When Death Finally Comes

Our heart stops beating while the lungs stop breathing, and each cell no longer receives oxygen and nutrients from blood. When this happens, the process called livor mortis takes place. It’s the settling of the blood in the lower or dependent part of the body like the back or the legs, depending on the position at death. This is due to the blood draining from the blood vessels starting at the top and accumulating in the lower part.

But most cells aren’t still dead except for the brain cells which die in the first few minutes of death. Cells of the muscle, skin, and bone can live for hours and several days especially the latter two. This is because these cells can use a different type of respiration after the heart and lungs stop working. This is called anaerobic respiration or respiration without oxygen, which can cause lactic acid build up, the reason for the muscles to stiffen. It’s very much the same when we run a long distance and our heart and lungs can’t keep up with our leg muscles. But the different lies on the fact that death can’t clear out this lactic acid because of lack of blood flow, hence causing the whole body to stiffen—or what we know medically as rigor mortis.

Rigor mortis starts at about three hours after death and lasts approximately in 36 hours. When all cells die, it can’t support to fight bacteria and the enzyme of these bacteria plus the cells own enzyme what cause the body to decompose causing the muscles to lose their stiffness.

The process that takes place after death depends on the embalming procedure that we usually do now to somebody that died. Embalming affects the length of time before the body finally cedes to the different stages of decomposition. On the next part of the discussion, we will tackle the more detailed story of how our bodies decompose, which is divided into five stages: Initial Decay, Putrefaction, Black Putrefaction, Butyric Putrefaction, and Dry Decay.

Skin

Its the foremost line of our body’s defense by serving as an effective barrier to lots of stress factors like microorganisms, dirt, and heat. With an acidic pH of less than 5, it makes an unfavourable environment for most bacteria. Hair, sebum, and sweat which are mainly found on the skin surface contain enzymes that destroy the integrity of pathogens. Through pores, the skin eliminates body heat, absorbs nutrients, and release metabolic by-products and toxins through sweat. And by a copious amount of blood supply through minute capillaries, clotting mechanisms makes an important role to prevent foreign matters gaining entry into the body through the wound.

Saliva

A significant amount of saliva aids ingested matters into a highly acidic environment of the stomach, which again makes a very terrible place for microorganisms to live in. Human saliva contains a significant amount of enzymes that can digest foods into their basic components which aid further digestive processes.

Respiratory Tract

The respiratory tract is a highly protected system in order to protect the entire body in return. This role starts from the nose as the nasal hair serve to trap large particles. On the other hand, hair-like projections called cilia takes care of the small particles and microbes by trapping and sending them to the throat, thereby allowing elimination through expulsion or swallowing, which involves a series of enzyme-based or immune system interactions.

Blood

The blood plays a very significant and dynamic role in keeping humans alive. One may not survive without an adequate amount of blood because it transports oxygen, nutrients, hormones, inflammatory factors, drugs, and a lot more. Through one of its component the white blood cells, it’s able to detect microorganisms and send signals to the other lines of body’s self defense, while the platelets and clotting factors maintain a safe and exclusive passageway for the circulatory system. They repair leaks and work more incredibly than Band-Aids.

These body components may not suffice to reveal everything as our body has a lot to tell, from the smallest part of the brain to the outermost tip of the toe. It doesn’t just contain a marvel of functioning cells and organs, which make a mass of muscles and bones a human being. The insurmountable amount of wonders it boast what makes a human body a miracle in a truest, tangible form.

In a little step to make some substance in our lives, there are also little things that can be pretty life changing. These little things are definitely foundations of things that eventually become big. And what’s good about those little things is we can actually make a little effort from ourselves to make them come true.

Here are some friendly tips how we can do life-changing efforts that come in a small package:

1. Tell beautiful stories of hope, faith, and love to children. This way not only develops their imagination but it also inspires them to do things that also center on the same three virtues.

2. Teach those who seek knowledge and wisdom. You’re not only sharing a great part of yourself but you’re also helping the whole world to acquire more bright minds.

3. Be a follower of a good cause. Whether it’s about green living, saving dogs, or children’s welfare, you can never be wrong about doing something which is for the good of many. It’s about seeing the world with a positive perspective towards betterment.

