Health tips for better life

VERONIKA DECIDES TO DIE

 ”Stay mad, but behave like normal people. Run the risk of being different, but learn to do that without attracting attention.”

Death – the absolute truth, the inevitable reality. At some stage in each of our lives, the choice of ending it has crossed our minds .The ultimate escape from all of this pain and agony, the undisturbed sleep. But none of us has ever dared to attempt it or even mention it as we all are afraid of the raised eyebrows and the imminent question, “are you mad?”

Madness – the excuse to finally live our lives, do as we want, no strings attached. Each one of us comes with our own set of eccentricities but we again are too afraid to express them and act on them. Again our feet are bound by the dreaded question, “are you mad?”

It’s said that all in life is pre decided by some supernatural power. But what happens if we decide to make our destiny. What happens if we decide to die?

The story begins on 11th November 1997, in Slovenia, the day Veronika decides that now the day has arrived for her to kill herself. She takes an overdose of sleeping pills to put herself out of her desolation. This decision was based on her belief that she had spent her life to the full extent and to carry on living will only increase her miseries. She decides to die because she was neither happy nor unhappy. It was the same routine for her, same working days and nights. She realizes that now nothing was going to change for her and life somehow had lost its meaning. As she awaits her death she watches the routine life from her window and feels at peace with her decision. While flipping through the pages of a magazine, a question asked in an article catches her eyes, where’s Slovenia? So she decides to write a letter to the newspaper, about Slovenia explaining its existence and making its anonymity, the reason of her death.

Her failed attempt leads her to a mental asylum called Vilette. As she regains consciousness, she realizes that her suicide had not been successful and after recovering she would have to go back to her routine life and live it on the terms of others, spend it for pleasing all and meeting their expectations. But later she is told that although she is alive, her heart is now irreparably damaged and she has only a few days to live. Waiting for her death to come, she realizes that time has lost all meaning. All she had to do was wait for the day, the minute and the second when she will finally close her eyes on this world.

During her first conscious night in the asylum, she meets Zedka, another inmate who had left everything in her life to search for her impossible love. Her futile search led to depression and finally she landed in the asylum. She experiences astral journeys during the course of her treatment and explores the world around herself in a way that was strange by all standards. She becomes a friend to Veronika and on the day of her release, she leaves her with the thoughts of limitless and reasonless love. Zedka decides to leave her depression in the asylum but carries with her all other sorts of madness which now will be normal for her and others, as she was considered to be abnormal.

Veronika also meets Mari, a member of the Fraternity (a group of longer standing members, who could have left several years ago, but stay at the states expenses due to the hospitals familiarity, and who behave like dangerous maniacs whenever there is a government inspection).  Mari, a successful lawyer, enters the asylum as a panic attack patient. Though her state is completely curable, she decides to stay back and conform to the rules and life of the asylum rather than facing the world outside which had shunned her due to her illness. She teaches Veronika to experience ultimate pleasure and push herself beyond her boundaries. To be your own self is the best way to live and this can only happen when we remain true and not let others adulterate us. In the end, inspired by Veronika’s courage to live each day as it comes, Mari decides to leave the asylum and follow her heart and free her soul.

Veronika’s life changes when she meets Eduard, a schizophrenic, whose madness was reportedly beyond cure. Being the son of a diplomat, he had seen all comforts in life but his road accident changes his life .He gets inspired by the lives of great visionaries and creates his own visions of paradise. He gets conflicted between his parents’ wishes of him becoming a diplomat and his own of becoming a painter. Split between the two, he finally looses the thread of attachment and ends up in the asylum. Here, he gets enchanted by the music that Veronika creates on the piano. Each night he waits for her to play and looses all his sorrows and worries in the rhythm of the notes. She manages to free him when she bares herself and her innermost desires to him and he sets them both free by escaping the asylum and embracing love.

