My foster mom gave me a book to read a while ago. It was about fibromyalgia. It was a big book: a manual on the subject. The information went far beyond fibromyalgia. One section of the book talked quite simply, about living a wholesome and healthy lifestyle. There was a list of things to do on a daily basis, as a maintenance routine.
- Stretch am and pm: I don't do am and pm, but I stretch constantly at work whenever I get a chance.
- Talk to someone with whom you can be real: I am lucky to have someone in my life that I can do this with.
- Meditate: easy peasy.
- Eat healthy meals and snacks: easy
- For 30 minutes per day, do something you enjoy: another easy thing I get to do every day.
- For 30 minutes per day, get exposure to natural light: Being outside as much as possible, I have a hard time getting exposure to inside light. Ha ha ha!
- Do tai chi for 15 minutes per day: found this one interesting. Until last year, I have to be honest and say that I did not have the appreciation for tai chi that it deserves. I have since learned that tai chi uses our spine like a spoon, stirring and balancing our chi, which is our vital life force. It flows within and throughout the universe. I believe this most strongly. When doing tai chi, it is important for our intention to be put together with movement of this vital force. Our chi flows along what is called our myofascia in our bodies that is connected under the skin, through every part of our body. In order to reduce pain, remove blockages, and improve our microcirculation, we have to keep those pathways open.
- Drink lots of water: I have gone from drinking 1 or 2 glasses a day to drinking up to 1 to 3 litres per day
- Journal daily for 15 minutes: I do journal a lot, but not every day. Yet
- Make a list of descriptive words that describe how you feel....on a good day: I've done this and it was an interesting one to do.
- Breath properly: for some reason I have always had a hard time with belly breathing. I did a meditation one night while half laying down in bed. I focused on belly breathing. It came easy in that position, so I do it regularly now, and it has become much easier now to breath that way while standing up.
- When tired, sleep: LOL! Because my parents go to bed at 7:30 or 8:00, so do I. I don't sleep right away, I journal, do research, watch photography lessons, look at the photos I've taken that day, or email. I turn my lights out about 10 or 11:00, and then don't get up until 8:00, when my parents do, although I am awake off and on after 5 am. I am getting the most sleep I have ever had in my life.
- Keep a clean and uncluttered living space and a clean mind space: I have always strived for neatness, and by clean mind space, they mean free of bitter feelings, anger, etc. I think I'm good there.
- Live consciously and not automatically: I work on this daily. I am constantly amazed at what I see out there in the world when I take the time to actually look. When I am patient and take the time to wait, the world seems to come to me. I can walk up to the side of a river and see and hear nothing. Yet, when I sit for even 2 minutes, just waiting, watching and listening, I am suddenly greeted with the wonders that are happening in the world around me; the call of a song sparrow, a heron fishing for dinner, a woodpecker looking for bugs, a family of white tail deer. There is always so much to see and be a apart of.
Living here in this valley makes following these guidelines fairly easy. I'm not sure exactly why, but I believe it has to do with the environment, and my present personal mindset. Here I am surrounded by mountains, lakes, rivers and critters of all kinds. It's easily accessible. Last week we had 45 wild turkeys in the yard. The toms were struttin their stuff with bright red colors hanging on their necks, fanned out tail feathers, and puffed up chests, trying to impress the ladies. Deer wander the streets here like elk wander the streets of Jasper. There seems to be a different mentality here too. A lot of people that live here, have been here for years and years. Their children and grandchildren live here, and people are compassionate about the area. When there is a community event, hundreds of people show up: generations of families and friends. When you walk down the street you can say hello to anyone and they don't think you are a weirdo.
All of this sounds wonderful, except for the fact that I am away from my family and my kung fu. I miss them terribly. It does, however, comfort me that my kids have each other, and the grandkids have aunts and uncles to bond with as well. My son is back living in Canada now, after 6 years in the states. It's wonderful having him close again. I visit them about once a month, and as the weather and road conditions improve, they will visit me as well.
I miss my kung fu and the family I have there. Watching the class videos does help a lot to stay connected, and I love seeing everyone, but its not quite the same as being there. My kung fu isn't gone though. It is a part of me and always will be. The I ho chuan last year wasn't a list of hoops I needed to jump through to accomplish 4th degree. My I ho chuan requirements were just like this list I found in the book about fibromyalgia. They were daily tasks that I needed to do in order to fulfill a healthy lifestyle. The I ho chuan, through my kung fu, gave me proper tools I needed. Instead of a year long process, they became a way of life for me. Kung fu and the I ho chuan lives on in me, as I allow it to be my lifelong compass, directing me in my daily choices, thoughts and actions. I still fulfill a lot of my requirements and the other day at work while one of the machines was down, I started to do push ups by leaning on the side of the conveyor belt. Five other people joined in. It was great!! I still do challenges, acts of kindness, walk and ride lots of kms, practice my forms, and so on. For me, those are healthy life choices. When it's a way of life, it isn't a chore.
Will I return to Alberta, and my 2 families? I can't really say that I won't. For now, in this moment today, I accept that I am here, and they are there. I alone accept the responsibility that I have to live my life as I feel is proper in order to care for myself, both physically and mentally. Those responsibilities in turn give me peace within myself, and with all things in my surroundings that I am connected with. With that feeling of peace and connection, comes a natural passion to care for it. To care for all things and all beings.
This is one of the places I go to "play".
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