Dr. Lisa's Bountiful Life

Remembering Dr. Nye

My high school principal died of Parkinson's in 2012.

Dr. Kenneth Nye was just seventy, and had struggled for fifteen years with this disease.

Dr. Nye was a fine educator. Many a young Belisle graduated from Yarmouth High School having benefitted from his leadership. He was named Maine's Principal of the Year in 1993.

Despite his diagnosis, Dr. Nye lived his life fully and completely.

At age sixty, he became a poet. He published four books of poetry, one of which included the piece Going Home at Twilight:

Coming down the trail at twilight,
I am perilously close to
being stranded in darkness.
Earlier I had figured
I could ski the loop
before it got dark.
I was wrong.
But I know where I am,
and in the dwindling light
I see the trail, and the trail
will bring me home.

 According to his obituary, Dr. Nye enjoyed, "crafting pewter soldiers, his favorite toys from childhood. His love of gardening, bird-watching, travel, literature, tractors, riddle/joke/storytelling, swimming, sailing, ice cream, musicals, etc., kept him engaged in life to the last."

Dr. Nye was a vibrant, intelligent man. It seemed particularly ironic that a disease of the brain and nervous system would prove his undoing.

People like Ken Nye remind us that Parkinson's Disease, though yet incurable, can be managed better, longer, by staying active.

Here in Maine, we are fortunate to have researchers such as Dr. James Cavanaugh from the University of New England examining the relationship between Parkinson's and physical activity.

We are equally fortunate to have places such as the Medically Oriented Gym in South Portland, offering settings where Parkinson's patients can exercise in a supervised setting.

Sometimes the simplest approaches to healing yield the best, and least expensive, results.

Sometimes, although we may feel that we are stranded in the darkness, we need only go back to basics, to find that we know where we are.

Dr. Kenneth Nye always knew where he was. He knew that he was meant to engage fully during each of the seven decades he was given to live.

He also knew that in his twilight years, he was on the trail that would finally lead him home.

 

twilight

March 2013

Hear our interview with Dr. James Cavanaugh and Jacalyn Morrill of the Medically Oriented Gym this Sunday on the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour & Podcast. Download the podcast through iTunes.

Happy Tweeting

Social media has proven to be oddly useful in many ways.

It keeps us connected with others and aware of recent newsworthy events; it normalizes our human experience.

It also gives us insight into people's attitudes and emotional well-being.

A recent study done by the University of Vermont used Twitter as a means of identifying the happiest (and saddest) states in our nation.

Sorting through 10 million geotagged tweets, they found that individuals from some parts of the country were more likely to employ words or abbreviations with positive associations.

More than 10,000 words were given a "happiness" score from 1-10. Positive words included those such as rainbow, love, beauty, hope, wonderful and wine.

The happiest states? Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Utah and Vermont.

A lifelong Mainer, I was pleased (but not surprised) to hear that we are happy.

Over the course of my years spent doctoring, writing and radio show hosting, I have encountered a preponderance of people who believe in having an appreciative approach to life.

I've also met many people who make it their business to bring good news to others.

Two of these individuals, Natural Foodie columnist Avery Kamila of the Portland Press Herald, and Heather Chandler of the Sunrise Guide, will be guests on this week's Dr. Lisa Radio Hour.

We are fortunate to have guests such as Avery and Heather, and we are equally fortunate to have a positive publication like Maine Magazine as our foundational sponsor.

Life can be gloomy. Few deny that.

But outlook is everything.

Social media has given us more data to back up what we have long known to be true: positive words can contribute to a positive life.

When all is said and done, we are what we tweet.

 

Happiness at the Fountain

2012

Listen to Dr. Lisa's conversation with Natural Foodie columnist Avery Kamila of the Portland Press Herald, and Heather Chandler of the Sunrise Guide, this Sunday on the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour & Podcast.

Schedule an office consult with Dr. Lisa at 207 774 2196. 

Epiphany

You may be very good at a few specific things.

Or you may be pretty good at many things.

Some of the things that you are good at may be pursuits by which you might make a living.

And wise, well-intentioned people will encourage you to follow those pursuits.

You, as a wise, well-intentioned (and cooperative) person, may follow those pursuits.

And, indeed, you may make a living following them.

But, then again, you may not.

It has been a funny time in our society.

Not unlike other major economic shifts in history, many people have found that things previously assumed to be stable, truly were not.

Jobs, taken for their monetary potential, disappeared like mirages in the desert.

Years invested in professional pursuits became years lost.

What does this remind us?

To do what we love. Whenever possible.

Don't simply do what you are good at, or what people suggest you ought to do.

Don't simply accept a job, or invest in a profession, because it seems to offer long-term stability.

Stability, almost always, is a false pretense.

Passion is not.

And passion does not fade with time.

You may be very good at things that you "should" do, for their earning potential.

Instead, do what you love.

Invest in your passion.

Invest in your life.

Little Harbor, January 2013

Ready to invest in your life? Listen to the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour each Sunday at 7am & noon, or download the free podcast.

 

Culpability

When my son was small, he had a friend who was not an easy child.

That friend would come to our house, and I would have great sympathy for his parents.

I, the oldest of ten children, and a seasoned caretaker of countless children, found him challenging.

I would also have great sympathy for the child.

I understood what it was like to interact with a world that didn't always seem to make sense for people with different learning and coping abilities.

Over the years, I watched as this child's parents (well-educated professionals living in a suburban community with an above average median income and excellent schools), slowly lost the ability to cope with their child as a couple.

The strain on their marriage became too intense.

They eventually divorced.

Both of these parents are still involved in this child's life. He survived his adolescence and so did they.

The same cannot be said of the child who grew up to mastermind the Sandy Hook tragedy.

We may never know what difficulties he had with learning or coping. We may never know what specific adversity he encountered.

We do know that he was living with his single mother, who is now dead.

She was the parent who stayed behind: the one awarded custody of her 17-year-old son at the time of her divorce from his father.

We will never know what family complexities led to that decision. 

As I suggested yesterday, there are no easy answers to the question of why this tragedy took place.

A reader of the blog asked why I might place blame upon the mother, and not the absent father?

After all, what is not done is just as important as what is done.

The person who leaves is often just as culpable as the one who stays.

The reader's point is a good one. 

Still, we are left with no easy answers. 

Just an uneasy child, who became an uneasy adult, and created an unfathomable tragedy.

Now, we need to figure out--as best we can--why.

 

autumn, 2011

The Dr. Lisa Radio Hour & Podcasts airs Sundays at 7am & noon.