When you were a kid, did you look up to someone that you would consider a hero? For me it was my Grandfather. The man was very special to me. He had a way about him the was infectious in a good way. Wherever he was, whatever he was doing the emitted the most amazing energy. He was full of enthusiasm, always positive, and full of love for everyone, even strangers. He adored his wife, his children, his family and his earth. I worshipped the ground he walked on. He was an example to live by.  Life offers up plenty of opportunities for all of us to be heroes. We have plenty of examples that can be found in the movies we watch, the literature we read, or the current, real-life examples that we read about in newspapers, magazines, blogs or see on the news. A hero is regarded as courageous, fearless, strong, resilient, selfless and persistent. The cool thing about the opportunity that presents itself is that every last one of us can access those characteristics and can be a hero if we so choose. It really doesn’t take exorbitant amounts effort, skill, or intelligence to become a hero nor does it require super-powers or super-human strength. All it takes to be a hero is love, compassion, the right attitude and the ability to recognize someone in need and subsequently providing that person with some quality time, support, guidance and friendship. Heroes can have a dramatic impact on those whose lives they touch. They help someone to feel safe, as if their is someone always watching your back, or standing by our side when life’s challenges present themselves. A hero can raise your spirits and inspire you to tap into your own power and potential. Heroes make our our lives more manageable and much more enjoyable. So I ask you again- Are you being a HERO??

As beautiful and precious life can be, it can be equally challenging and sometimes even devastating. At times we’re faced with unavoidable hardships and then there’s the circumstances we create all on our own that lead to suffering. It’s not very difficult to find yourself feeling lost, disconnected, lonely, full of anxiety, or crippled by fear. Hardships and feelings of despair can come in a variety ways be it from illness, natural disaster, the loss of a loved one, financial misfortune, injury, addiction, dysfunction in the family or in a relationships, failed goals, or unrealized dreams to name a few. Life can place a heavy load on our backs at times and there’s no question that many of us are often pushed to the edge or find ourselves at the bottom of a very deep hole. As the pain and suffering builds so can the hopelessness. Although it might seem as though there’s no way out and the walls are closing in, you need to believe in this fact: as long as your breathing, your mind and body are in tact and functional, you’re capable of rational thought, and you desire to change the way your feeling and the predicament your in, then there is hope, there is a path you can take that will lead you home. A path that will take you back to a place of peace, of love, of health, of happiness. A place to call home, where there is no fear, no self loathing, and no suffering. Here’s a short story of inspiration that should put things in perspective for anyone that thinks they got it tough. A friend of mine invited me to sit in on one of his therapy sessions with his psychitrist. The session started with the Doc asking him why he missed they’re last appointment. He started to use his miserable life and the incredible struggle he endures as his excuse. To my surprise the Doctor was quick to shut him down and he did it in a way that was much more aggressive than I’d ever expect a Doctor to behave. “Brian! Brian! Save your BS for someone who cares! I’ve heard it all before! How long to you plan on letting what happened to you as a kid destroy your life? Everyone has a tragedy Brian, I can introduce you to a friend of mine who watched his entire family be murdered by the Nazi’s in Aushwitz. He escaped and lived in the woods for five years. He was twelve. At seventeen he came to America, taught himself to speak English, got a job, put himself through med school and became a doctor. He got married had kids and had a wonderful life. This is available for you too Brian if you want it badly enough.

Summer is in full swing and yours truly couldn’t be any happier. Being a native of New Jersey I grew up with all four seasons. There are things that I absolutely love about each of them, but summer is the one that has a special place in my heart. During my formative years, my Mom owned a preschool and had the summers off. She would take me and my three siblings to the beach, what seemed to be every single day, as long as the weather was cooperating–and believe me there were plenty of days when we would be the only ones there sitting in the rain waiting for Mom’s prediction that the storm was going to blow over to manifest. Most times it didn’t and we would eventually give up and go find some suitable alternative to our favorite activity. This past weekend marked the first two days that I got to spend a decent amount of time with my favorite part of nature. Despite the fact that this will be my 43rd summer spent on the beautiful beaches of what we New Jerseyans refer to as “The Shore” I can never get enough. Saturday July 9th was an epic day for me and my clan, spent at the Allenhurst beach club. The temperature was just right thanks to a consistent, yet subtle breeze, the water was refreshing and clean, and to top it all off the waves were the perfect size for body surfing/boogie boarding. To sum it up in one word the day was AMAZING!! As the sun slowly sunk over the seawall turning the seagulls’ playground violet and pink I looked out to the horizon and thought about all of the incredible memories I have at the the beach and ocean. I sat there for a few moments in absolute awe, overwhelmed by my surroundings. I took a deep breath and thanked God for the perfect day and hoped that the next would bring more of the same. So I leave you today with a simple question: What do you find amazing?

