If someone asked you how you nourish yourself, how would you answer the question?
Would your thoughts automatically turn to the food you eat? Or would you think about the things you do for yourself, the things you love, the things that make you come alive?
As the pace of life speeds up around here in what seems like an exponential fashion, with the plethora of end-of-year plays, presentations, recitals, competitions . . . I’ve found myself saying to the Husband, “I just need an hour to myself”. Evidently the Husband grew a little tired of my refrain and finally asked me point blank “How in a day do you not have an hour to yourself”.
And then, in that funny way the universe has of delivering exactly what you need when you need it, I came across this article, “The Busy Person’s Lies” in the New York Times. To paraphrase wildly, turns out I, along with pretty much the rest of us, have more “free” time in a day then we think we do. Which means, the Husband is right. I most definitely do have an hour to myself in a day – it might not be 60 consecutive minutes, but those little bits of time here and there most definitely add up.
Which brings me back to the title of this post . . . Nourish.
For the past 42 days, I’ve been taking a picture of the sky, pairing it with a quote that appeals to me on that day, and posting it on Instagram. I’ve been LOVING this project. I’ve found myself slipping out of the house, often walking a block or two, or sometimes just out on to the front porch, to capture something in the sky that’s caught my attention. These little “outings” (they take less than 5 minutes usually), nourish me more than you can imagine. And while I might spend more than a few minutes reading quotes to find the best one to go along with my photo, these are not minutes I dread . . . in fact, it is quite the opposite . . . I have loved and learned and been reminded of so much in the words that I have read. Put differently, and much more succinctly, this little project that takes just a few minutes each day, makes me happy. Really happy.
And when you’re happy, your likely to enjoy doing a lot of other things too – ok, household chores may still be a well, chore, but they seem to be so much more enjoyable when you’re in a good frame of mind.
Of course, when you’re in a happy state of mind and things are ticking along nicely, you might just find you’re not desperate for that glass (or 2 or 3) of wine at the end of the day. Or you’re not raiding your cupboard for something sweet or salty or “not good for you”. Instead you might find yourself choosing to physically nourish yourself with more nutritionally dense foods (you know, the foods that are “good” for you). And as you eat less of the “bad” and more of the “good”, you start feeling even better . . . . lighter, happier, energized . . . and so the cycle continues.
My point in all of this is this . . . we likely all have more time in a day than we think we do. We likely all have at least 15 minutes, if not an hour (even if it’s not all in a single 60 minute stretch) do to something that nourishes us. If we can take that small amount of time, and really appreciate the fact that we are doing whatever it is that we want to do in those minutes, we might just find ourselves a little bit happier. And from that, over time you may find yourself making most more little changes that bring you even more happiness and nourish your body and your soul.
And on that note, I promise to no longer utter the words “I just need an hour to myself”. Because I now know, that I don’t need an hour. I just need a few minutes to connect with what brings me joy and to show gratitude for those few minutes and all will be right in my world.
