Ike and Sandy were two bulldogs that lived with my daughter Tracy and her family in Chandler, AZ. Ike was a happy dog and loved playing with children. Ike and Sandy were from the same litter and spent all of their days together, so when Sandy died in 2008, at age 10, the family thought Ike would cross over also. Yet Ike grew older and still seemed to have the will to live on. After Sandy died, the family bought another small dog to keep Ike company, but Ike wasn't that interested. He preferred to spend his retirement years in peace in Arizona as many humans do.
This morning Tracy sent an email: "Ike died last night of old age. He was 13 years and 1 month old. We will miss him very much." Good-bye Ike! As with all things, this chapter of the story is ending.
I'm posting about Ike because I recently blogged about a large number of pets and other animals crossing over now, some from old age, others due to Earth's many natural disasters and other mishaps. Everyone is feeling the stress of living on planet Earth. You probably are too.
There are few stress-free places to live ... every environment producing its own list of challenges. But as part of a greater experiment we adapt to life in/on physical Earth and cope accordingly based on many factors in an endless 'to do list' while we are here.
The articles below describe how city living stresses the brain, which as we know causes illnesses, accidents and eventually death as the souls are tired and can't cope. But the city often can provide a lifestyle that is not so stressful, if one can figure out how to do it. There's healthy living and an endless array of ways to create balance - from Yoga centers to self-help venues and of course there's always healthy food.
The biggest factor about city living is MONEY. If you can't afford to live comfortably, the stress of the city WILL drive you mad and send you running. The city offers many great opportunities, but also has dramas at ever turn ... of the corner. Actually, those who can afford to live well, often have impossible job pressures and hectic lifestyles.
As we look at suburban and rural life, they too have their share of programmed issues and personality types to play out their roles ... yet it would seem that city life is faster paced with more pressures and stress points. This generally results in people moving to the suburbs and/or renting summer homes in the country or by the coast to relax. You have to have a place to go to to create balance everyday. Reality is about balance - the yin and yang - above and below - duality - polarity of the brain hemispheres - planet hemispheres, etc.
Did you ever stop to think that planet Earth also has an agenda that includes stress and grid points? Its stress points are programmed to overload at the end of the program to parallel human existence in the biogenetic experiment we came here to experience and record in time and frequency.
How City Living Stresses the Brain Live Science - June 22, 2011
City living can be tough on the brain - it's been linked to anxiety, depression and schizophrenia. By testing the brains of students raised or living in cities, researchers in Germany have located the brain areas linked to this stress reaction.
Stress in the city: Brain activity and biology behind mood disorders of urban residents PhysOrg - June 22, 2011
Being born and raised in a major urban area is associated with greater lifetime risk for anxiety and mood disorders. Until now, the biology for these associations had not been described. A new international study, which involved Douglas Mental Health University Institute researcher Jens Pruessner, is the first to show that two distinct brain regions that regulate emotion and stress are affected by city living.
