Physical
Today I am grateful for my physical body-scars and imperfections, working limbs and joints. I am grateful this earthly vehicle allows me mobility and an active lifestyle.
It promises to be a full week and I will need plenty of energy to move through each hour, each day as the week goes on. Much of the busy pace has to do with work. The student group I advise is sponsoring Wellness Week 2015 this week. The group has done this for several years now, bringing focus to and raising awareness about overall wellness. Focal points range from eating healthy, to stress reduction, to depression awareness and suicide prevention, to exercise.
Teens and people of all ages can benefit from consideration of how our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health are interrelated. I likened wellness to a 4-legged stool in this post a year ago. It is something I have come to know and appreciate more in recent years, and for me it is all tied together with gratefulness.
So today let's consider physical wellness. When we talk about health it is often what people first think about. Over the course of my life, I think I have done more good for my physical health than harm, but there has certainly been some of both. Smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol to excess were obvious harms. As an intense teen, I also would sometimes hit myself in frustration and anger, enough to leave bruises or sore spots. I usually did this in response to a failure of some kind during athletic contests (a missed shot or a strikeout perhaps) and also when I was full of drunken self-hatred.
Today I could be better about getting enough sleep and not eating too many sweets, but I am so grateful the drinking, smoking, and hitting are only distant memories.
What I am consistently good about is moving my body, getting adequate exercise. Exercise creates energy for me. It clears my thoughts, boosts positive emotions (endorphins are free and very effective) and gives me ample sources of gratitude.
I have run 12 marathons. It has been well over six years since my breast cancer diagnosis and I am NED (no evidence of disease). I can get out of bed in the morning. I can take the laundry to the basement. I am blessed in so many ways.
Today I will pay attention to my physical body and what it provides and makes possible.
I will remember those who have physical pain and limitations and wish them comfort today.
It promises to be a full week and I will need plenty of energy to move through each hour, each day as the week goes on. Much of the busy pace has to do with work. The student group I advise is sponsoring Wellness Week 2015 this week. The group has done this for several years now, bringing focus to and raising awareness about overall wellness. Focal points range from eating healthy, to stress reduction, to depression awareness and suicide prevention, to exercise.
Teens and people of all ages can benefit from consideration of how our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health are interrelated. I likened wellness to a 4-legged stool in this post a year ago. It is something I have come to know and appreciate more in recent years, and for me it is all tied together with gratefulness.
So today let's consider physical wellness. When we talk about health it is often what people first think about. Over the course of my life, I think I have done more good for my physical health than harm, but there has certainly been some of both. Smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol to excess were obvious harms. As an intense teen, I also would sometimes hit myself in frustration and anger, enough to leave bruises or sore spots. I usually did this in response to a failure of some kind during athletic contests (a missed shot or a strikeout perhaps) and also when I was full of drunken self-hatred.
Today I could be better about getting enough sleep and not eating too many sweets, but I am so grateful the drinking, smoking, and hitting are only distant memories.
What I am consistently good about is moving my body, getting adequate exercise. Exercise creates energy for me. It clears my thoughts, boosts positive emotions (endorphins are free and very effective) and gives me ample sources of gratitude.
I have run 12 marathons. It has been well over six years since my breast cancer diagnosis and I am NED (no evidence of disease). I can get out of bed in the morning. I can take the laundry to the basement. I am blessed in so many ways.
Today I will pay attention to my physical body and what it provides and makes possible.
I will remember those who have physical pain and limitations and wish them comfort today.
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