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There Are Strategies?

Amy

What strategies do you use to maintain your health and well-being?

I wish I would’ve known that sooner. Jokes aside, it’s very difficult to maintain health and well-being in these days and times. Whatever you’re doing, and it’s working for you, and it’s not hurting you or anyone else? Do more of that.

I talk to the plants and the animals. I feed the birds and the squirrels. When it’s really hot, I fill up the birdbaths at least three times a day. Note: birds know when you wake up. Just like cats know when your eyes pop open first thing in the morning, birds know when you’re awake. They can hear you in your room when the alarm goes off and you start reaching for your phone to snooze it. They hear it. As soon as a bird knows I’m awake, it’s in the tree outside of my window chirping at me to get out of bed and do the right thing. And the right thing is to feed it. As I open the blinds, I see many pairs of eyeballs staring at me. So of course I have to feed them.

I visit with my trees and give them pats and scritches on their bark. I sing to my inside plants. I tell them they are beautiful, and when they are flowering I congratulate them on their children. They haven’t complained yet, but maybe it’s because I can’t hear them complaining. I don’t speak plant. Yet.

I very carefully watch for bees and then walk through the grass. It’s very important to be grounded to the actual earth during these times. If you’re not grounding, you may be getting lost in the ether.

I avoid news. I know enough to be informed, but other than that, it’s a detriment to my mental and physical health to invest in anything harmful that has the ability to enter my brain via sound waves and visual recordings. Once taken in by the brain, they can never be taken away. I have learned this the hard way. I must also be careful with reading the written word. But there is slightly more control over getting your news via the written word. 

I keep a routine. Routine helps the brain feel regulated.

I like to go outside and see what I can snap a photograph of. There’s always something, if you’re looking close enough. One of the reasons my mother always kept creating new – and sometimes judged as wacky art projects – was to keep herself occupied and uplifted. It kept her from falling into anxiety and depression. Some may say that’s a little bit nuts, but I think it’s very wise. I have learned this wacky creativity lesson from her and I try to utilize it via photography and in other creative small projects.

I watch shows and films that are comforting or interesting. I will re-watch shows I like specifically for the comfort factor. I try to avoid heavy drama because if I wanted heavy drama, I would not be writing about how to maintain my mental physical health…

Since Susie died, I have been rearranging and repurposing things in the house to make the house more “me.” I have a very tight budget, but this is a new phase of life and with a recent birthday, I’ve decided now is the time to switch things up a bit.

What strategies do you use to maintain your health and well-being? Comment below!

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Published by Amy

I love words. And animals. Photography and fedoras. Welcome. And stay awhile.

28 thoughts on “There Are Strategies?”

  1. Good question…I try to…

    Keep my body moving…walking, yoga or pickleball.
    Keep my brain moving…writing, reading or tutoring. Keep my heart moving…loving, helping or healing.

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  2. Exercise, read, write, listen to music. I try to get outdoors when I can. When it’s way too hot, I don’t, but if the weather is cooperating, I give it my best shot. Sometimes I double up and exercise outdoors.

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      2. The question is when are we *not* under an air quality alert? lol

        But you know what, I’ve seen people running on the air quality alert days. And yesterday, when it was 95° F, people were out there running. I’m not sure, but I think the heat has scrambled their brains!

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  4. Interesting how other people’s inner world works, thanks for being so courageous. I avoid news to a degree as well, you can lose your mind in that. And I don’t purposely keep busy, but somehow I just do, there aren’t enough hours in the day. My struggle is to remind myself of things that move me forward rather than ‘waste’ on things I happen to be interested in.

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    1. That’s wonderful! I think those are also grounding activities. And they certainly use parts of the brain that need a bit of exercising in these times. Sometimes I feel I can’t write a thing – and I really can’t – but I can look through my camera lens on my phone and see something beautiful. So whatever you can do to create something beautiful in these times is what we need.

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  6. I avoid news and drama as well, I refuse to have cable tv in my home, and I abhor YouTube shorts and TikTok who needs that drivel irritating our neuronal pathways without forging new and useful ones. Learning, or laughing. Documentaries, comedies, math or chess games, languages, are all I am Interested in.
    Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Thanks for sharing! Those are all good ideas for activities. I also listen to a lot of music. I find that is sometimes the perfect background for another fun activity. I am not able to play an instrument, or I’m sure I would be doing that, as well.

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      1. Oh yes, that too, my instrument is my voice. Sometimes I sit alone in my quiet apartment with karaoke from YouTube and just sing my heart out. Or “happy” music on Spotify and clean or exercise. Fun times 😅

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  8. I am utterly captivated by your incredible writing style, it’s like a breath of fresh air! The way you speak of finding joy in the little things it’s a powerful reminder that true happiness often hides in the simplest moments. Deep down, I believe we all carry pure joy inside us, waiting to be discovered. We just need to remember to do what makes our spirits soar, to focus on those glowing sparks of positivity rather than drowning in the darkness of negativity that sometimes clouds our world.
    My heart aches a little with envy for your birds! They must be so enchanted by your presence, something from a fairytale, gathering in your yard each morning as you water your plants and fill the feeders and baths. I wish my little feathered friends shared that magic, but they only get a fleeting moment with me during the day. I also pour my love into my houseplants, slowly becoming a proud, if slightly quirky, “plant lady.” I have 13 beautiful green babies thriving in my home, each one a testament to my devotion …although a mischievous dog, in a dramatic moment of jealousy, once attacked one of my plants when I kept her from my guests. Lesson painfully learned! I tend to be a touch superstitious, so I feel like I need to add a fourteenth little green miracle!
    My heart’s passion is for painting and writing, though I may not be a master, the joy they bring my soul is immeasurable. They make me feel alive, like my heart is dancing to a melody only I can hear. I fervently admire how you stay informed without letting it consume you; finding that delicate balance is such a gift.
    Stay blessed and keep shining your light. Thank you for reminding me, especially on this beautifully humid Sunday, of the pure, breathtaking beauty that surrounds us. All I need is to touch some grass, feel the earth beneath my fingers, and remember, there is magic outside waiting to embrace us!

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    1. Thanks for your wonderfully thoughtful and heartfelt comment! 😊 I’m happy I was able to remind you there’s magic outside – you just have to find it. ✨

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  9. I’m learning to speak “plant” so I can engage with my indoor plants, but I’m not there yet. In the meantime, journaling, meditation, and exercise are what I’m doing to keep my health and well-being in balance.

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