NORTON

of baseball that gives us a new and positive attitude.

Another season of new beginnings.

So I say to the couple, the mom and her son, and the professional salesperson all mentioned above, as well as any of us who may be saying the same thing right now, “Let today be a day of new beginnings.” If what we are doing right now isn’t working, let’s start over and develop a new plan that aligns with who we want to be, where we want to go and grow, and what we want to enjoy in this life. Everything will get better for you as a couple, a new, safe, and happy new life awaits you mother and child, and that deal will close as will many others for you in your brilliant sales career.

is season of life will pass just like every previous season. If we

Big Pivots

Water Conservation District has been paying farmers to retire land from irrigation. Huge commodity prices discourage this, but district o cials said they are con dent they can achieve 10,000 acres before the end of 2024.

Last year, legislators sweetened the pot with an allocation of $30 million, and a like amount for retirement of irrigated land in the San Luis Valley, which has a similar problem. Since 2004, when it was created, the Republican River district self-encumbered $156 million in fee collections and debt for the transition.

It’s unclear that the district can achieve the 2030 goal. e bill unanimously approved by the Colorado House Agriculture, Water and Natural Resources Committee will, if it becomes law, task the Colorado Water Center at Colorado State University with documenting the economic loss to the region — and to Colorado altogether — if irrigated Republican River Basin agriculture ceases altogether. e farmers may need more help as the deadline approaches.

is all-or-nothing proposition is not academic. Kevin Rein, the state water engineer, testi ed that he must shut down all basin wells if compact requirements are not met. e focus is on the Republican’s South Fork, between Wray and Burlington.

Legislators were told that relying solely upon water that falls from the sky diminishes production 75 to 80 hold on to the yesterdays of life that have caused us stress, fear, worry, and doubt, we are only anchoring ourselves in that negative cycle of gloom and doom. As Zig Ziglar said, “Failure is an event, not a person, yesterday really did end last night.” It’s time for another season of new beginnings.

How about you? Are you asking yourself why things are so di cult right now? Would it be helpful if you could see the light and love at the end of the tunnel? I would love to hear your story at gotonorton@ gmail.com, and when we can prepare our hearts and minds for our own season of new beginnings, it really will be a better than good life.

Michael Norton is an author, a personal and professional coach, consultant, trainer, encourager and motivator of individuals and businesses, working with organizations and associations across multiple industries.

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In seeking this study, the river district wants legislators to be aware of what is at stake.

Rod Lenz, who chairs the river district board, put it in human terms. His extended-family’s 5,000-acre farm amid the sandhills can support 13 families, he told me. Returned to grasslands, that same farm could support only two families.

An “evolution of accountability” is how Lenz describes the big picture in the Republican River Basin. “We all knew it was coming. But it was so far in the future. Well, the future is here now.” e district has 10 committees charged with investigating ways to sustain the basin’s economy and leave its small towns thriving. Can it attract Internet technology developers? Can the remaining water be used for higher-value purposes? Can new technology irrigate more e ciently?

“We do know we must evolve,” Lenz told me. e farmers began large-scale pumping with the arrival of center-pivot sprinklers, a technology invented in Colorado in 1940. ey’re remarkably e cient at extracting underground water. Now, they must gure out sustainable agriculture. at’s a very di cult conversation. Aquifers created over millions of years are being depleted in a century. e Republican River shares similarities with the better-known and much larger Colorado River Basin. e mid-20th century was the time of applying human ingenuity to development of water resources. Now, along with past miscalculations, the warming climate is exacting a price, aridi cation of the Colorado River Basin.

Globally, the latest report from climate scientists paints an even greater challenge. To avoid really bad stu , they say, we must halve our greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. ey insist upon need for new technologies, including ways to suck carbon out of the atmosphere, that have yet to be scaled.

We need that evolution of accountability described in Colorado’s Republican River Basin. We need a revolution of accountability on the global scale.

Allen Best, a longtime Colorado journalist, publishes Big Pivots. You can nd more at BigPivots.com

Area

BY DEB HURLEY BROBST DBROBST@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Ca ring, compassionate hands — and sometimes feet — are used by massage therapists to help improve the lives of their clients. Massage is an ancient practice, and there are more than two dozen types throughout the world, therapists say.

