Wellness
Gratitude: I’ve been a thankful person for a long time, but in about 2007 I met an amazing coworker, Barb, and we started off emailing each other during our workday about a thankful thought here or there, or something in our office that was a blessing, or something we were grateful for in our personal lives. 17 years later, we barely ever miss a day to text or email an item of gratitude. It has made us both rich women in our hearts and souls and it totally changes perspective even about the hard, hard things in life.
Forgiveness: Central to my own health, well being and faith journey over the years. Is it easy? No, but it is simple, and the more I practice it the better I get at it. If not practiced regularly, daily, I have found it can make me physically sick, keeps me a prisoner of people and situations, and robs my joy. Forgiveness doesn’t change the past, it doesn’t change what’s happened to me; it doesn’t condone others’ wrong or unjust actions toward me but it frees me; “it does enlarge the future for us.” Mary Karen Read (Virginia Tech shooting victim).
Matthew 6:14-15: For if you forgive people their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins, leaving them, letting them go, and giving up resentment], your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
Barbara O’Neill Tik Tok on Healing The Mind. Forgiveness…..
The word ‘forgive’ really means to give something up for yourself not for them.” “Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a permanent attitude.” – Martin Luther King, Jr. “Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.”
“Let us forgive each other, only then we will live in peace” — Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy.
Colossians 3:13 says: Be gentle and forbearing with one another and, if one has a difference (a grievance or complaint) against another, readily pardoning each other; even as the Lord has [freely] forgiven you, so must you also [forgive].
Can we trust God to do what’s best and relieve ourselves of being judge and jury? We gotta take our hands off that person’s neck.
Bitterness is drinking poison and hoping the other person dies.
CBN article, The Deadly Consequences of Unforgiveness and Dr. Michael Barry, The Forgiveness Project, and the Rwanda Widow Story of Forgiveness where the perpetrators who killed their husbands and children chose the path of forgiveness and even took in some of the killers and made sure they grew up to be better men after the tragedy and mass executions.
One of the best ways to live life is to choose to be unoffendable!! Give up my right to be offended! We cannot escape the painful experiences of life, BUT, we can choose to overlook the offense. (Proverbs 19:11)
Years ago I recall Dr. Phil describing how our psyches get damaged by deep trauma or harsh words, somewhat like a scalding of sorts; his description brought it very real to me in that word picture. Our brain’s amygdala is like a small recording device that keeps those traumas captive; the sears, it scorches, it is the scalding of our souls, and it is my opinion we can never recover unless forgiveness is involved.
Lifting Weights: have changed my life, brought definition to muscles I never knew I had, and made me feel stronger in my 60’s than I ever felt in my younger years. I was educated by an awesome trainer in Bozeman, MT (shout out, Kayla!) about how to lift weights safely and effectively, in addition to learning to love squats and lunges(never thought that was possible!). Doing these new moves have changed my life for the better. For a long time into my early 30’s I could walk regularly and have many benefits to keep slim, but into my 40’s and beyond this became not enough for me. So I added more tools to my fitness/wellness tool box.
HIIT Workouts: have brought variations to my workouts and increased my stamina; they have brought some fun to exercise that I just couldn’t find with cardio workouts or gym machines in general. (Shout out, Meredith S. for 7-13 minute HIIT’S!)
Yoga and Stretching: My first introduction to yoga was in 2005 when I got myself a Yoga for Dummies book and clumsily tried to follow along from a book, toggling back and forth from pictures to poses; it was shoddy at best. I was not looking to empty my mind or tap into other entities, but simply to learn some healthy, effective stretches, gain flexibility and core strength. I have always loved stretching and learned it early in life beginning ballet at age 8 and continuing until age 14. Then in 2007 while working at a municipal court, a lady would come once a week to our atrium (shout out, Sandy K!) and lead us in a most wonderful after-work class. Her input changed everything-yoga for me. She taught us great form, safe poses, and gratitude in our practice. I remember her reminding us weekly to be kind to our bodies and find our edge (she would say, “to do any less is not enough, to do any more is too much”)….It has made me stronger, improved my balance & flexibility, and taught me some incredible breathing techniques to reduce stress, enhance & strengthen muscle endurance, and lower my blood pressure.
