture with folklore going back to Sanskrit times.
I find languages amazing, and first of all because of their internal music.
I do not know why many English-speaking writers are so famous if their writing is soooo average.
Therefore, people like you have nothing to worry about. Content is everything. If there is no content, no meaningful idea, why to dress it up and present as something fantastic?
Thanks for commenting!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s good you learned young, I learn to read English about twelve, but didn’t speak it until about twenty three, and didn’t start writing seriously until I started my blog on 2009, quite old by then.
However read a lot all through my life, since I first learn at five years of age.
I read a lot of good Spanish literature through the years, and know most of the classical writers of the Golden, and Silver age of Literature, and now I am even reading the old Greeks, and Latin Classics.
I am weak in English Literature. but for a few authors, and frankly care little about contemporary Literature specially now day that novelist are more interested in having their novel made into a movie, that I even wrote a post about it, in my opinion the novel it’s sort of a lost Art, with very few really good novelist left, Worldwide, part because people care little to read, part because culture it’s no longer a Humanistic persuit, as in older times, when Greek and Latin where ‘de rigueur’ at High School level, now an education it’s not to be cult, and educated, but to earn a living…I guess sadly the spirit of the age.
As always very interesting to read you, dear.
Best regards Inese. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Spirit of the age, that’s absolutely true.
I do associate the decrease in quality with like you are saying: the need to survive, the same goes about arts. Maybe it is the ability to share anything since internet tolerates whatever is put on it.
Some novels are quite ok until the last part where everybody feels obligated to bring it to the happy end where bad guys get punished and the good ones become all happy. The formula works because we all want the happy end, however, it simply is terrible literature and nobody is interested in reading something with unhappy ending which would be real life.
I suppose I got my dose of ancient greeks and Latin at the University. We had to translate such texts, and with the Latin grammar it felt sort of like nightmare at that time. I still know some Latin, but just some.
I do read a lot of psychology recently, mostly in Russian or Latvian because I want that different edge of it since it is all the same in English.
That’s probably why you also get some different ideas in Spanish.
Reading is still so good. I have become a frequent visitor to second hand book stores. I don’t mind if I can find something that interests me a lot.
Other than that, I seriously read a few blogs (have not done this recently because believe or not, I have still unpacked things, yesterday repotted plants and took them inside, it was lots of work), that includes yours and I have found a few other blogs which are distinctive and talk about unusual matters and mention something which does not fall under “trendy”.
I just finished a watercolor class, I will rest for a while.
Thanks again for the wonderful comment!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have a friend, his name is Bob, you can see him in one of my post on November 2016, when I lived in Los Angeles, we use to get together on my weekends and sat at the farmers market to spend a great part of the day reading, talking, and arguing about many issues, but mainly we share a love for Literature, and good books, you can see a picture of him in my post, seated at our table, that by the way, it was like our spot in the market, people who knew us would vacate the table in order to give it to us, if by chance they just happen to sit there. 🙂
Anyway, we are both serious readers, right now he is traveling with his wife in Hanoi, he likes to travel three, or four times a year, they have been all over the World, they got married in 1958, but met traveling in Europe, as you can see by the picture he is quite old, stubborn, and opinionated, but a great friend.
Anyway, he loves good novels, myself had read many, but for years now I am into many more diverse subjects, and unless the novel is very good, I wouldn’t waste my time on it, I introduce him to Spanish, and Portuguese Literature some years ago, and he loved it, unfortunately he doesn’t read Spanish or any other language but English, and it’s hard to get many novels, who to begin with never had been translated into English.
So my job, it’s to get him authors, and novels that he may like, so we discuss the merits of the new writers vs the older generation writers, one of the difficulties we see novels talk the culture of the age when they were written, and that produce a gap for the non educated person, that it’s hard to bridge, not familiar with the mores, and uses of that particular age, and not worried with the now common idea of writers to pack excitement, action, adventure, and all sort of gimmicks that replace knowledge, education, wisdom, taste, and art, skills so necessary to good writing.
Of course, my friend Bob complains, always of the lack of taste, and education from today’s readers in general, and one of our common bad habits, it’s trying to see the titles of the books, some people read in nearby tables, and of course he is disappointed to find them reading the common trash editorials push as bestseller lists today.
