What Is Health?

If there is anyone out there who doesn't want to improve their health, I'd like to meet them and pick their brain.  At the beginning of every year there are advertisements, slogans, products, etc. all aimed at telling us this is "your" year.  This is the year you're going to lose that weight, finally stop eating sugar, eat all your daily vegetables, get that promotion, run that marathon, take that dream vacation, etc.  All sounds like a tall order to me.  Have you ever met anyone who got their health 100% together and fulfilled their dreams in just one year?  I haven't.  And even if it were possible to get it all done in one year, we'd have to come up with new stuff to achieve and make ourselves look good the next year, and the next, and so on.

So that begs the question: what is health?  What does that mean to you?  Chances are your picture perfect view of health is not the same as mine.  And so it should be.  Your body is different than mine.  Your brain is different than mine.  You and I have different genetics, tendencies, preferences, life experiences, etc.  I'd sincerely hope your idea of perfect health wasn't the same as mine. 

But, there are general rules to health that are pretty basic.  It's kind of like there's a basic skeleton that is the building block, and then we get to individually fill in the flesh.  For example: I think we can all agree that regular exercise is part of that skeletal base.  Little dessert and lots vegetables are 2 more we can include here.  So anyway...

However, what about mental health?  What about emotional health?  What about those things that exercise and vegetable consumption don't immediately address?  What about those times when you literally can't get your butt out the door to walk around the block because you already feel so horrible about yourself?  What if your sleep is off?  Magazines, gym adds, and all the supplements at the front of Costco beginning of January don't address everything.

May I suggest 2 things: 1. Learn yourself.  What motivates you?  What makes you actually stick with something?  Do you need friends in on it with you?  Do you need to pay someone knowing the money will motivate you?  Can you just dive right in (this would be me)?  Do you need to research the snot out of things first (this would be my husband)?  Be honest with yourself or you're going to be a gerbel on that wheel.  2. Start where you are.  Yeah, yeah, yeah.  We hear this all. the. time.  Blah, blah, blah.  But is there another place to start? If so, please share!!!  And, own where you are.  Don't be ashamed.  You are of no lesser value.  Accept where you are.  And then change it.  Believe me when I say accepting where you're at can be the hardest part.  I've been there WAY too many times, in WAY too many areas of my life.  And I probably will again, but anywho...  

And remember. ANY change in the right direction counts.  We'll discuss more aspects of health ideas, tricks, tips, etc. as time goes on.  Now, go be happy!

The *Fun* Never Ends

When I was young, I'd look at the lives of adults I knew and they seemed to have it all together.  They looked "settled" and seemed to have all the answers.  I remember boasting that my dad was smarter than everyone else's.  He was.  So there.  Now that I'm an adult, I laugh at my childhood lense.  Of course I didn't know that my parents were dealing with near financial ruin, divorce of loved ones, let alone their own rocky relationship. 

My own life as an adult has been anything but smooth.  And I know I'm not alone.  Just the past year is a prime example.  In 2018, only, we moved, I got hip surgery, my oldest sister lost an epic battle with pancreatic cancer, we got our first dog, potty trained our youngest, my husband and I took a trip to Spain, and our oldest successfully finished 3+ years of chemotherapy for leukemia.  Good thing I color my hair or I'd have to witnessed all the increased grays on top of everything else.  At least that's in order!  I think...

We all have ups and downs.  No one is immune to craziness, trials, misfortune, trajedy, etc.  So what?   Do we just bend over and take it?  Do we give up ever making dreams?  Do we relinquish ourselves to misery because life is never going to turn out the way we planned or hoped?  I've asked myself those questions more than once.  My plans always seem to get messed up.  My dreams rarely seem to come to fruition, and not for lack of effort (I'm NOT afraid of hard work).  Maybe, I've thought, I wasn't in touch with the cosmos and therefore dreaming the wrong dreams, expecting the wrong things out of my life, asking for things that weren't meant to be.  Perhaps. 