4. Always donate some pennies from your change. Some organizations put cans to gather donations to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and shelter the homeless. It may not be totally clear how many those you help in every coin you drop, but the important thing is you’re transforming their lives to goodness.

5. Last but not the least, goodness doesn’t only focus on helping other people. Get a piggy bank, daily put some pennies or dollar and once you accumulate an substantial amount, buy your grandma, your parents, your siblings, or your nephew some gift that somehow can express your love and care. Hug them and tell them how much they mean to you.

These things might be little compared to what Gandhi or Mother Teresa did in this world, but as what the latter sage has said to the whole world, “In life we can never do great things only small things with great love.”

Energy conservation is a top advocacy of green living these days. Today, lots of technological innovations in promoting renewable energy methods have been offered to various factories, buildings, and even residential homes. These methods, after all, would not only let them assist on the advocacy of conservation but also aid them in cutting down on energy cost.

One of the most innovative and trendiest energy saving scheme is the use of solar panels. Solar panels or photovoltaic modules have been long ago used by many industrial companies in a way to cut down from their large expenses. But today, its use has already penetrated the world of household commodity. Frugal citizens, despite splurging money on purchase and installation of the device, think that this method would make up for all the cost, not to mention continuous electricity supply despite power outage. Imagine a house jam-packed with high-energy consuming appliances running all day without even tossing a penny for the electricity bill. Sounds too good to be true, isn’t it? Perhaps a little peek about the truth would help us get to the point.

Advantages:

- Oil, which is imported from other countries, is what most people currently use to power their homes, buildings, and everything in the community. It’s not a renewable resource and takes millions of years before making a gallon out of decayed trees and animals. When it’s gone, it’s like gone forever and we will no longer have power or energy.

- Solar cells are quiet energy generators. They don’t vibrate or squeak while extracting useful energy from the sun.

- It creates zero pollution in producing electricity, which is the most important advantage that makes it more practical than oil.

- Little maintenance is required to keep solar cells running. There are no moving parts in its system, which makes it impossible to really hurt them. They tend to last a good long time with only a yearly cleaning to worry about.

Disadvantages:

- Solar power can’t be harnessed during a storm, on a cloudy day or night. This limits users how much power they can save for the future days or in the nighttime. There will be days that you may still need to rely on billed electricity.

- It requires a large area for installation like almost the entire of your roof to achieve a good level of efficiency especially when you aim for all-day, all-night consumption. Morever, as energy shortages are becoming more common, solar energy is becoming more price-competitive.

- The efficiency of the system also relies on the location of the sun especially in the Northern hemisphere where sunshine varies according to season, although this problem can be overcome with the installation of certain components.

- Solar panels are devices, which can undergo wear and tear. Once this device achieved its lifespan, we have to consider replacing it again, meaning another purchase, another expense.

While others like it technically bloody and invasive for the name of beauty, some would just like it to be more au naturel, simple, quick, and definitely painless. And perhaps the most fitting means for this depiction would be cosmetic or simply makeup. Today lots of cosmetic brands have emerged with different claims like long-lasting wear or non-irritable. But what’s really getting more popular these days are the mineral or organic make up.

What’s really interesting with this kind of makeup?

These organic or mineral cosmetics are basically natural cosmetics which are made from micronized minerals, mineral pigments and natural plant extracts, which provide natural sun filters. Similar to synthetic chemical-laden makeups, they’re also long-lasting and ultimately deliver a healthy-looking radiant glow. But unlike the synthetic type, none of them contain synthetic FD&C dyes, fillers, binders, artificial fragrances, or petro chemicals, which make them ideal for sensitive skin.

A mineral makeups is versatile, has a light-weight feel, easy to use, and non-comodogenic. It’s more like a natural choice for skincare regime which make it in demand among cosmetic wearers. It’s light-weight feel enables a wearer for layering options if more coverage is needed. Morever, most of these mineral makeups contain natural and inert ingredients that are bacteria-resistant and have natural anti-inflammatory properties.

