Submitted for publication in the Current

July 15, 2006

Looking for Family Fun? Try Geocaching!

Looking for a free activity that will get you and the kids off of the couch? Tired of going to the movies or looking for ways to get the kids out of the house? Try geocaching, a free, fun, and challenging activity that can get the whole family moving.

Geocaching is an activity where small “caches” or inexpensive treasures stored in small containers are hidden in spots around the globe, and can be found using Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates using a GPS receiver, along with visual cues. It’s part detective work, part sport, and a lot of fun. Geocaching was started in the year 2000 when the accuracy of the GPS system improved dramatically thanks to the activation of a system of 24 satellites around the globe tracking GPS positions. A computer consultant named Dave Ulmer decided to test the accuracy of the GPS system by hiding a target in the woods, and posting the GPS coordinates of the “stash” on the internet, challenging others to find the stash using only GPS coordinates. Within three days, two people found the treasure and the sport of geocaching was born.

Now geocaching is a universal activity: there currently are close to 290,000 active geocaches in 222 countries around the globe, with more than 700 caches hidden around the Portland area alone! Geocaches are created by storing a few simple “treasures” in a small plastic container, and hiding it in a remote location, noting the GPS coordinates. The general location and GPS coordinates, along with some simple visual cues for finding the cache, are then posted on the Internet, and users are challenged to find the treasure.

Anyone looking to participate in geocaching can look up a cache site near them by going to www.geocache.com, looking for a site in their area, and noting the specific GPS coordinates of the cache. While some geocaches can be found using written hints and visual cues alone, most participants in the sport choose to use a GPS receiver which can be purchased in most sporting goods or boating supply stores for $100-$300. GPS receivers use GPS coordinates to find a specific location, and can generally locate a position to within 20-40 feet. Visual cues and hints are also offered to help to locate the specific location of the cache – and the accompanying treasures! Geocaches generally include a logbook where finders are asked the record their name and date they found the cache. Finders are also encouraged to bring a small object to leave in the geocache, in exchange for whatever they take. Geocache “treasures” are generally small, inexpensive, nonperishable items, such as small toys, action figures, or exploring gear such as a small flashlight or carabineer.

If you’re interested and want to give it a try, Scarborough Wellness will be hosting an “Introduction to Geocaching” as part of Scarborough Marsh Day on Saturday, August 12^th. Scarborough Marsh Day is being sponsored by the Scarborough Land Conservation Trust and the Friends of Scarborough Marsh and is an effort to encourage local citizens to explore the many aspects of the Scarborough Marsh. The day will feature a series of events held in and around the Marsh, culminating with a barbecue lunch at noon. This free event is open to the public, and will include bird watching, tours of the nature center, and walking tours of the marsh.

Dr. Steve Kirsch will be conducting the Introduction to Geocaching session as one of the Scarborough Marsh Day activities, and will available to meet interested individuals and families at 9:30AM at the Scarborough River Wildlife Sanctuary on US Route 1 (across from Ken’s Restaurant). Communities Promoting Health, a local Healthy Maine Partnership at PROP, has provided free GPS monitors for the event. The GPS monitors will be available for loan at the event to help participants find one or more “geocaches” hidden in the Sanctuary. All you need for a day of fun is comfortable clothing, walking shoes, and a sense of adventure. Come explore!

More information is available at www.geocache.com, or check out the Scarborough Public Library for books on geocaching.

Submitted by: Lisa Letourneau MD, member of Scarborough Wellness

~Brought to you by Scarborough Wellness~

Local citizens promoting healthy lifestyles for people of all ages!

Thinking Wellness

What is WELLNESS? How does one attain wellness? How important is wellness to each of us? What keeps us from being well? These are simple questions that most of us probably don’t spend a whole lot of time thinking about. Yet without giving each of these questions their due diligence we derail our hopes for achieving a more optimal level of health and well being. This perpetuates the frustrating cycle of “committed effort” to “not caring” about our health.

It’s interesting to note that very few people would find it difficult to list five things they could be doing to make themselves healthier that they are not currently doing. Telling someone that exercise would help them as well as eating more fruits and vegetables, less processed foods and sugars, not smoking, watching less TV and decreasing stress really does little to help in most cases. That’s because it is self evident that those actions make one healthier i.e. “you’re not telling me anything I don’t already know.” Therefore, most of us know the basics of what it takes to be healthier but simply don’t follow through. The question then becomes very simple…why don’t we do what we know we should?