Dear Power Center Family,

Did you know that over 60 million plastic water bottles end up in US landfills everyday? This means a staggering 22 billion plastic water bottles end up in US landfills every year!

I’d like to ask everyone to try to refrain from bringing plastic water bottles to The Power Center. We have filtered water and cups available, please bring your own reusable bottle or we have glass love bottles to purchase. You can save $252 a year by using a reusable container. Join us in making a choice to better your health, your environment, and the planet.

In addition to improving your health and the environment, 100 % of the proceeds from the sale of love bottles goes to The Live The 7 Foundation to fund preventative health and transformative fitness programs for children and young adults in need. Small love bottles are $20 (2 for $30) and large love bottles are $30 (2 for $50). Please read the following information that is the driving force behind this initiative to eliminate plastic bottles at The Power Center, and I thank you all for your support.

Live the 7,
John Nies

Drinking single serving plastic bottled water opens up a whole new set
of health and environmental concerns and hazards.

Get the Facts…

Studies show that about 40 percent of bottled water is actually
regular tap water with possibly no additional filtering treatment.
The EPA standards that apply to public water supplies do NOT apply to
bottled water. There are no restrictions protecting against a source
of bottled water being located near industrial facilities or waste
dumps. Overall, bottled water is less regulated than tap water. A
recent Environmental Working Group test uncovered 38 contaminants in
10 brands of bottled water, including DBPs, nitrate, caffeine,
arsenic, Tylenol, bacteria and industrial chemicals.

The Problem with Plastic Water Bottles

In the time it takes you to refill your water bottle over 8,000 empty
water bottles are being thrown away worldwide. According to the
Container Recycling Institute, in the U.S. alone, more than 67 million
plastic water bottles are discarded each day.
That’s enough empty plastic water bottles to…

Fill 5500 garbage trucks each day.
Bury Manhattan Island one foot deep each day.
Wrap around the planet 149 times each year!
Not biodegradable, empty plastic water bottles are a major contributor
to worldwide pollution.

In fact, water bottles make up a sizable portion of the garbage patch
of discarded plastic swirling in ever ocean. In the Pacific Ocean just
a few hundred miles off the coast, there is a swirling vortex of
plastic “stew” , The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, is currently larger
than twice the size of Texas and growing!

The enormous waste issue is not the only problem. According to the
Sierra Club, the U.S. alone uses 1.5 million barrels of oil to produce
all the water bottles we toss each year. And along with oil, comes
unwanted toxins. The processing of plastic water bottle releases toxic
compounds such as nickel, ethylbenzene, ethylene oxide, and benzene
into the environment.

Boycott Plastic Water Bottles

The Story of Bottled Water
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se12y9hSOM0&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Other Boycott Plastic Articles
http://agriculturesociety.wordpress.com/2007/08/26/start-a-boycott-on-plastic/
http://www.justmeans.com/Living-Green-by-Boycotting-Plastic-Water-Bottles/7061.html

The other day I drove my Mom to the airport. She was off to Florida to spend some time with my Grandfather who is 98 years young. During the drive she said she was going there to “take care of her Daddy”. When we arrived at the terminal I got out of the car to say good bye and she told me to “take care” of my sister and my niece. Her comments got me thinking about those two words that are used so frequently and how important they are for all of us. I first thought about how awesome it is when we actually have someone to take care of. Especially family members that love to look out for one another, making sure that life is good. And if it isn’t to make sure we do everything in our power to try to make it better. I like to think that there’s an innate mechanism inside of us that influences us to behave in a certain way. Could imagine if the everyone walking around this planet of ours couldn’t care less about anyone else but themselves? What a mess this world would be if that were the case. Fortunately we have plenty of compassionate people that are more than willing to extend a helping hand. I have a very high regard for the people that take caring seriously and Lord knows we need plenty of them to go around. I also admire those that choose to go into professions that fall under the “care taker” category. Those are the angels that live among us. Let us all start with trying to take better care of ourselves, because when we don’t it makes it very difficult to be able to take care of someone else. Eat clean, organic, and nutritious food! Limit the consumption of poison! Get your exercise! Say your prayers! Keep your spirits up! Love life! It’s much more enjoyable and rewarding to be the one providing the care as opposed to being the recipient. May I also suggest that we try to take better care of this amazing planet that provides us with everything we need to survive and then some. Take care of her by producing less waste, consuming less of her natural resources, and reducing our wastefulness (especially food and water). We all have the ability to take better care of ourselves, each other, and Mother Earth. So I’ll leave you with a very important question that we all need to ourselves and each other: WHO CARES?

Live the 7,

John Nies