- Apr 5, 2022
- 3 min read

Healthy Living - Making Moderate Changes

March has been a month of change, so many things to look forward to and a few things that are bittersweet.

Reflection

I spent a little time each week reflecting on how I have been talking to myself and gently reminding myself that I am a worthy being simply because I exist. In the process of this I have noticed that each time I have fewer episodes of put-down, angry or mean thoughts and a few more encouraging ones. I will declare this a success and keep a regular time to continue this reflection and reminder.

FOOD - Oh yeah!

As to healthy eating - hmmm - I seem to have a long way to go. I have realized that when I have a plan in place (seven dinner ideas on the front of the fridge) I make better choices and I eat earlier. I have been trying on the intermittent fasting fad and I have had a reduction in my pain levels, but no actual weight loss. I am using the Fastic app to track, and enjoying how it encourages me to stay on track with my water and fasting window.

Are you currently trying a new way of eating to get healthier? I would love to hear about it!

Moving my Body with LOVE

I have been walking more - mostly in random acts of fitness moments - and I have made it a habit to spend at least ten minutes on the elliptical machine a couple of times each week (truly though I would like to get that in every day). I miss running, so as the weather improves I may try to fit that in again, anyone into accountability partnerships?

I increased my Duolingo daily goal and it has actually kicked my butt a few times, though I have increased my passive vocabulary understanding to one thousand words! I also have had a daily practice streak that is over four hundred and fifty days. That, sweet kindreds, is a BRAG. I am practicing sharing my triumphs more openly, without feeling like I need to temper them with something that brings them down.

CONNECTION

I have started asking people for a commitment to regular time together and hopefully that will begin being a part of my schedule again soon. In the meantime, I have been socializing with my friend after our time working together, and it has been lovely to sit in the local coffee shop and randomly connect with whomever joins us.

Each week on my Zoom call, I share at least one brag with my friend and they share at least one with me (though we are getting so good at it that we usually have many brags to share). Boy does it feel nice to share our positive truths without putting ourselves down in the process. When we share our brags the other usually responds with an upride to help us remember that sharing in this way is so good for our mental health.

That is not to say that life is always sun and flowers, we both have lots of challenges in our lives as well and we share those as well (sometimes as a brag, like ‘I brag that I had such a yucky day yesterday, that when it was over I watched a silly show ate too many cookies and went to bed early). Having this regular connection has been so good for me, I learn so much every time we talk. I also find that my affirmations shift around some of the things we share, helping me dig a little deeper in my well.

Sacred Living

I am still working on finding ways to bring more authentic-feeling spiritual practices into my daily living. I often light a candle as a way of sending love and light into the world. But… I would like to bring something spiritual into my journal writing time more. Maybe having some prompt for the journal each day, or even just tracking the moon phase in it. As always there is a desire for more - and that is so good for me.

It looks like my life will be changing in a biggish way again very soon - My child has started applying to colleges and universities in another province. While I will surely miss them, I am so excited for the big changes they are creating for themself. There is SO MUCH conversation happening around this that I find myself referencing it with people all the time. Oh to be able to have a do-over with the knowledge that I have now. So many things to try differently (ok, so maybe I want to go back to school too). So many questions, so many options, their whole life stretching out before them. (and here we are in the beginning of April and they have TWO acceptances!)