Massage Therapy: I have learned in the past 3 years how helpful this can be to a body. It creeped me out at first, but when a coworker (shout out, Suellen!) suggested it, I gave it a try and after one appointment I was hooked. I began to make it a monthly part of my self care and wellness.
Homeopathy, Naturopathy & Chiropractic Care: have enriched my life for 34 years; there is power in these healing arts that have benefitted my entire family and I highly recommend them as parallel medical approaches to traditional medicine.
Laughter: Proverbs 17:22 says, “Laughter is like taking a good medicine.” It can unite people and is very beneficial for emotional and physical wellness. I believe we are spirit, energetic beings inhabiting human bodies, created by God. It is possible to boost energetics in a positive way by laughing more, watching funny movies or videos, hearing clean jokes, and seeking out funny things. And find a way to laugh more at yourself and not take yourself so seriously! The Bible says the joy of the Lord is my strength. So true. I also find laughter in children laughing and funny things animals do caught on video.
Grounding: I have only learned of this remarkable practice in the past few months and it is fascinating to me. A few of the benefits attributed to it: appears to improve sleep, normalize the day–night cortisol rhythm, reduce pain, reduce stress, shift the autonomic nervous system from sympathetic toward parasympathetic activation, increase heart rate variability, speed wound healing, and reduce blood viscosity.
Prayer & Meditation: Central to my daily life, my very reason for getting up each day to connect with my Creator and find peace to navigate what can sometimes be a loud, busy, challenging world while attempting to be present and intentional with the routines of life. Talking to God, leaning in to hear his still, small voice fills me up, refocuses everything for the better, fills my cup to overflowing on the daily, reminds me I am anchored to the One who created me for this life & assignments of purpose. I feel a bit like meditation has been co-opted a bit with some religious practices and has at times developed a negative connotation like yoga, but to me it is very sound and the basics of meditation means to dwell on, repeat, rehearse, to chew on over & over.
Psalm 145 is a poem in the Bible that describes God’s character and his works, and the writer declares that he will meditate on these, musing about them and then telling others about them.
Luke 6 tells us, “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. If prayer and meditation benefitted Jesus, I definitely want to be doing it.
Carnivore Nutrition Lifestyle: I first heard about Carnivore from my niece and nephew in California and then from my son several years ago. It had changed their lives; they felt great, they lost weight, they had health problems resolve eating that way, and they had nothing but good things to say about it. I was intrigued but quite skeptical, but I could not argue with their leaner frames, more muscle, reduction in body inflammation that was showing up as a lot of health issues, better sleeping and clearer heads, all around better health. I wanted to feel better and lose a few pounds and was not succeeding on counting calories, buying skim everything, adhering to low fat intake, tallying macros, eating more protein, working out more, or restricting food. I wanted to try it but I was very nervous, I could hardly wrap my head around it because it was so completely the opposite of all I knew about nutrition or what’s best for me (according to others) and kept trying and trying, but kept failing and failing, with a lot of discouragement and frustration along the way. Plus just feeling kinda crummy. Cutting out the junk foods of course was a better way to eat, but why did I still feel low-level crummy eating so “clean” as it was dubbed?? I’ve come to realize I’ve been “mis-educated” for over 50 years about diet & exercise, had a lot of wrong info regarding nutrition and the food pyramid that I believed but ended up not feeling so well eating that way. Lots to undo and to unwind and to switch over; I don’t believe it’s just as simple as “move more” or “calories in, calories out” anymore, and I’ve learned that fat does not make us fat. I have to say it again: Fat doesn’t make us fat!! I was not eating enough good fat and I was not eating enough food. I have come to believe that we as a nation are “hangry” (for satiating good fats & meats) and are undernourished even though we are stuffing ourselves to oblivion we are addicted to carbs & packaged foods and to some degree even addicted to salads being our go-to on the road of phantom weight loss that never gets us & keeps us where our bodies need to be; at least for me, I’ll just speak for myself. Eating that way just kept me perpetually unsatisfied & unsatiated with salad and lean everything(not to mention dissatisfied with the self-discipline of the gym regimens & the walking & the list of good exercise habits that were not yielding the results I felt all that self-discipline should yield!!). Not to mention, my smart body formed & fashioned by a supremely smart Creator was trying to tell me it wasn’t enough. Yet the way God’s created these body machines of ours continually tries to adapt & adjust to the overages or underages with which we treat it because I believe our bodies are designed to heal themselves. And that truth began to unfold for me over the weeks & months after taking the Carnivore experiment plunge. I feel so much better eating this way, how can it be wrong for me??? So if you aren’t feeling optimal or you still feel kinda crummy & sluggish or if you’re discouraged with your current method of nutrition in your life, you might want to look into this as I did. Don’t take my word for it. Get Educated, Learn for yourself, Try a different way for yourself if you’re seeking a change and have been frustrated, and see what it does for you. What’s there to lose I ask? Some weight, a wart or two, some painful joints, headaches, improved skin quality, foggy-headedness, crummy-feeling all around, sluggish, or like you’re in a bit of a food coma….. Don’t believe me, experiment for yourself.
