Amit Sood and His Ideas to Increase Our Resilience

 Dr. Amit Sood has some great and easy to start ideas to increase our resilience, our ability to get through trouble, loneliness and sadness. He wrote "Just as trees grow their branches toward the sun, spend more time with people who are your source of light." 

One idea of Dr. Sood's I like is "Greet at least one person each day as if you haven't seen them for a month, with enthusiasm and energy."

Here is a picture that might make you smile, it makes me smile. This is a painting of my pup, Bounce. Yes, he has a Hawaiian shirt like in the portrait, and he is holding a ukelele in the painting, the artist's creative idea.

 

Dr Sood also says try to notice one new thing each day. I find that takes a bit of work, it is not as easy for me as I might have thought. Another of his ideas to build resilience in us is to send a silent good wish to someone you're connecting with. He does this all day, which makes him feel uplifted. Dr, Sood is a former medical professor at Mayo Clinic and is now CEO of the Resilient Option.

Me in 1966 riding a donkey to a picnic spot on Buyuk Ada, an island near Istanbul. My Turkish friends planned the picnic which included a carriage ride and they cooked shish kebabs and other goodies outdoors. Fun. New Things. Let's Do It.

Rumeli fortress, European Istanbul from the Bosporus Strait

Rumeli fortress, European Istanbul from the Bosporus Strait
Originally uploaded by Mickey Bo

I wanted to change up my blog posts a bit, and had a block about what to share here.
Then I thought about Istanbul, and the college I attended there for one year, and voila. I found this photo of Rumeli Hisar, a fortress that guards Istanbul and the Bosphorus.
This is an outstanding fortress to visit, which I did many times. It is located at the base of the hill below the college I attended so I saw it often.
To prevent invasions via water and the Bosphorus, a heavy metal chain was strung across the Bosphorus, which stopped ships from entering the city.
If you visit Istanbul aim to see Bebek and Rumeli Hisar, for a trip back in time. I sure loved my year in Turkey. The entire country is full of historical sites that are beautiful and I made many friends there.
One thing that is especially gorgeous about Istanbul is sunset when the mosques are silhouetted by the setting sun.