cheerful change

Dear Universe,
Thank You for Another Chance to Live a Life That Feels Like My Own

Thank you for another chance to see things that others miss.

Thank you for another chance to understand what it means to be totally conscious, awake, alive in this body. Here on this earth, for this sliver of eternity, as I am.

Thank you for another chance to change my mind about the things that hurt me.

Thank you for this new breath. No, thank you for breathing me.

Thank you for another chance to be who I know I can be, no matter what people say or think I should be doing. Thanks for all the things that taught me how to say no.

Thank you for another chance to see the miracle in every ordinary thing that isn't ordinary at all. Like the stars, the way a smile leads to another smile, and how something invisible like the wind makes a huge maple tree move.

Thank you for another chance to feel my brother’s and father’s presence, even when the physical world would tell me they’re gone.

Thank you for always being here, unaffected by anything that happens, reminding me that there’s something in me that can’t be destroyed. (I love that feeling.)

Thank you for another chance to simplify.

THANK YOU for another chance to heal, to go back home to my own heart after forgetting I belong here, to myself... and to everything.

Thank you for another chance to love the people in my life, and to love them better.

Thanks, again, for reminding me that my whole life thrives with a little breathing.
.........

What causes adult acne?

Adult acne, or post-adolescent acne, is acne that occurs after age 25.

For the most part, the same factors that cause acne in adolescents are at play in adult acne.

The four factors that directly contribute to acne are: excess oil production, pores becoming clogged by "sticky" skin cells, bacteria, and inflammation.

There are also some indirect factors that influence the aforementioned direct factors, including

hormones, stress, and the menstrual cycle in women, all of which can influence oil production
hair products, skin care products, and makeup, which can clog pores
diet, which can influence inflammation throughout the body.
Some medications, including corticosteroids, anabolic steroids, and lithium, can also cause acne.

Many skin disorders, including acne, can be a window into a systemic condition. For example, hair loss, excess hair growth, irregular menstrual cycles, or rapid weight gain or loss in addition to acne, or rapid onset of acne with no prior history of acne, can all be red flags of an underlying disease, such as polycystic ovarian syndrome, or other endocrine disorders. Tell your doctor if you are experiencing additional symptoms; he or she may recommend further evaluation.

How can I prevent breakouts?

Like most things in life, acne is not always completely in one's control. There are, however, some key tips we offer to help prevent breakouts:

Never go to bed with makeup on.
Check labels: when purchasing cosmetic and skincare products, always look for the terms "non-comedogenic," "oil-free," or "won't clog pores."

Avoid facial oils and hair products that contain oil.

Some acne spots are not actually acne but are post-inflammatory pigment changes from previous acne lesions or from picking at acne or pimples. Wear sunscreen with SPF 30+ daily, rain or shine, to prevent darkening of these spots.

How Too Much Stress Can cause weight gain?

Is excess amounts of cortisol ( stress hormones) can lead to weight gain?, is essentially the same as asking if too much stress can cause you to put on unwanted pounds. The answer in both cases is yes.

Cortisol — a natural stress hormone — is responsible for regulating your metabolism, so it’s important to follow common wellness guidelines to lower it. From finding time for relaxation to improving your diet and exercise, you can ensure that you control your cortisol and not the other way around.

What Is Cortisol?
Cortisol is a hormone naturally produced by your body. Created by the adrenal glands located on your kidneys, cortisol is released when you’re under stress. This sends your body into fight-or-flight mode, temporarily pausing regular bodily functions and slowing your metabolism. While this hormone is essential to survival, it can become harmful in excess amounts.

Cortisol Can Lead to Weight Gain
Cortisol stimulates your fat and carbohydrate metabolism, creating a surge of energy in your body. While this process is essential for survival situations, it also increases your appetite. Additionally, elevated cortisol levels can cause cravings for sweet, fatty and salty foods. This means you’re more likely to indulge in french fries and a milkshake than you are a well-balanced meal.