The responses to that question are as varied as the individuals that give them. However, the common thread to most is “I can’t.” Does this sound familiar? “I can’t exercise because I don’t have time,” “I can’t stop smoking because it is too hard,” “I can’t eat more fruits and vegetables because I don’t like them,” “I can’t afford it because my insurance doesn’t cover it,” and “I can’t reduce my stress because…I just can’t!” The list goes on and on. Let me share something with you from the perspective of a health care provider that I know with absolute certainty. You will never change where you are with your health unless you change the way you think. In fact, I’ve seen many people make great changes in their level of health with exercise and nutrition, only to find themselves back to where they started with a completely defeated mentality. This is because they never changed the way they thought about health and wellness and about its level of priority in their life.

The process typically goes like this…I want to HAVE (better health, less weight, more energy, less pain, etc.) so I must DO (exercise, nutrition, decrease stress, etc), then I will BE (happy, healthy, fit, energetic, etc). This logic is destined for failure because the BE (who we are) can never be the result of the process; it must be the start of the process. The HAVE-DO-BE mentality has become programmed into our consciousness because we want to “have” things first in order to become someone different. The only way it can work is to apply a BE-DO-HAVE mentality by first asking the question “Who do I really want to BE?” If I want to BE someone who is happy, healthy, fit, energetic, etc. then I must DO exercise, nutrition, decrease stress, etc. and only then I will HAVE better health, less weight, more energy, less pain, etc.

Unless how you see yourself (your BE) changes, what you think is important won’t change, your priorities won’t change, your actions won’t change and ultimately your results won’t change either. It is very difficult to ask yourself if what you continue to do is more congruent with whom you want to be or with what you want to have. For example, if you continue to have two doughnuts and coffee with extra sugar for breakfast three to four time each week, will that be consistent with who you are striving to be? Or are you doing it because it is something that makes you feel good that you want to have (“I deserve a treat for working so hard”)? Those anchors are difficult to break unless we have a solid desire to be the person who can’t stand the thought of eating doughnuts for breakfast.

Every aspect of wellness can be applied to the same example. It becomes a very important exercise to go through if you are serious about changing your current state of health. The painful truth is that nobody else will do it for you and it takes time, constant effort and continual upgrading but the rewards are outstanding!

It is said that wellness is a lifestyle. When wellness becomes part of who you are it is then simply how you see the world. Suddenly the “I can’t” goes beyond “I can” and simply becomes “I am.” Start by answering the questions at the top of the page and get a clear picture of who you really want to be for the rest of your life, everything after that becomes self evident.

Stuart Cayer, D.C.

~Brought to you by Scarborough Wellness~

Local citizens promoting healthy lifestyles for people of all ages!


