Diane was scheduled for hip replacement surgery recently, and she sent me a little note saying she was looking at it as an opportunity for greater mindfulness.

Do you see why I love her?

One benefit of mindfulness is an increase in our ability to shift our perspective. I wrote recently about an inspiring group of women breast cancer survivors—dubbing themselves "Golden Mammaries”—who use word “memory” as their cue to shift their minds in a new direction.

Whenever they hear word “memory” they mentally replace it with “mammary” as in “I have happy mammaries of that time” or “Thanks for mammaries.” It’s a seemingly silly way to take a word that has become loaded with images of pain, fear and anger and overlay it with new, happier connections.

It has a way of making you grin. Happy mammaries? Now, there's a perky mental image! Think of a pair of smiley faces. How uplifting!

Many family traditions include a yearly visit to beach. Tucked away in our memories are smell of coconut oil, warmth of sun and sand mixed with cool beach breezes. However, gone are days of baby oil and metal sun reflectors, replaced with safer sun practices to preserve our natural skin color and condition. Sun protection comes in a variety of options to include sunscreen, sunglasses, sun hats, sun protective swimwear and cover-ups.

An important part of your beach planning will be your sun protection. Sun tanning and trips to your local tanning salon aren’t best idea anymore. That’s because both emit harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation that can cause painful sunburn and may eventually lead to skin blemishes, premature aging of skin, cataracts and other eye problems, weakened immune system and skin cancer. And if Earth’s ozone layer continues to deplete and approximate rate of four to six percent per decade there will be more UV radiation reaching our skin.

It is true that light skin is more susceptible to sun damage, however darker skinned people such as African Americans and Hispanic Americans can be affected. Everyone should be educated about affects of sun and steps needed to safer sun exposure.

The easiest way to protect you from sun is simply by avoiding sun; sun’s rays are strongest between 10am and 3pm. Cloudy days may be deceiving as clouds only block about twenty percent of UV radiation, this is also true when swimming in water (the UV rays can still reach you).

If you are going to be out in sun in your bikinis or swimsuits, either sunscreen or sunblock should be used. Both sunscreen and sunblock come in creams, lotions, ointments, gels or wax sticks, and when applied to skin will reflect, absorb or scatter either all or at least some of sun’s harmful rays. Currently on market are some makeup items containing sunscreen (lipstick being one example). Sunscreen products are believed to block a large percentage of harmful UV radiation. The FDA requires that any label of sunscreen products state sun protection factor (SPF), higher number longer a person is able to stay in sun before burning. It is recommended to wear at least a sunscreen with SPF 15, product should also be applied liberally 15 to 30 minutes before going outdoors. The sunscreen should be applied to all areas of skin that will be exposed to include; lips, ears, eyelids (be careful not to get in eyes), neck, nose, scalp (for those with thinning hair), feet, and hands. Children under 6 months should not wear sunscreen (covering their skin is best bet against sun exposure), as they might be too sensitive to ingredients. Sunscreen should become a regular habit for children whenever going outdoors.