Changes, we all go through them, nothing stays the same, everything changes. I could write some examples, like the seasons, body growth, maturity, knowledge, erosion and age. I have been going through changes myself for quite awhile and every once in awhile, it really hits me in the face. I have noticed that as of late i have less motivation and energy to do much of the physical work around the house as i used to, and it frustrates me. Pick up this, clean that, move this, repair that, all mostly the aesthetic appearances of the living space that my family and i live in.The fact that i now look around at “the mess” and can not quite understand how i have let it get this far, ahhhhhh, at times i just want to rip out my hair, if i had any. There is so much, all the time, little stuff that keeps compiling and eventually grows into big stuff. And even now, i am writing this journal blog and my mind is going, what are you doing? Why are you just sitting here, writing in this journal when you should be cleaning or puttering around and getting all this shit done!!!
My change has been more of a mental, spiritual shift. I now deal mostly within self, about self, for the enhancement of myself. That said, it takes time, and that means it takes the time away from the aspect of keeping myself busy with all the material distractions of my life. I realize, when i take the time to, that i used to flutter around and do so much physical moving, i had no time to actually be with myself. By the end of the day, i was so physically drained of energy, there was none left over.
Now however, i have come to realize a new energy drain, my mind. I spend so much time absorbed with new modes of thought and expansion, that by mid to late day, i am again low energy and have really nothing left to do any of my old physical routine. I need to find balance.
I work on my health everyday. There is much that i love doing, cycling, going to the gym, walking, swimming, etc. I try to watch what i eat, low sugar and processed foods. Getting a variety of fruits, vegtables and berries in my diet. Calorie counting. I love seeing the belly melt away, the pounds dropping on the scale, it makes me feel like i am being productive. Though, like above, i get to the point, where i work on my health, but lately, it feels like by mid afternoon, i have no energy to be mindful of what i need to do to maintian the level of health i need to continue progressing with my health goals. I start snacking early and i snack later. A little back ground here. I started experimenting with my own physical and mental health years ago. I found the main change was when i changed my diet, introducing daily into my routine a unique blend of fruits, vegetables and berries and a plant based protien shake mixture. It was so easy. Next came the actual physical work outs. Trust me when i say, this part has taken years, but i did find the sweet spot that inspired me every day to do it. Next came specific diet plans. There was many that i tried, and yes, i loss a little extra weight, but many did not fit into my daily physical fitness routine that i have developed. Mainly, i realized a loss of physical energy with my workout routines. I did discover Fasting, and it worked fantastic!
I started out with the 16:8 (16hr fast 8hr eating window) I watched my calories, ate whole food, less sugar and refined foods, drank lots of water, even cut down my alcohol consumption. And WOW! I started seeing bodily transformations in the mirror. Also, an increase of physical and mental energy. It was awesome! But again, with any change, there is always other changes.
For me, it felt like i was doing great, and i was. But, i forgot one little aspect of myself, my mind. I got caught up in the just the physical aspect of my health and really was not paying attention to some stuff deeper inside. So when i actually started focusing on my metaphysical health and life enhancement, it took time away from my physical mindfulness of my healthy lifestyle. Again, I need to find balance.
So, balance in my life. I think any one reading this will agree, you have to allow time for every thing that is important for life, to sustain and maintain one’s quality and enhancement of life. I believe that is one of our fundamental basic purposes in life. To look after and care for ourselve, physically, mentaly and spiritually. There will be many changes through out our life and we will have to learn how to adapt to these changes for the continued progression of our health and life. There are no simple answers, it all takes time and effort. For myself, i have to be aware that during these changes, there will be an un-balance with my life, things will get messy and confusing, frustrating and chaotic. The only thing to do, is to just keep doing. Continually find that balance, and be as prepared for the next change as i can be. Which really means, just know that at some point another change is coming, watch for it, be open minded and let it happen. Because if i try to stay as i am while the change is happening, that is what causes all the pain and frustration. My one tell, that i have noticed over time, that lets me know that i am resisting a change in my life that is occuring is that i get absorbed with either the physical, the mental or the spiritual side of life. For example, the biggest change in my life was when i was a new husband and dad. I did not even know that i should focus on my mental or spritual, i did all the physical. I kept busy, fixing things. It has taken many years but i now realize that if i had found how to balance all aspects of my life, it may have been a little easier, a lot less years of just doing.
I can not honestly say if my life would be different now, if i had learned about mental and spiritual health sooner and started to practice with more awareness of self sooner, but i do know, that with whole being health and balance in life, the effect is amazing. Especially for my family and the new found love and respect that i have for myself.