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	*Articles* Submitted for publication in the Current July 15, 2006 Looking for Family Fun? Try Geocaching! Looking for a free activity that will get you and the kids off of the couch? Tired of going to the movies or looking for ways to get the kids out of the house? Try geocaching, a free, fun, and challenging activity that can get the whole family moving. Geocaching is an activity where small “caches” or inexpensive treasures stored in small containers are hidden in spots around the globe, and can be found using Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates using a GPS receiver, along with visual cues. It’s part detective work, part sport, and a lot of fun. Geocaching was started in the year 2000 when the accuracy of the GPS system improved dramatically thanks to the activation of a system of 24 satellites around the globe tracking GPS positions. A computer consultant named Dave Ulmer decided to test the accuracy of the GPS system by hiding a target in the woods, and posting the GPS coordinates of the “stash” on the internet, challenging others to find the stash using only GPS coordinates. Within three days, two people found the treasure and the sport of geocaching was born. Now geocaching is a universal activity: there currently are close to 290,000 active geocaches in 222 countries around the globe, with more than 700 caches hidden around the Portland area alone! Geocaches are created by storing a few simple “treasures” in a small plastic container, and hiding it in a remote location, noting the GPS coordinates. The general location and GPS coordinates, along with some simple visual cues for finding the cache, are then posted on the Internet, and users are challenged to find the treasure. Anyone looking to participate in geocaching can look up a cache site near them by going to www.geocache.com, looking for a site in their area, and noting the specific GPS coordinates of the cache. While some geocaches can be found using written hints and visual cues alone, most participants in the sport choose to use a GPS receiver which can be purchased in most sporting goods or boating supply stores for $100-$300. GPS receivers use GPS coordinates to find a specific location, and can generally locate a position to within 20-40 feet. Visual cues and hints are also offered to help to locate the specific location of the cache – and the accompanying treasures! Geocaches generally include a logbook where finders are asked the record their name and date they found the cache. Finders are also encouraged to bring a small object to leave in the geocache, in exchange for whatever they take. Geocache “treasures” are generally small, inexpensive, nonperishable items, such as small toys, action figures, or exploring gear such as a small flashlight or carabineer. If you’re interested and want to give it a try, Scarborough Wellness will be hosting an “Introduction to Geocaching” as part of Scarborough Marsh Day on Saturday, August 12^th. Scarborough Marsh Day is being sponsored by the Scarborough Land Conservation Trust and the Friends of Scarborough Marsh and is an effort to encourage local citizens to explore the many aspects of the Scarborough Marsh. The day will feature a series of events held in and around the Marsh, culminating with a barbecue lunch at noon. This free event is open to the public, and will include bird watching, tours of the nature center, and walking tours of the marsh. Dr. Steve Kirsch will be conducting the Introduction to Geocaching session as one of the Scarborough Marsh Day activities, and will available to meet interested individuals and families at 9:30AM at the Scarborough River Wildlife Sanctuary on US Route 1 (across from Ken’s Restaurant). Communities Promoting Health, a local Healthy Maine Partnership at PROP, has provided free GPS monitors for the event. The GPS monitors will be available for loan at the event to help participants find one or more “geocaches” hidden in the Sanctuary. All you need for a day of fun is comfortable clothing, walking shoes, and a sense of adventure. Come explore! More information is available at www.geocache.com, or check out the Scarborough Public Library for books on geocaching. Submitted by: Lisa Letourneau MD, member of Scarborough Wellness ~Brought to you by Scarborough Wellness~ Local citizens promoting healthy lifestyles for people of all ages! Thinking Wellness What is WELLNESS? How does one attain wellness? How important is wellness to each of us? What keeps us from being well? These are simple questions that most of us probably don’t spend a whole lot of time thinking about. Yet without giving each of these questions their due diligence we derail our hopes for achieving a more optimal level of health and well being. This perpetuates the frustrating cycle of “committed effort” to “not caring” about our health. It’s interesting to note that very few people would find it difficult to list five things they could be doing to make themselves healthier that they are not currently doing. Telling someone that exercise would help them as well as eating more fruits and vegetables, less processed foods and sugars, not smoking, watching less TV and decreasing stress really does little to help in most cases. That’s because it is self evident that those actions make one healthier i.e. “you’re not telling me anything I don’t already know.” Therefore, most of us know the basics of what it takes to be healthier but simply don’t follow through. The question then becomes very simple…why don’t we do what we know we should? The responses to that question are as varied as the individuals that give them. However, the common thread to most is “I can’t.” Does this sound familiar? “I can’t exercise because I don’t have time,” “I can’t stop smoking because it is too hard,” “I can’t eat more fruits and vegetables because I don’t like them,” “I can’t afford it because my insurance doesn’t cover it,” and “I can’t reduce my stress because…I just can’t!” The list goes on and on. Let me share something with you from the perspective of a health care provider that I know with absolute certainty. You will never change where you are with your health unless you change the way you think. In fact, I’ve seen many people make great changes in their level of health with exercise and nutrition, only to find themselves back to where they started with a completely defeated mentality. This is because they never changed the way they thought about health and wellness and about its level of priority in their life. The process typically goes like this…I want to *HAVE* (better health, less weight, more energy, less pain, etc.) so I must DO (exercise, nutrition, decrease stress, etc), then I will BE (happy, healthy, fit, energetic, etc). This logic is destined for failure because the BE (who we are) can never be the result of the process; it must be the start of the process. The HAVE-DO-BE mentality has become programmed into our consciousness because we want to “have” things first in order to become someone different. The only way it can work is to apply a BE-DO-HAVE mentality by first asking the question “Who do I really want to BE?” If I want to BE someone who is happy, healthy, fit, energetic, etc. then I must DO exercise, nutrition, decrease stress, etc. and only then I will *HAVE* better health, less weight, more energy, less pain, etc. Unless how you see yourself (your BE) changes, what you think is important won’t change, your priorities won’t change, your actions won’t change and ultimately your results won’t change either. It is very difficult to ask yourself if what you continue to do is more congruent with whom you want to be or with what you want to have. For example, if you continue to have two doughnuts and coffee with extra sugar for breakfast three to four time each week, will that be consistent with who you are striving to be? Or are you doing it because it is something that makes you feel good that you want to have (“I deserve a treat for working so hard”)? Those anchors are difficult to break unless we have a solid desire to be the person who can’t stand the thought of eating doughnuts for breakfast. Every aspect of wellness can be applied to the same example. It becomes a very important exercise to go through if you are serious about changing your current state of health. The painful truth is that nobody else will do it for you and it takes time, constant effort and continual upgrading but the rewards are outstanding! It is said that wellness is a lifestyle. When wellness becomes part of who you are it is then simply how you see the world. Suddenly the “I can’t” goes beyond “I can” and simply becomes “I am.” Start by answering the questions at the top of the page and get a clear picture of who you really want to be for the rest of your life, everything after that becomes self evident. Stuart Cayer, D.C. ~Brought to you by Scarborough Wellness~ Local citizens promoting healthy lifestyles for people of all ages!