I am not judging or disparaging anyone and how they choose to eat, nor am I trying to convert anyone to Carnivore nutrition, just sharing personal changes that have bettered my wellness & quality of life significantly in the past 7 months. If you feel great and live an optimal life with the way you fuel your body, Kudos, carry on!! You may not struggle with any health issues and that is amazing in and of itself. But I’ve learned some nuggets, some simple truths that have opened my eyes regarding nutrition; I did about 6 months of intense research for myself by watching podcasts on YouTube by the following people:
Kelly Hogan, Dr. Ken Berry, Dr. Anthony Chaffee, (Oxalates and Plants Are Trying To Kill You), Sally Norton on plant oxalates (that may possibly be hindering optimal health for some), Meat And Butter Gal, Jordan Peterson, his wife and daughter, Nutrition with Judy, Daniel Trevor, Dr. Georgia Ede, Maria Emmerich, Dr. Shawn Baker (The Ultimate Carnivore Beginner Guide),
Some of us(maybe not everyone is sensitive to these things…) can be very damaged by eating certain ways that include lots of processed foods, carbs, sugar and oxalates from overly ingesting veggies; some of that can cause inflammation which greatly affects our wellness. Some people may be very sensitive to vegetables and although supposed to be good for us can cause inflammation as well. And some people can go along for years and not be damaged by what they eat. I’ve definitely done trial & error, with elimination eating and trying to find culprits. Others may not be as affected by the standard American diet. It’s definitely been worth it to wean myself off of processed foods, sugar, and empty carbs. I was for sure inflamed inside and was unaware of how inflamed, and was not aware of the wide range effects of inflammation. Glad to be learning a lot. I don’t know how long I will eat like this, but for now it has been a great reset for my body and has given it time to heal and reconfigure itself and help me to feel 1000% better overall. If what you’ve been doing is not sustainable thus far or providing no positive results, and if you do not feel well doing what you are doing, you might want to consider this method of nutritional medicine and see how your body responds. Set a time frame. I started with a month. It can be a bit overwhelming at first when delving into this subject for sure with the glut of info to wade through. but hang in there and just learn in chunks, listen to podcasts, ask questions and give it some time to sink in. It’s such a gigantic paradigm shift for nutrition markers I’ve believed my whole life. But I could not be happier about the results for me personally. Reading a lot of Carnivore testimonials about reversing Diabetes, helping with cancer recovery, healed gut issues, eliminated joint pains, BP issues, righting hormone imbalances, eliminating PCOS & infertility problems for women, reducing inflammation in the body, skin problems, aging more optimally, eliminating brain fog, and more effective & sustainable weight loss was very intriguing & hopeful. Even if you don’t decide to try this nutritional-medicine approach, if you want a reason to smile & be happy for someone else, you can find a plethora of happy success stories and amazing testimonials of transformation on YouTube in this arena. I feel better at 67 than I ever did at 27, 37 or 47….
[Disclaimer: I am not an MD, I am not giving advice here; I am only sharing my own personal observations and what has helped me in the past years to come to a more complete place of health and wellness that has benefitted my path over 50 years. What I offer here is informational from only a personal perspective, nothing professional for health or medical purposes.]
Quality Sleep: I attempt to have 8-10 hours of sleep at night. It affects so many areas of our lives and is vital to wellness.
Exercise Ball: For about 9 years before I retired, I used an exercise ball at work for my daily chair. Other than falling off it once, it was stable & so beneficial to my core & spine for 8 hours a day, and made me pretty spoiled for regular furniture at home and in general. Highly recommend.