There are already lots of mineral makeup brands that teemed the internet and stores but here are some brands which can help you choose with what you need for a healthy skin: e.l.f (Eyes Lips Face), Covergirl, Erth Mineral Makeup, Jane Iredale, Sheer Cover, Avon Mineral Makeup, and Illuminare.

Potala Palace

This massive palace, currently a museum, in Lhasa, Tibet was once the winter religious and political seat of Tibet under the Dalai Lama. The 1000-room palace is really two palaces: A red one at the top and a white one below it. The former was used for religious purposes. It has chapels, shrines and prayer halls. It also contains sacred scriptures, outstanding murals, and the gold covered stupa tombs of eight Dalai Lamas, while the latter was used for secular functions. Its facilities included bureaucratic offices, monk dormitories, a seminary, and the Dalai Lama's living quarters.

The building’s air today is filled with chanting and scents (incense and yak-butter burning lamps) that visitors encountered centuries ago. The views from the Potala Palace's roof and balconies are spectacular. Below lies Lhasa city and, beyond, the valley countryside and distant snow-capped Himalayan mountains.

Fjords of Norway

Glaciers slowly carved the Fjords of Norway out of hard-rock coastal mountains. The resulting narrow fjords are walled in by incredibly steep cliffs, verdant slopes and snow-capped mountain tops.

If you have time to visit only one fjord, let it be Sognefjord, which is only about 70 kilometers north of Bergen. It stretches 204 kilometers inland, has stunning fjordscapes, and boasts some picturesque villages. One of its arms, Naeroyfjord, is a tourist favorite because of its narrowness and skyscraping cliffs.

Neuschwanstein Castle

Neuschwanstein Castle is one of the world's most fanciful, recognizable and controversial buildings. It’s a bizarre castle conceived by the "Mad King" Ludwig II of Bavaria, Germany. It was built in the 19th century but designed as a fanciful recreation of medieval castles dating back to the 12th century.

It's easy to surmise that Walt Disney's theme-park castles were inspired by Ludwig's fairy-tale design when you look at the exterior of Neuschwanstein. Its interior’s just as whimsical as the exterior. Highly skilled craftsmen fashioned ornate rooms influenced by scenes from operas by Richard Wagner.

Petra

It’s an ancient city of tombs, temples and other monumental buildings carved into solid sandstone cliffs in arid gorges in southern Jordan. The cliff buildings of Petra were sculpted by the Nabataeans, an Arab tribe that flourished from around the 4th century BC to 106 AD, when the Romans took control.

The wavy sandstone geological strata give the facades and interior surfaces of the rock-hewn buildings interesting layered and whorled patterns - in a range of hues from pale yellowish white to intense desert rosy red. The Treasury building with its double-level colonnades is the favorite of most tourists.

More information from Hillman Wonders of the World: http://www.hillmanwonders.com/

Experts say that GSH actually does 27 wonders in the human body, although essentially it serves as an “antioxidant cellular defender, immunity boosting protector at the cellular level, and detoxifying warrior for each and every cell.” It’s naturally produced by our liver but with the loads of stress that our body endures at the cellular level, nutritional supplement from isolated GSH forms were synthesized and made available for people especially the aging ones and those with poor health.

One item that has caught my eye that is out on the market it goji berries they seem very healthy for one to eat.

But what’s more interesting is the increasing trend in Asia in using GHS as a supplement for aesthetic purposes in the same way that L-carnitine is used for weight loss. In the eastern part of this world, people use GSH to promote skin lightening, anti-aging, and pimple elimination through its antioxidant property. Although there has been a debate over the effectiveness of GHS for such aesthetic purposes, many Asian celebrities have already attested to its efficacy. That’s why in Asia where people desire for a lighter skin in as much as Westerners love a tan, the increasing rate of GSH use either orally or intravenously is mainly attributed to preserving beauty and youth.

Perhaps, there’s no harm in using any of Glutathione forms to get the results people want, but it’s also more satisfying as a health-conscious consumer to know that GSH offers more than superficial beauty. At the present time, studies have proven that its use has been so valuable in treating heavy metal poisoning, Parkinson’s disease, lowering blood pressure, sickle cell anemia, and a lot more. Whether you’re into preserving beauty or preserving health, Glutathione will definitely let you have any way you want it.