I'm coming to terms with the fact that change is the ever-constant.  I can't control everything, as much as I try.  Crap hits the fan, even if you've planned effectively for the Apocalypse.  Life can and will bring us all to our knees at at least one time or another. 

So now what?  Ride the wave.  Enjoy the ups with your hands in the air.  Learn from the downs.  Blaming, staying angry, continually wishing things were different never work.  Believe me, I've tried.  More than once.  I'm always left feeling empty.  Gratitude, clinging to my loved ones, and building my relationship with God never disappoint.  Not even remotely.  In fact, quite the opposite. Joy, satisfaction, and growth result.  Now doesn't that sound like something we all want?

Your Body

Your body.  It's the only one you get in life.  There are no reset buttons, no do-overs, no repeats, no rewinds, no fast forwards, and no exchanges.  I know.  Boo, hiss.  Sometimes I'd like to wave a wand from Ollivander's and have my varicose veins magically disappear.  Many a day I wish I had different hips (more on that later).  The fact that we go gray early in my family is kind of a downer.  I have stretch marks from bringing 3 rambunctious boys into this world and from growing super duper fast as a tween.  The list goes on.

The "perfect" body doesn't exist (remember: those pictures of models on magazine covers are air-brushed, meaning what you're looking at is fake).  Except your body. That's right.  Your body is YOUR'S.  It's just perfect.  For you.  It's not for anyone else.   It's meant for you to run, jump, eat pie (mmm pie), smile, laugh, and clip its toenails.  Maybe you still don't like your body.  Perhaps you wish you had someone else's.  Maybe you long for your body to be a way it was at some other time.  And maybe you're just highly uncomfortable in your own skin altogether.

Why?  What part(s) of your body make you cringe?  Be honest with yourself.  For me it's my varicose veins (3 boo's for genetics), my saddle bags, my large feet with french-fry-like toes (have you ever noticed that the cutest shoes are rarely made in the larger sizes?), my fine hair (Pinterest up-do's are always a fail), and my small almond-sliver eyes that require eye makeup to even be noticed.  I don't know a woman who doesn't have at least one small thing she'd change about her body, if given the chance.  If there's one or more things about your body you'd like to change, join the club honey.

So what do we do?  Where does that leave us?  Take the things about my body that I'd prefer were different.  My veins: sure, I could get vein therapy, but there have been other much more pressing medical matters going on in my family for me to fret over my semi-blue legs.  My saddle bags: I'm sure I could go on some crazy, no carb, cardboard-like diet for some ridiculous amount of time and have a firmer tush.  Let's be honest, that sounds miserable!  And besides, I'm approaching 40.  Having some saddle bags isn't a big deal.  I don't have the mental energy to care that much.  I'd like to think it's sign of maturity...?  I may be vain, but not *that* vain.  My feet: yep, nothing, nada, zilch, forget about it.  Sigh.  I guess I'll find a way to love those french fries on my feet and embrace the search for non-frumpy shoes when I'm in the market.  My hair: um... yeah.  Given that there are women out there who struggle with baldness, I'm not even going to waste my time here.  My stretch marks: I've chosen to own them like a boss.  The ones from puberty just mean my body was ready to grow wicked-fast.  Did that mean I was awkwardly tall early on?  Yes.  Was it demoralizing at the time?  More than I can say.  But it was a challenge I overcame and am better for it.  Those stretch marks remind me of personal growth.  Those from pregnancy I've earned, 9 months worth, 3 times over.  I have 3 marvelous, crazy, mama-lovin' boys to remind me why those were worth every miserable week of pregnancy (I could write for days about how much fun pregnancy isn't).

So what's the point already?  Our bodies need love.  They need gratitude.  They need care.  The trick is that's going to look a little different on each one of us.  Maybe your body needs more sleep.  Maybe your body needs more vegetables (isn't that everyone?).  Maybe your body needs more short walks to clear the mind.  We could all love and care for our bodies a little better.  I hope we can discuss ways to enjoy and care for our physical frames a little bit more and be happy with the way they look, flaws and all.