Here in Kirkland, we've access to lots of healthy choices. We dwell amid health professionals-clubs-grocers, nature's beauty and a community of friendly people - all of which might contribute to our well being. And given all that, I cast my vote for personal choice as the most powerful health tool any of us possess.
I've a calendar at home that features a quote by Aristotle: "For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them." This wisdom still carries the day. It reminds me that our lives - and our health - are shaped by the choices we make.
Moving forward with clarity
This same general message of choice and action came my way in another form recently. I saw someone wearing a necklace comprised of two small leather pockets dangling from a chain. I wondered what was hidden inside the pockets, so I asked. I learned that one pocket contained a black stone, the other a white one. These stones were a reminder to move forward with clarity rather than getting stuck in the "gray" zone of indecisiveness.
Since life is a continuum of transitions, we've ample opportunity to learn by doing. As rhythms of the school year replace those of summer vacation, how are you affected? As a student, you likely adjust your wake/sleep or work/play cycles. As a parent, you likely shift your work/recreation hours to merge with important school-related events and vacation dates. And as a driver (already running late), you may be challenged to follow behind a school bus as it travels down the road in a stop-go-stop-go pattern. What choices have helped you to transition comfortably?
Intervals of stillness
Myriad internal and external rhythms seem to be about coming and going, adding and subtracting. We inhale and we exhale; our heart muscle contracts and rests; we speak and we listen. Like the interval of stillness as a pendulum swings, a pause precedes transition.
A child waiting in line to jump rope might use the pause to tie loose shoe strings (helpful to tie up loose ends to relieve burden of worry and disarray), remove loose items from pockets (helpful to let go of what you don't need, what hinders you) and pay attention to the rhythm of the rope swing before taking that first jump. This pause for transition can make the difference between having fun and getting hurt.
Just as we tune in to the rhythm of a jump rope, we sense when the rhythms of our life become out of balance and in conflict. If we ignore the feeling of imbalance, our health usually begins to broadcast our strained existence. When we feel we've not got enough (time, money, energy, joy), or we feel life's too much (responsibility, chaos, pain) it's time to make some new choices - to regain our balance.
We needn't just keep plugging away with the same circumstances and the same complaints; now is a good time to take a pause and redirect. Do you sense the enhanced receptivity to change as one season evolves into the next? Often, attuning to the external rhythm of the seasons can serve as a guide for personal choice and action. Nature offers the current season, autumn, as a time to release what is no longer needed, clearing the path for new experiences yet to come.
Your inspiration
Now is a moment for you to take a pause, notice what enlivens and inspires you versus what depletes you. How will you reposition-particularly, what will you let go-to make way for better health looking forward? I invite you to DO IT: make a choice and take action-seize the moment!
Applied to the feet, reflexology is a stress-relieving and wellness technique that improves the body's nerve, circulatory and energetic function.
Julie Glassmoyer is a Kirkland resident and reflexologist serving the Eastside, www.thesynergywellnesscenter.com, 445-7949.
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