An excess of cortisol also can lead your body to produce less testosterone. This may cause a decrease in muscle mass, as well as slow down how many calories your body burns.
Do you think you can go over it?

Dear me,

Love yourself, respect yourself, thank yourself, just as you are, with imperfections just as you are with few friends, with many friends, with what you have to do, with what you have already done or with what you have stopped doing.

Love yourself, because you will always have yourself, at the end of the day you will be alone with yourself, and guess what? There is no one better with whom you can be.

Learn, absorb, ask, and once you are informed, give your opinion, give your opinion about everything and give your opinion with respect, give your opinion about how great life is, but respect it and question it. Respect the high mysticism that brought you to this moment that lets you not only write but read these words. That same mysticism that allows you to love yourself question yourself, learn about yourself, search for yourself, only to lose yourself, and find yourself again on the journey.

Love your friends, love them with everything you have, because they are the family that you chose to walk this path with, and they are the family that holds your hand, that makes you laugh, sometimes cry and above all that makes you look at yourself in the mirror. Take care of them, respect them, love them, and never let them go, friends stay forever. Learn to give them their space, just as you have often asked for yours. Learn to tell them how you feel, don’t be quiet if they hurt you, believe me, your friends never want to hurt you.

Relax. It is not as difficult as you think, there are not as many problems as you imagine; there are not as many enemies or villains as in the stories. Life is sweet, life is beautiful, and life is here to be enjoyed, don’t suffer.

If you want something, go for it, be grateful that you have it, be thankful for the abundance, even if others don’t appreciate it, never compare what you have, because you’ll find yourself in a hole from that won’t be easy to get out of. And why compare yourself if you are a beautiful person with unique qualities and opportunities?

And what about destiny from which these opportunities come? Love that destiny, respect it, don’t close the door to it, but don’t cling to it either. You will live many experiences to reach that destination, but there is not only one path, but you can also take several, you can go, come back and try again.

Don’t take so everything so seriously, leave your insecurities behind, people do not spend as much time thinking about you as you feel. You are important to yourself and to those who love you, stop projecting an image that you think others want to see.

Hug yourself, hug yourself hard, always hug yourself, and do it with love.

Feel, let yourself feel all your emotions, and express them, give them a name, don’t keep them to yourself. Crying, being angry, or shouting for joy are not weaknesses. Feel pleasure too, enjoy it without guilt, experience it, but always with responsibility and self-respect.

Love, love with madness and passion, love when you can. Don’t miss this incredible opportunity; let yourself go in the madness that is romantic love, feel it, live it without worry, without fear of getting your heartbroken, without fear of failure, without fear of the future. Your heart will inevitably be broken once in your life, but don’t live in fear of that day, instead enjoy the process it.

Go out, party, drink, but above all, dance, dance until you can’t take it anymore, and be grateful to your body that can feel the music, the cumbia, the sound. Be thankful to your body that allows you to make a fool of yourself without you feeling ridiculous.

Let go of your preoccupations, focus on what you can change, don’t exaggerate the future, focus on what you can work on today, tomorrow will be another day.

Help, help the one who has less, help the one who needs it most, help with your company, with a smile, with what you have or can but help.

Be grateful, be grateful for everything, be thankful to your body for getting up every day, your eyes for seeing, your hands for feeling, and your ears for hearing. Be grateful that you are here, be grateful for the smallest detail, be thankful for what you feel makes you happy or what doesn’t, be thankful for the future, be grateful for your strength, be grateful for today.

But above all, love yourself, love yourself with all your power, love yourself before anyone else, express that love every day whichever way you want. Express it with your feelings, with your breath with your mind, with a smile to yourself in the mirror or with an “I love you, Lorenza.” Something as precious as love should not be so complicated, so blurry, so mysterious, so hard to say, so taboo or so corny. Never stop loving yourself, because the day you do, you lose yourself.