Lungs full of Breath, Blessings, and Joy make our holiday hearts beat high this year.  There is no doubt it has been a difficult COVID-19 year for our friends and readers.  However, now we have vaccines and hope arriving daily. Thus, we would be remiss not to express renewed faith in Heaven and in humanity.

As FLASS has stated previously, “We believe the best part of any holiday celebration, for all religions and countries, will always be spending time with our loved ones…” And it follows that “Giving to those in need and following the customs that we love deepens our love for each other–and for the Almighty.”

Thus let our words ring out with Lungs full of Breath and Joy, “Merry Christmas, Blessed Hanukkah, and a Shining Kwanza to all of you from all of us.

 

Lungs Full of Breath, Prayer, and Gratitude

Lungs full of Breath are Delights to Behold.

Count Your Blessings and Take Time for Family.

We have a lovely saying we have used several times over the years, in good times and bad.
Let us share it again, to delight old readers and new. We quote from Thomas Monson, “Christmas is the spirit of giving without a thought of getting. It is happiness because we see joy in people.”  Likewise, we realize Christmas means “forgetting self and finding time for others.” And perhaps the words might make you inhale lungs full of breath and joy. We hope to provoke some of your most authentic, from-the-heart Christmas Smiles.

 

To Whom Roses are Due:  Appreciation for our Medical Heros

FLASS sincerely thanks the nurses, doctors, healthcare providers, first responders, and office workers who have met the COVID-19 pandemic challenge. We will never forget the courage of our medical workers at the time of the coronavirus. They showed true heroism and the spirit of Christmas: As Thomas Monson adds, the meaning of Christmas “is discarding the meaningless and stressing the true values.”

 

Lungs:   Breathing and Counting Blessings

We know that Christmas can be a very lonely and depressing time for some in any year.  In 2020, the situation is exacerbated due to the pandemic and economic restrictions.

This year, let’s work doubly hard to avoid that seasonal depression.  With lungs full of breath and joy, let’s count our blessings. Or as Will Rogers stated, “Don’t let yesterday use up too much of today.”

 

Counting Our Blessings with the FLASS Family

Lungs full of Breath Bring Life.

FLASS Has Shown That Smiles Improve Health and Can Help Avoid Depression Due to COVID-19 Isolation.

FLASS feels that if you are having a problem coping with this season of joy, take a deep breath. Simply reflect on the joy of breath itself.  It could improve your mood.

You see, 2020 has been a great year for counting. We have been counting breaths and COVID-19 survivors. We’ve been counting vaccines, and diminishing dollars…But, as we approach the Holidays of Christmas, Hanukah, and Kwanza, let’s start counting something else—Blessings.  You see, we believe that if you know how to count your blessings, you can evoke some holiday smiles.

 

 

Count Your Blessings, Not Your Troubles

Concentrating on our troubles causes more trouble and more miseries.  You don’t have to be an expert to know this.  Part of the answer just might be to fill our minds with happier thoughts. Experts tell us the trick is not just to count each blessing, but to count it intently.  Another way to say this might be to fill spare moments of your life with happier thoughts. Here are a few ideas:

  1. Do everything with your full attention. Examples:  Try a familiar action with your non-dominant hand.
    Yes, fill your lungs with air while you tie your shoes.
  2. Watch less depressing news programs.  Thirty minutes to catch up on what happened in the world is ok.  But, don’t let it dominate your life. Tune that TV to something that makes you laugh or feel better.
  3. Enjoy simple pleasures. Listen to special music, watch a sunset, or build a sand-castle. Our children can often teach us similar skills.

 

Other Tricks to Check Out

4.  Make time for other people, even if it means Zoom time, phone time, or drive-by greeting time! Call a friend or relative.  Relieve old memories or fun moments.

5.  Get Physical.  Use spare time to work in the yard, exercise, or go fishing.

6.  Don’t wish your time away! In tough times, it’s tempting to just wish it were “back to normal…” However, it’s impossible to count blessings if you are constantly wishing for “now” to go away.

7.  On the other hand, Occasionally taking the Scarlet O’Hara approach could be healthy. In a crucial moment, she says, “Oh, I can’t think about this now. I’ll go crazy if I do. I’ll think about that tomorrow.”

 

The Happiness Decision

Happiness is sometimes simply a choice, like the way you allow your lungs to breathe.

  • Choosing happiness is similar to choosing to count your blessings. It’s a choice to count a blessing.
  • And you must also decide to give a smile—even under a mask! You have a choice and remember, tomorrow is given to no one. That’s not just a COVID-19 lesson.  It’s always been a fact of life.

When full of Breath and Blessings, Lungs Can Smile!

Happy Holidays: Family and Friends Sharing Special Times.

You won’t find it in an anatomy book, but we think lungs can smile—or at least cause a smile.  Likewise, since we are at the height of a shopping frenzy, how about a Holiday gift that costs nothing?  A smile! Smiles bring holiday magic.  Also, there are other advantages to this abstract gift:

  • You don’t have to wrap a smile in paper or ribbons to give it away.
  • It’s an appropriate gift for, friends, relatives, family members, business acquaintances, and even the people you pass in the halls of FLASS.
  • Supported by your personal breath and gratitude for blessings, your lungs pull a smile right from your heart.
  • And it comes in one-size-fits-all.

Have you ever found yourself feeling stronger and better after a good laugh? Some scientists believe there is a physical and scientific reason.

 

Scientific Facts Behind a Holiday Smile

Sarah Stevenson recently reported on the science behind a smile in the periodical Psychology Today. Then, she revealed several physical reasons the smile makes a mystical connection and a magical gift.

 

1.  Our Holiday Smile is Contagious:

She said that Scientists and “spiritual teachers alike agree that the simple act can transform you and the world around you.” Wow. Did you know your smiles make you more attractive?

2.  Making a Smile Boosts your own Mood.

This rings true even if it takes a little extra effort.  So think of a Happy Holiday memory, and grin a little as you think about it. Let your lungs take in the memory like a breath. Let’s see if it brightens your day.

3.  How a Smile Affects Your Brain:

According to the experts, “Each time you smile you throw a little feel-good party in your brain. So, the act of smiling activates neural messaging that benefits your health and happiness.”  And we FLASS secretly believe that it all starts with the Lungs.  Lungs provide the push, the inspiration, and the breath behind that happy holiday smile.

A Holiday Gift For You. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukka, and Blessed Kwanza.

Next week, we’ll bring you some top news about COVID-19. Plus, we’ll report on some important information on lung nodules. But for now, in the glow of the holiday spirit, just let your lungs fill with breath, count your blessings, and smile.  

FLASS now wishes you Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a Blessed Kwanza.  No matter which holiday of the season you honor, FLASS sends Season’s Greetings from our family to yours.