Guest Columns

Joan Chipkar is one of those people I can’t say no to.

In 2004, after Florida was hit by hurricanes, she convinced me to go with her to do laundry for health department staff working in the hardest hit area.

Last year, when her beloved therapy dog Charlie died, I wrote an obituary column about the brown and white cocker spaniel.

And when she called last week to ask me to write about her miracle great-grandson Landon in Alabama, I didn’t say yes, but I didn’t say no.

With summer vacation now in full swing, the last thing students may want to think about is school. But that shouldn’t stop the rest of us, because, overall, the report card is pretty good.

Consider the number of students who secured a degree or certificate from Kentucky’s colleges and universities this past year. There were nearly 63,000 altogether, according to the Council on Postsecondary Education, an 11 percent increase when compared to 2009-10.

It’s still early, but there are growing signs that the country’s economy is getting back on its feet, and that Kentucky is poised to help lead the way.

I want to tell you an interesting story about a client named Belinda. She came to me because she was having trouble with organizational skills. She said her brain felt scattered and she had trouble focusing on one thought or one task. I told her about a technique called Mindfulness that is being practiced in over 200 hospitals around the United States. The scientific studies showed that the practice of Mindfulness is a form of meditation that not only organizes mental function, but it lowers blood pressure , diminishes the risk of stroke and reduces stress and chronic pain.