This is a short novel of about 190 pages, but each page is an excerpt from each of our existences. Any minor deviations from the societal norms, brands us as abnormal. The book shows us two sides of the coin: surrender to the society’s perception of our conduct, or struggle against that majority and try to find our own way in the world. To unlock our deepest desires and to live life the way we want, has somehow lost its meaning. By digging deep in our souls we only realize  bitterness , hatred, love, madness .But what rules us is the fear to express what we feel .The book makes us  realize life  has not stopped offering changes but what we do with those changes , affect us. Closing our eyes from doing anything that’s different, that can change our life, guarding ourselves inside the high defensive walls will not help the cause. There’s an immediate need to break free from the shadows of monotony, normal and slow death. Each lesson in our life comes from our own experiences and they can only happen if we let them. Otherwise life just stagnates.

The book takes us through the risks taken by each of the characters. Life becomes worth living when we experiment with our capacity and capability. Love is the biggest risk that humans take. To completely surrender oneself to someone, tests all our other emotions. Selfless love is the impossible bond that all of us seek but rarely any of us find. But that does not stop us from loving as to feel alive we need to breath and bleed.

The knowledge of death inspires us to live each day with much enthusiasm and contentment. Otherwise we take each moment for granted and never pause to think that maybe this will be our last. We live for tomorrow and not for today. We stop realizing that we are judged by the standards of people who themselves do things which are way off the mark but manage to hide them. Each day is a miracle when we consider the number of things that can happen to us in each second of our fragile existence.

 

The author successfully manages to leave a mark on the hearts of all the people who ever decided what Veronica had, who ever felt like her, or like any of the other characters in Villete.

Insanity, as all call it, becomes a very relative term when we apply it to us humans. Our actions which may appear insane to someone, maybe completely justified to someone else. We need to realize that it’s perfectly fine to not behave as others expect us to and do what our heart tells us. It’s a very short life and we need to live it to the fullest, without any inhibitions.

About the author:

Paulo Coelho was born in Brazil and has become one of the most widely read authors in the world today. He is renowned for his novel “The Alchemist”, and is the recipient of numerous international awards. He was confined to a mental hospital in Rio de Janeiro three times during his teenage years. When he left, for the last time in 1967, Paulo promised himself that one day he would write about his experiences; however he also promised himself not to do this during his parent’s lifetime out of respect for the pain and suffering this would cause them. Instead Paulo found a way to release his experiences by way of the novel “Veronika decides to die”, published by Harper Collins in 1999.

 

An addition of a bar or center island will give you much more working space in your kitchen. It can be a place to cool cookie trays, hold mixing pans or store the mail from the day. A bar also works as a place to do homework or to have an evening snack. Whatever you use it for the most, it will make you have much more space in your kitchen. The island or bar usually has cabinets underneath for additional storage. A modern kitchen is a kitchen with lots of cupboards and cabinets!

Bar Stools

Refinish or recover the bar stools at the island. Material can be bought at a fabric store to recover worn or faded old covers. The material is sturdy and will hold up for many years, or until you decide to modernize again. If you want a complete new style, bar stools come in many heights and colors. Department stores and home improvement stores carry a wide selection in many price levels. Stools can be plastic, wood, metal or a combination of materials.

Breakfast Nook

A breakfast nook is a modern invention. The breakfast nook is a cozy alcove, where there is a table and bench seating where breakfast is enjoyed. Realistically, any meal or snack can be eaten there. The breakfast nook is just a place where meals that are more informal are held. A dining room is considered formal and where dinner typically is served.

Rugs

A rug is a simple way to modernize your kitchen. If you have old, dirty and faded rugs, it’s time to replace them. If you’ve never had rugs in your kitchen, they are another avenue to add color and design to the room. Buy a large rug that covers the eating area or a runner for the high traffic areas. Rugs do more than just decorate; they can provide warmth over a cold kitchen floor and protect it from scuffs, nicks and scrapes. If your kitchen is carpeted, a rug will keep obnoxious spills and stains off it.

Crimping Can Opener

A modern convenience in the kitchen is also a safety gadget. The can openers of yesterday are old news. The newest style can openers cut right below the rim of the can. As they open, they crimp back the metal so there are no sharp edges to cut a finger on. The can is also safer to drop in the trash, since it won’t rip bags or catch on something else. Crimping can openers can be in the electric form or hand held style.