I joke with him, saying:
One of this days your pants are gone fall off when you find someone reading Witold Gombrowicz’s, Ferdydurke, or Bruno Schulz’s Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass, or any such improbale book, and author.
To what his response is : Fat chance!
I guess will be likefor you finding your Canadian next negibor neighbor reading Rainis, Jānis Pliekšāns .
As always Inese, a pleasure to read you. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I read your story about your reading buddy with great pleasure.
That is such a privilege to be able reading originals, and it is even better you introduced Spanish literature to him.
Rainis, Jānis Pliekšāns (his real name) was an interesting figure in Latvian literature. While communists connected him quickly with revolutionary trends, he had much better literature which wasn’t really anything associated with revolution, but rather with human mind, loneliness and being caught off guard in face of rapid changes that happened during his lifetime. He reminded me always of Goethe since I had studied German literature almost before Latvian. The feeling I took away as a very young person was that great minds are never understood while they are interpreted frequently by small minds and people who never even had a chance to fly up that high in their thoughts and with their ideas. Rainis has some wonderful lines in a short poem which he called a triplet because of its form: “The mountain climber”. His idea was that he got older and lonelier with every year until he reached his heights (as in career, etc), and there was nobody anymore around him. I suppose he felt that the small minds interpreting his writing and those who published the reviews got him wrong. He felt it and he was helpless in convincing the society that he is talking about something completely else in his poetry and drama. The society loves labeling, I find that disaster.
While I have read some Spanish literature, I tend to stick with originals. One of the first writers who I translated into Latvian and who I became obsessed with was Rilke. I still have some tiny original poetry books of him in Latvia. It was a lot of work to catch the mood and to include the same huge meaning in short lines that he had. I believe a few translated poems really nailed that.
It is terrible how people call every short poem haiku nowadays. It’s forgotten that there is tanka, as well, but these short poems are not about count of syllables or number of lines. It is all about content. I read quite a lot of them and while there were thousands of haiku, there was hardly any which in reality was it.
I do feel that this is a common trend what you mention: superficiality replaces “knowledge, education, wisdom, taste, and art, skills so necessary to good writing”. It is understood that nobody needs education in order to write or create art. They only need good advertising and marketing skills. That’s where the genuine literature and art end.
Lucky guy your buddy who can travel the world! Such a full life!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, I know what you mean, most people doesn’t get it, they are just are happy remaining with the small digested version, a sort of ersatz idea:
‘There, in that pale region, beneath that essential cover, the twin incompatibility of an œuvre and madness is unveiled; it is the blind spot of each one possibility…’
Rilke, it’s one of those writers who from time to time I return, I possess most of his work, and just a couple of weeks ago I bought for a friend, as a gift a copy of:
Letters to a Young Poet.
Unfortunately cannot read him in German, just like Goethe, of who I posses a very good translation into Spanish a beautiful leather bound edition, bible paper with decorated edges.
Here that’s how it looks like:
https://www.google.com.mx/search?q=goethe+aguilar+obras+completas&rlz=1C1GIWA_enMX795MX795&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjcx_29z5reAhUMIDQIHfPrDcMQsAR6BAgGEAE&biw=1920&bih=969#imgrc=MYCbkReY2LRkPM:
Well, I kind of smile about everybody doing what they think it’s a haiku, I guess they are entitled to feel they are Basho for a day! 🙂
In Sanish we like to say:
‘Audacity is the courage of the ignorant.’
We cannot blame most people for being fearless in the face of ignorance, but neither we can let them go completely free, we all have a responsibility to educate ourselves, in lack of a good upbringing, and a lack of opportunities.
Thank you Inese, for your great response, and telling me about your personal views about Jānis Pliekšāns. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Rilke, Goethe and Rainis share some of what I think is the big secret of being and existence. I would not try to define it because it is more feeling than particular words or expressions.
Well, I feel annoyed when haiku is lowered to some pointless verses. It’s a very special type of poetry for me, and I value it exactly because of some talented people who are able to incorporate huge meaning and feelings in a few words.
It’s good there are many people like you and me, and your buddy who read all the time and learn with every page they have read.
I love knew knowledge for the ability to open my eyes. It does that quite frequently. I think one has to be flexible when we can see all of a sudden that everything we have known so far might be just an illusion of what the universe is. Of what our life is. We have to fearlessly go into something which nobody has defined and explored yet.
Thanks for stopping by!
LikeLiked by 1 person