Four massage therapists interviewed by Colorado Community Media say massage has become more accepted by the public, and more scienti c research is being done to document the health bene ts.

Massage can help with pain and injuries; decrease muscular tension; reduce blood pressure, swelling and in ammation; release endorphins; and much more, according to massage therapists.

“Even people who don’t have speci c problems can bene t from massage,” Destine Robertson with Alpine Medical Massage in Centennial and Conifer said. “Everybody has so much stress, and massage can help relieve that.”

People’s perceptions of massage have come a long way, the therapists said.

“A lot of people think of massage as pampering and relaxing,” Ti any Shocklee with Hearth re erapeutics in Golden said, “but it can help people who have many other issues, too.”

A blend of massage styles

Massage therapy is not an easy profession, requiring hours of training, a certi cation exam and licensing in Colorado.

“It’s become a more regulated eld,” said Mary Davis with Healing Traditions Bodywork in Evergreen, “which I think is best. I think it’s needed and necessary to protect people when they are potentially vulnerable going in for a personal treatment like massage.”

But education doesn’t stop at the 600 hours of initial training for most therapists. ey continue to learn di erent techniques to add to their repertoire.

“ e single most popular, most widely done type of massage in the U.S. and maybe in the world is

Swedish massage,” Davis said. “ at is part of your basic training. It is a bit lighter, more relaxing, with long strokes. en what I do and what a lot of therapists do is integrative massage. We have received additional training in areas that have spoken to us.”

Davis said most of the time she’s integrating di erent styles and techniques in one massage.

“I have a toolbox, and I pull di erent things out based on what I’m feeling that day in their tissues and what they need,” she explained.

Jenna Courage of Littleton erapeutic Massage Center said she has blended together many styles to create her own technique.

“I make each session specialized for each client,” Courage explained. “Some techniques I use on one client but not another. I feel like I am learning from my clients. ey come in with something new, and I gure out how to work with it, then take that knowledge and use it on someone with a similar issue.”

A satisfying career

Some massage therapists like Shocklee chose the practice as their rst career, while others nd massage therapy along their career paths. Davis and Shocklee have been massage therapists for 19 years, while Robertson has spent 22 years in the profession and Courage 31 years.

“Massage is important for me,” Shocklee said. “It’s what I’m meant to do. It helps me stay connected to myself. For me to go to work feels very focusing and a relief from other parts of my day that may be chaotic. It’s doing something that is single-minded by working with one person.”

Courage was working on a premedicine degree when she realized she had a strong interest in alternative health care. She visited a massage school and signed up the next week.

Robertson, for example, worked in a bakery before moving to massage therapy, quipping that kneading bread dough helped pave the

Types Of Massage

Some of the many di erent forms of massage, including some employed by the massage therapists interviewed for this story. Definitions are provided by healthline.com.

Swedish massage: gentle full-body massage that’s great for people who are new to massage, want to release tension and desire gentle touch. It can help release muscle knots, and it’s also a good choice for when you want to fully relax during a massage.

Deep-tissue massage: uses more pressure than a Swedish massage. It’s a good option if you have muscle problems, such as soreness, injury, imbalance, tightness, chronic muscle pain. The massage therapist uses slow strokes and deep-finger pressure to relieve tension from the deepest layers of muscles and connective tissues.

Sports massage: a good option for repetitive-use injuries to a muscle such as what you may get from playing a sport. It can be used to help prevent injuries. Sports massage can increase flexibility, improve athletic performance, relieve pain, reduce anxiety and release muscle tension.

Trigger point massage: best suited for people who have injuries, chronic pain, or a specific issue or condition. Sometimes, areas of tightness in the muscle tissues, known as trigger points, can cause pain in other parts of the body. By focusing on relieving trigger points, this type of massage can reduce pain.

Reflexology: a gentle to firm pressure on di erent pressure points of the feet, hands and ears. It’s best for people who are looking to relax or restore their natural energy levels. It’s also a good option for those who aren’t comfortable being touched on