Bread Machine

Grandma used to make the best loaves of bread, however, Grandma had a lot more time on her hands. You can have the best of both worlds by buying a bread machine. This modern technology mixes the dough, lets it rise and cooks it for you. No hours wasted waiting for it to rise. Follow the recipe book, pour the ingredients and then press start. Nothing could be more modern, yet taste so much like the Old Days.

Crock Pot

Another modern kitchen tool is also a time saver. The crock-pot of today allows you to have a family meal when you get home and still work a long day. In addition, to make it even easier, some food companies have pre-made meals frozen in a bag where all you have to do is open and pour into the crock-pot. Turn on low and let it sit for eight hours. Go and buy a new crock-pot if you don’t already enjoy one.

Chairs

Are the chairs at your kitchen table showing their age? To modernize them, you can either give them a facelift or opt to buy completely new. If you don’t feel like a project, head for the store. If you do like improvement projects, find some sandpaper and begin. Sand off any old paint or stain on the chair so that the new stuff will stick to it. Pick your color or stain and then begin. Follow all directions on the paint or stain labels to see the best results.

Coloring hair is very fashionable these days. You can easily see people of all age groups going for hair coloring. People are experimenting with all kinds of colors to look fashionable. It is no longer just natural black or golden people are going for, but they are experimenting with even red, green and blue and coming up with new hair coloring ideas.

Hair coloring has been in use since the ancient times. Ancient Greeks used to color or lighten their hair, which identified with honor and courage. They used harsh soaps to lighten or color their hair. There is evidence that ancient Romans also used to color or lighten their hair.

Now-a-days, coloring hair is very much popular throughout the world. According to some reports around 75% of women in the U.S. color their hair. Now people do not go for hair coloring just to hide their grey hair but to make a fashion statement as well. Young people experiment with many hair coloring ideas. The market for hair colors is huge spreading all over the world.

There are many products for hair coloring ideas available in the market. There are permanent as well as temporary colors. A patch test should be conducted before using any coloring product to see if the person is allergic to the color or not. In the case the person is found allergic to chemicals used in hair colors the use of the same should be stopped immediately.

Some people lighten their hair, which is also known as bleaching or decoloring. This process involves the diffusion of the natural color pigment or arificial color from the hair.

Permanent hair coloring products contain oxidising agent and an alkalizing ingredient. These chemicals raise the cuticle of the hair fibre so the color can penetrate in the hair fiber. They also facilitate the formation of tints within the hair fibre and bring about the lightening action of peroxide.

In the case of temporary colors the the pigment molecules are large so they do not penetrate the cuticle layer. It allows only a coating action that may be removed by shampooing. Temporary hair coloring products come in various forms like shampoos and gels.

Normally temporary colors are used to give brighter colors to the hair. It is because temporary hair colourants do not penetrate the hair shaft itself. Instead, these dyes remain adsorbed to the follicle and can be easily removed with a single shampooing.

The use of color can cause damage to hair in some cases. It is always better to visit an expert to for coloring hair to avoid any kind of harm done to hair. Coloring hair in some cases can cause breakage of hair strands, hair fall and dry scalp.

This season if the heat isn’t frustrating enough, there is a host of skin and hair problems adding to your woes. The humid, sultry, weather doesn’t allow you to wait for time-consuming beauty rituals. It calls for instant pick-me-ups and beauty aids. Indulge in these quickies…

BREAK-UP BLUES

Your skin is angry and emotional and you don’t know how to cool it down. No, a drink won’t do, unless it’s H2O we’re talking. Try this quick home remedy if an attention-seeking zit rears its ugly head. Apply an astringent mud mask; these usually contain clays like bentonite or kaolin that draw out the moisture to make a pimple less ‘juicy’, especially when rinsed off with really cold water, which constricts tiny blood vessels to minimise the ghastly redness. A pinch of dry, chalky (non-gel) toothpaste, like original Colgate, will also dry out pimples, if you leave it on overnight. You could also wrap an ice cube in tissue paper and hold it to the pimple for a few seconds. Remove and repeat the procedure four or five times. Mix a few drops of honey with 1 tsp of cinnamon powder and lemon juice each to make a paste. Apply and leave on the angry pimple for five minutes and wash off with cold water.