I decided to watch the “The Lovely Bones” and there’s this thing that captured my interest. Although the movie is centered on a girl being murdered with the rest of the story lying on the many depths of different relationships within a family, the scene where Mark Wahlberg as the father teaches his daughter how to make ships in bottles really earned my attention. The scene may have only run for a few seconds but the emotion and truth underlying it was so poignant. It was then that making ships in a bottle came across my mind as something that’s worth learning for a lifetime.

I found out that making those intricate things isn’t really easy and others who have become the masters of its art and craftsmanship actually spend years and years to learn it. Some of them became disheartened at first because their ships would always capsize and their finish works would always look like crap, well of course, in accordance to their descriptions. But the reward of their patience, hard work, and excellence after the many years of polishing has turned their work into more than what we call masterpieces. Every bottle with a beautiful ship in it is their creation out of passion, imagination, and dedication, which I think is worth more than awes and praises. It’s love that’s in every bottle I believe.

Now I begin to think that making such art is another great way to spend our free time, whenever we’re bored or simply have nothing to do. Finding materials in making the ships is so easy with the use of either a cardboard material or wood, some clays in different colors, paint, wooden sticks, glue, and old clothes, while old bottles of wine for the main housing. We can actually do some recycling out of scraps we’ve got in our house or ask for these materials from our friends or neighbours.

This craftsmanship is exactly what I’d want to see my family doing besides the common knitting and embroidery, or collecting stuffs which are only common for the ladies. This kind is definitely enjoyable by anyone, by adults or kids, by men or women. As long as you have passion for creativity and vision for art, making a miniature of the Black Pearl would be surely fun and interesting. More to that, we can always make souvenirs and gifts out of our craft and much more because they’re made out of our passion. So, for the lovers of the sea or for the lovers of art, this time is always the perfect time to make ships in bottles.

Massages in therapeutic or relaxation forms are one of the best ways to spend our time off. This wouldn’t only let you release body stress but also gives you other health benefits. Scientific studies from medical schools have proven that regular massage can decrease level of anxiety, enhance immune system, lower blood pressure, increase blood circulation, stimulate of weak muscles, and promotes a relaxed state of mental alertness, as some of its good effects.

According to medical experts, more than 80% of people’s ailments are caused by stress-related disorders because our respective society and culture have brought about pressures in our lives. An interview from Dr. Joan Borysenko of Massage Journal in 1999 stated that touch was so essential in the healing process as seen many years ago in trend of massage as part of patient care.

Just think of the relaxing strokes and touches of a therapist’s hands on your tensed and tired body. It wouldn’t be harmful at all to pamper yourself through the many available types of massage that suit your needs. Another good thing about it is that you can always take your husband, boyfriend, friends, or anyone who's up for it. However, it’s also important that you know and tell about your medical condition to your therapist in any case there might contraindication of muscle pressure and body stretches.

If you think you’re really in dire need of this relaxation therapy, there are many health and wellness spas that are now offering Balinese, Deep Tissue, Shiatsu, Stone, Swedish, and Thai massages as the most popular types nowadays. You may also search online for a nearby spa and contact them for your inquiries and reservation.

Perhaps this occasional event that only happens once in every four years is enough to give us all those goose bumps, tears, and shivers down our spine; but thinking about it, Winter Olympics or any other Olympic events for this matter are definitely a rare spectacle that gives each and everyone inspiration and hope. We may never know that what might have pushed us to follow every progress in the winter games is the hidden spirit of a sportsman within us.

In this sense, it’s never too late for us to try winter sports or any winter activities. We’re given a privilege to enjoy the annual winter season, which is absolutely an opportunity for us to engage in healthy and fun activities such as skiing, skating, or snowboarding. Sports are definitely positive channels, which we can add to enhance our lifestyles. It doesn’t choose color, age, or social status to bequeath its wonderful effects to personal growth and wellness.

So for the next time winter comes around, we might as well think of trying skiing in Mammoth Mountain, California or skate in the icy field of Central Park. This would be an absolutely fun and exhilarating moment we can always cherish with our family, friends, or significant others, not to mention an added experience in our own life diary.