come, stay and let's talk. it's a good day to be alive
It dawned on me:
this is it as a life I have known.
I couldn’t care any less about how others viewed me.
What mattered was whom I knew,
how I made them feel,
and what I have done for them.
In the end, I remembered the forgiving hand.
I remembered the laughters I shared,
and I remembered the gratefulness I felt towards those who have put a faith in me.
7.21.2025
note for my future self:
don’t forget me —
because through thick of thins things
such as cheap gossip, shows, and movies,
you will forget important things.
even the things you swore you’ll never forget
because it’s easy to get tired.
know that you survived the hellish places;
it’s a proof you can do it; whatever it is you want.
believe in yourself,
remember to lead yourself,
and be responsible.
6.23.2023
While many people resign to the fact that cognitive function level declines with age, there are small changes in daily life we can do to reduce its effect. These lifestyle changes will not only improve your cognitive function level but also reduce the likelihood of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. This post will pinpoint small changes we can embrace to improve our cognitive level.
Anyone who has looked for where they had put their keys will be familiar with how easily we can forget things. Older people tend to experience this forgetfulness much more frequently. So why do we forget as we age?
We forget with the reduction of neurons, a major type of brain cells. Although we form millions of neurons in the early years of life, it is said that we start to lose them in our 30s and 40s. A reason why the number of neurons decreases as we age could be because of reduced blood flow to the brain. This may lead to changes in chemicals in the brain, such as reduced epinephrine or blood glucose. Shrinkage of the hippocampus, a brain region that plays an important role in learning and memory, may lead to forgetfulness.
Once we start noticing forgetfulness, we may begin to have this worrying thought: “What if I have dementia?”
Memory loss of normal aging involves infrequent forgetfulness. Perhaps once in a while, you will forget about a meeting, a bill payment, or a person’s name. But severe memory loss that makes it difficult to do everyday things like driving, being confused with time, people, and places, or finding your way home, might be a good indication for you to start planning a visit to your doctor.
If you suspect yourself of having a neurodegenerative disease, talk to your doctor. If you are aged over 65 years old and had Medicare Part B for longer than 12 months, you may be eligible for an Annual Wellness Visit to develop a free personalized plan to help prevent dementia. Your doctor may be able to assess your cognitive level with questionnaires like Mini-Mental State Examination.
Such memory-related questionnaires can help differentiate between different stages of dementia. Mild Cognitive Impairment is the stage between the expected decline in memory due to normal aging and the more serious decline due onset of dementia.
Measuring the prevalence of dementia is difficult to measure, especially since the early onset of cognitive impairment is difficult to differentiate from memory loss from normal aging.
With increasing age, the chance of having dementia increases. In 2019, approximately 2% of those aged 70-75 years old had dementia, while 27.7% of individuals aged more than 90 years old had dementia.
There are conditions and activities that may lead to a higher chance of memory loss and neurodegenerative diseases. Excessive drinking of alcohol, smoking cigarettes, and having depression may lead to memory loss. Having chronic illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol level, and depression may lead to an increased likelihood of dementia. Even hearing impairment could increase the likelihood of cognitive impairment.
There’s no worry if you are experiencing memory loss. If it is infrequent, it may be a temporary event. However, if you would like to proactively increase your cognitive level and also prevent the later chances of having neurodegenerative disease, consider taking the lifestyle change actions recommended above. With small incremental efforts each day, you can find tremendous improvement in your quality of life.
This post was inspired by Health Life Guru and Health Tips Now. Please feel free to pay a visit to them!
Disclaimer: This web post is for information purposes. If you have medical needs, please contact your primary care physician
I don’t know what to call it.
Memory? Shadow? Spirit?
One moment you see a person,
the next, you don’t see them.
Your friend, your mom or dad, your teacher,
one moment you see them with your eyes.
the next, you don’t.
So you believe.
You believe they are there with you.
just out of sight,
but they are there with you.
When I walk on the street,
or sit in an empty room,
I feel their presence.
And I remember/sense/imagine:
The way they talk,
the way they gesture,
the way they tell you
that they love you.
it is unmistakable.
I want to tell them:
“I remember all of you”
so I try leaving such tenderness
in the hearts of those dear to me.
As they have done for me.
5.4.2023
before you go on this journey,
remember this:
when you are lost in your work
love will bring you home.
love will brighten your world
love will bring you hope.
remember your humble beginning
remember love.
사랑을 기억하길 바라.
사랑을 따라
집으로 돌아오길 바라.
8.21.2022
scenery before my eyes
blossoms into different shapes
heights, color, and, yes, scents.
with just a flick of a finger
with a grave weight.
Mind you, the weight of this act.
Let alone the sceneries,
mountains, oceans, and people,
thousands of millions of people
were passed by in a blink of an eye.
Yet remember;
remember regardless of this change.
the soft, unbreakable part of you
that you left behind.
also, remember your vow you made
in a blissful, youthful ignorance
to achieve what you’ve promised.
those bold promises you made
don’t let it go awashed into shade.
and lastly,
remember the love.
remember to love.
7.21.2022
it is hard to tell when to cross a line
or when to cross a line
when I meet new people.
How many personas does one need to have?
such different group of people
such different meaning behind gestures
such different attitudes and behaviors
new suddenly becomes old
and old quickly becomes forgotten.
who do I remember from the past
and what promise do I live up to?
6.26.2022
t’is the season for ailments
fraught with hope and wonder
t’is the season for lessons
taught with pain and suffer
remember yesterday’s mistakes
ponder upon what’s at stake
4.6.2022
chirping of the blue bird
a solemn song for those forgotten;
for the unsung heroes who heard
the call long forsaken
it reverberates as break of dawn
commemorates who’ve fallen
3.22.2022
The last one to leave is the one that bears the responsibility of the memory
You are the last shift at night cleaning up and closing the store for the next day
And when that next day comes, people will come to you asking, so how did it end? How did it go?
You might try your best to let them relive the moment, or you might not.
But don’t blame the ones who leave.
I am sure they had a good, honest, sincere reason to leave. Perhaps it was a serene calling.
And perhaps there is someone staring at your back, as you get up to leave this place too.
And I am sure, you will be remembered.
9.6.2021
Ralph with Coffee 
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