BLACK(LIST) THOSE HEADS

If it isn’t the in-your-face pimples, then it’s the slimy blackheads that come unannounced. Although steaming and exfoliation on a daily basis is your best bet, you could try this remedy when in a dire situation. Mix rice powder or almond meal with yoghurt and apply on blackhead-prone areas. Rub gently, in circular motion. Leave on for five minutes and wash off with cold water. Afterwards, mix fresh lemon juice in a cup of boiled milk and wash your face with it.

OUT IN THE OPEN?

Summer’s side effects-open pores and overactive sweat glands. What do you do? Use a facial scrub on the affected area and wash off with water. Then mix oatmeal with egg white and keep on for 5-10 minutes on the open pores. Wash it off when it dries.

EXTRA BAGGAGE

Lack of fluids and excess of salty foods lead to under-eye bags that look oh-so-awful in the morning. How do you lose them? If you don’t have a soothing eye gel waiting for you in the fridge, drink a gigantic glass of water. Then place cool compresses (chamomile tea bags are great and have astringent properties) on your eyes and keep standing-don’t lie down-to let gravity accelerate the drainage process. Crank up your circulation with gentle stretches or a few minutes of to redistribute body fluids. And don’t fret, the bags will gradually over an hour or two. Keep guzzling that water.

BOO THAT BO

Tried everything from scented talcs to deos? Try one of these quick remedies. Add a cup of apple cider vinegar or white table vinegar or 4 tbsp of baking soda and a cup of lemon juice to your bathing water. You could also dissolve 1 tsp of alum in your bath water.

LIMP, LIFELESS HAIR

For your heat-beaten hair, here’s a quick-fix solution. Boil used tea leaves in enough water so that, after boiling, you have about four cups of the concoction. Cool and strain the liquid. Add the juice of a lemon to it and use this as a last hair rinse. Another quick emergency treatment when you have no time to shampoo-dab on a little cologne to your hair brush/comb before you run it through your hair. It absorbs summer-induced oils and leaves your hair fragrant.

BADLY TANNED?

So your sunscreen didn’t work, and you are left with a bad, bad tan. Here’s what you can do to salvage the situation. A cool milk compress is one of the best remedies for sun tan. Dab your skin with cool whole milk for 20 minutes and then rinse it off with cool water. Better still, rub on some peeled onions for instant relief to sunburnt skin.

As we age, our skin loses its balance. It becomes looser, darker and less appealing. We all want to look younger as we age, but unfortunately, it does not work that way. There are many things, which cause us to age, the environment, stress, medications, improper diet, etc. We can cover our bodies and hide it from the world, but the one thing that is somewhat hard to cover up is under eye bags and dark circles. Sure you can cover it up with make-up, but sometimes you want to be able to not where make-up. You want that confidence and want to be able to look good with or without cosmetics.

Women with darker skin tones like African Americans, Latinos, Asians, etc. tend to have hyperpigmented under eye circles, which are cause by over abundance of melanin in skin.

Poor circulation under the eye can cause baggy and puffy eyes, it is sometimes caused by water retention and if the bagginess does not go away, it can be hereditary.

There are various ways of getting rid of dark circles. Laser treatments, home remedies and beauty creams. Revitol Eye Cream is the best of its kind. It specifically targets the under eye bags, dark circles, crows feet, wrinkles, etc to tighten and ultimately give you fresher more beautiful and younger looking eyes.

The tannins in black tea helps reduce the bloating of the eyes says “Confession of a Beauty Editor”, a book written by the editors of Allure Magazine. You can use beauty creams that have light-diffusing particles to reduce dark circles.

My way of keeping my eyes looking younger, is I try to get plenty of sleep, getting those zs is very important. The old saying, “I need to get my beauty sleep”, is the most important thing you can do for your body. Nutrition plays a big role, having a diet rich in antioxidants will not only slow down the signs of aging, but it will keep your immune system strong to fight off illnesses and give you more energy.

Keep your skin moisturized and clean. Use a mild soap and do not use facial cleansers that will dry out your skin. Exfoliate you skin at least once a week, this beauty product scrubs away the dead cells to give you a brighter and smoother appearance.

Laser treatments can be expensive, but if you have tried everything and nothing works. Then this probably would be your next option.