The Rabbit Effect
I just read the book The Rabbit Effect by Kelli Harding, MD, MPH. “Live Longer, Happier, and Healthier with the Groundbreaking Science of Kindness.” This book came out in 2019 and I stumbled across it in the library a couple of weeks ago. It was so interesting that I am now reading it again with my notepad and pen nearby so I can take notes. Here’s a synopsis from the back of the book, “Columbia University doctor Kelli Harding never intended to explore the invisible factors behind our health. But then there were the rabbits. In 1978 a seemingly straightforward study designed to establish the relationship between high cholesterol and heart health in rabbits discovered that kindness–in the form of a particularly nurturing researcher–made the difference between a heart attack and a healthy heart.” That was just the beginning…groundbreaking research shows that love, friendship, community, life’s purpose, our environment, and kindness can have a far greater impact on our health than genes, exercise, food and diet.
I’ve been telling anyone who will listen about this book. Harding starts the book with a wonderful Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. quote that I had not heard before:
We’ve learned to fly the air like birds. We’ve learned to swim the seas like fish. And yet, we haven’t learned to walk the earth as brothers and sisters.
Harding has the book divided into chapters on Intimacy, Community, Work, Education, Neighborhood, Fairness and the Golden Rule, Environmental Influences, the Mind-Body Link: Individual Health, and All of Us (Trust): Collective Health. At the end of each chapter she gives ideas and suggestions on how to “Expand Your Tool Kit” on that particular focus. If I haven’t already been clear…I would recommend this book.
Chinese New Year – Year of the Water Rabbit
With rabbits on my mind, I then received a wonderful message from my nephew that he was coming home (from Portland, OR) for the weekend and coming over to our place for dinner on Sunday night. He is a big fan of my cooking. I went to write it down on our calendar and saw that Sunday is the Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year. He and I like to explore astrology and have had fun in the past with the Chinese symbols too. When I looked up more information on this particular year, I saw that it is the year of the Water Rabbit (the Chinese element and animal) of which I am both! So that was fun to discover. Look out world…here I come!
In case you are also a rabbit, here is a description, “To outsiders the rabbit’s kindness may make them seem soft and weak. In truth, the rabbit’s quiet personality hides their confidence and strength. They are steadily moving towards their goal no matter what negativity that others give them. With their good reasoning skills and attention to detail, they make great scholars. They are socializers with an attractive aura. However, they find it hard to open up to others and often turn to escapism. A plain routine life is not their style. So conservative and careful in their actions they need surprises every so often to spice things up.”
As a friend of mine in Seattle who was very knowledgeable about astrology once said, after giving us a bunch of detailed information, “I have no idea if there is any truth to it.”
I plan to make a Chinese New Year themed dinner (no rabbit) but some kind of stir fry and maybe dumplings and a good white wine and Chinese beer with my new motto when cooking for people, from Chef David Chang, “…just food made with love versus food that’s trying to impress.” I may post some pics if it looks good 🙂
Happy Lunar New Year!
We are all in this together 