Positive Alternatives

Part # 2 of our 2 part interview with Dr. Kathleen Burke. We continue our discussion on how substance use disorder is an evil foe not to be taken lightly. How many potentially great people have we lost to this insidious enemy? Will compassionate care lead us out of the darkness? Dr. Burke argues that Science is our best tool in this difficult battle to save lives.

When friends disagree it's important to remain friends. The value of friendship should not be overlooked. It is the ninth wonder of this world.

The Kathleen Burke Interview Part 1 - The journey to help others in their battle against substance abuse comes to Dr. Burke's home where she discovers the tales told to her by parents of children suffering from the disease of addiction becomes all too familiar. Not to be deterred, she buckles in for the battle.

In this episode of Positive Alternatives 5 Minute Thoughts, (which goes a bit over 5 minutes again, I just can't seem to keep my word) we discuss the merits of living a life the proper way through a plan of mind - body balance. You can't have one without the other.

Our interview with Dagmar Kauffman - Founder of On Balance Parenting, Collaborator, Peaceful Warrior, and Educator of Educators. We discuss how young people are losing out on the opportunity to grow and learn from their mistakes when parents step in and fix what may not really be broken.   On Balance Parenting

In this episode of 5 Minute Thoughts, I share how even us old guys need to work on the basics. Make that thing you wanna' do becomes that thing you easily do. Practice, practice, practice.

There are things that catch your eye when you are surfing the 'net. You know what I am saying. The Internet. Where you read it and just know it has to be true?

Instead of hiding from the conversation of death and dying, isn't a better idea to speak of it on occasion? I don't mean we need to dwell on it. We need to enjoy our precious time here on earth among the living. But it might be healthy for each of us to have a chat from time to time to help ease the inevitable pain we all have and we will leave others with when that time comes.     

In this episode we talk about how positive role models can help clear the view for teens seeking to make positive choices in their lives. It's always beneficial to have a good example to emulate as they live their best life.

In this 5 Minutes Thoughts episode I discuss one Positive Alternative is to make good choices. The focus is for you follow some easy, or maybe not so easy, steps to light your way.

According to an article in my recent AARP newsletter, the fastest growing rate for recreational cannabis users are people over 50 years of age. While we are rightfully concerned about how mixed messages are received by our youth when it comes to legalized pot; it seems the message is becoming pretty clear to our senior citizens on this issue.

In this episode of Positive Alternatives 5 Minute Thoughts we share some thoughts on taking it all in and coming to that best of decisions for you. Even at this stage of life I have to digest the advice but still understand that the call I have to make is 100% my call to make.

Before heading into the underage drinking party a choice was made. Before addiction took hold, a choice to begin using took place. And before the defendant showed up in court, clearly drunk, there was a choice to take that first drink, and the next, and the next, and on it goes. There is always a beginning where a choice to believe it's not going to happen to me becomes a lie some mis-guided people tell themselves.

In this episode of 5 Minute Thoughts I give you 10 ways you can turn your bad day into a good day. It starts when you get out of bed and you think, out loud perhaps, of all the great things you get to do versus you have to do. It's all how you look at it.

As the villages in Illinois determine if recreational cannabis stores are permitted within their borders, will the opting out of recreational sales actually increase impaired driving? Folks, after all, are Folks.

Day after day, year after year the court is overflowing with DUI Misdemeanor cases and lawyers who earn a good living reaching a plea between two interested parties. The path to prevention is education. We have to start young, plant the seed, and watch it grow.

Too often, in a world of hustle and bustle, we accept the answer from those in authority. Doctors, lawyers, business leaders, and politicians give us the answers and we can choose to accept that answer or we can dig a bit deeper and use our own grey matter for a better answer.

Positive Alternatives 5 Minute Thoughts - If you find yourself in a conference room full of corporate leaders or in a courtroom led by a Judge don't ever sell yourself short. Regardless of the players, don't under-estimate the skill, talent, and smarts you bring to the table. Whatever the task....you got this! 

You can not talk about Whiteclay Nebraska without also including Pine Ridge Reservation. For decades 4 liquor stores in Whiteclay, a town of maybe 12 residents, sold 3.5 million cans of beer a year. Most of the beer was sold to the Oglala Sioux who lived on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Despite the stores having been closed; the destruction wrought on the people of Pine Ridge will stick around for generations to come. Dry For A Year

Searching for an idea for the podcast can be as simple as opening the local newspaper (online of course) and sharing observations of man and his drugs.