Posts Tagged ‘health’
I like people but I also need my alone time which according to recent findings is going to lead to my early demise. Studies are becoming increasingly insistent that the more you interact with family, friends and co-workers the happier and healthy you are mentally and physically. One even went on to say that perhaps the medical profession may want to make some recommendations if a patient seems to be solitary. Prescription to read ‘meet two friends and call me in the morning’.
Some of us enjoy being by ourselves and don’t feel lonely nor are we in a state of inertia. We are of a personality type that need quiet time to de-stress and decompress. Which logically means being healthier.
Humans need peace and quiet so that creativity, problem solving and even healing can take place. I recently spoke with a client who had suffered a great loss; she admitted that what was wearing her out at this point was not the bereavement but the lack of time to herself. As well meaning friends and family kept calling and dropping by, she was trapped in a place of their need to comfort her.
Today’s society is over stimulated; requiring constant connection with something or someone. We are also passing this onto the next generation. In truth when we do embark on a friendship or relationship its growth and richness is nurtured by the fact that the individuals involved are self-sufficient, self-reliant and capable of autonomous thought.
I was thinking this morning while alone in the shower that we are fortunate Mozart didn’t spend all his time in coffee houses with his BFFs or Virginia Woolf wasn’t busy dazzling her followers on Twitter or she may never have written A Room of One’s Own which ironically is based on the premise that ‘A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction’ .
My inspiration to write this post came from: I’m denying your friend request by Marni Soupcoff, National Post
A New Risk Factor: Your Social Life by Tara Parker-Pope, The New York Times
With Your Biscotti & Coffee
1) Two Summer Movies for grown-ups
Hidden among Despicable Me and The Twilight Sage:Eclipse are two cinema gems that you may have overlooked. Both are worthy of a stolen afternoon in a cool movie theatre and some buttered popcorn.
2) Warriors in Pink
India’s gang of vigilante women are striking fear in the hearts of wrongdoers and earning the grudging respect of officials.
3) High Line Park, NY
From historic railway yards founded in 1930 to a functioning public park, it is a fascinating journey.
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If there is an upside to having Atrial Fibrillation it is that you don’t just jump out of bed in the morning. You get up slowly so that your heart finds its day rhythm and the blood starts moving to all the right areas of your body.
Once up its dress, leash dogs and out the door. I keep my brain in a comfortable neutral only allowing certain thoughts in. Not those meaning of life ones that I probably should have instead I muse on the creative side of my business; finding the right words for an article, website touch-up ideas or fresh business concepts. Like so many entrepreneurs it is hard finding the time to create instead of running a business so 5:15am…ish is that time .
The energy is different when Chris comes with us; he is one of those people who gets up with his all his mental stuff front and centre. While I don’t mind Duke’s and Mia’s lingering sniffs over blades of grass mixed with multiple bathroom stops he is impatient to keep moving. Their excitement over every smell, sight and sound enhances my own awareness of the awakening day.
At that early hour we only share the streets with fellow dog walkers, a few joggers and runners. Some are withdrawn, huddled into their jackets and thoughts, others merely nod. It is usually the dog people who call out a cheery hello.
Then it’s home, make coffee and shower while channel surfing between The Today Show, a Calgary Breakfast Show and the BBC because I like their international news and knowing what kind of weather people in Hong Kong and Palermo are walking their dog in.
So late last year, certain things happened and I ended up sitting in my gynos office and the C word comes up. It’s ok male readers there will be no details because that is not what this entry is about. Anyway over the next six months we took certain steps and yesterday’s appointment confirmed that all is now well.
What is kinda’ interesting is where one’s head space goes during those somewhat traumatic events. For instance the first thing I wanted after yesterday’s appointment was to go to the Starbucks across the road. So I bellied up to the counter and asked the barista for a venti latte with whole milk AND a piece of banana loaf. What the heck, husband was driving.
Then on the way home I tried to remember what deal had I struck when this all began. Had I promised to enter some monastary, which wouldn’t be too bad if I didn’t have to take a vow of thou shall not use thy laptop. Or had I offered 
my first born to the other end of the spectrum in which case I was in trouble as that would be the neurotic chocolate lab.
Truthfully, my mental deal was far from spiritual and not even remotely noble; I had in fact promised that my healthy self would work harder to grow my business and I would find the time to write more. Now, don’t take the high road until you have been there. The brain is a mysterious thing and when backed into what it feels is a corner it is amazing what thoughts emerge. The fact is that I love working and we have a house in Nova Scotia that needs a lot of expensive renovations. The Plan being to move there in 3-4 years when the house is completely restored. The property also has a lovely little art studio (& it too needs work) which is going to be my office. So far from being mercenary, I just want to work harder on ‘The Plan’.
It is also true that in the face of an unknown one does dwell on plans not accomplished, places not visited and goals not met. So, did this experience leave me with a greater comprehension of the meaning of the time before me in which I can still tackle some of those things, yes it did.
We have all seen the game show ‘Wheel of Fortune’, someone spins and has no control on where the wheel stops. The life of a peri-menopausal woman is somewhat similar. Some mornings the wheel stops and you have actually slept more than 3 hours and you have no thoughts of killing the first person that looks at you the wrong way. It’s going to be a good day.
Then sometimes you land on that spot where you are itchy, irritable and feel as though all the moisture has been sucked out of your body from your dry eyes down to your vagina. There is even a few places on the wheel that don’t get talked about much – like the heightened sense of smell, headache verging on migraine and does anyone else land on nausea?
Not to say that I don’t get the $5000- days of energy, mental clarity bordering on genius and a sense that I can conquer the world or at least my corner of it. I can only hope that I get to stay there for awhile.
I used to be fairly in tune with my body. I still ‘know’ it but over the last year or so I have chosen to ignore it’s subtle messages. Consequently, I now have a second head cold in two weeks and a raging case of tonsillitis. Why at a time when we should be honoring our bodies are we decide to push it more? Is it a feeling that time is at our heels or an assumption that it still has the re-generative abilities that it possessed twenty years ago? When I feel better I am going to have a meeting with myself and re-evaluate my goals and priorities. I need to take a realistic look at what my body needs and adjust my schedule accordingly. I also realize that there are going to be some things that I am going to say “no” to but in the end I am glad that my wake-up call is a mild one.