(Don’t forget to come by my film screening tonight!)
One of the questions my clients have the toughest time answering when I do their intake, is what their hobbies and interests are. Last week a client responded with “Who has hobbies anymore?”
Great health is not just about the food we eat. We all need other things in our lives to create TOTAL health. I, for one, often get way too caught up in my physical health, making sure I get my daily exercise, my protein and fibre with every meal, my lemon and water in the morning (I could go on and on and on), that I often put aside the things that nourish the rest of me.
My hobby is putting colour on stuff and I don’t do it nearly enough. Cooking has become my primary creative outlet of late, but there is still nothing I enjoy more than sitting down with an assortment of paints and a glue gun and creating something completely ridiculous. I love focusing my energy on something that has absolutely nothing to do with my physical health. The above photo was from Canada Weekend at my cottage. Every year we take on a family art project, and this year we decorated boxes. I was going with a farm to table kind of theme (with a naked plastic doll holding a pink comb). So silly. More photos at the bottom.
What activities nourish you?
Here are some of my other tips to staying healthy that have nothing to do with what you eat.
Meghan’s Guide To Making Love Outside The Kitchen
Cry Over Spilled Milk
When we keep it in we get sick. Emotions and feelings that are repressed, will end in illness in one form or another. We all have our inherent weaknesses but there is no need to find out what those weaknesses are. Talk it out, share feelings, and most importantly, be real about what you’re feeling.
Follow Your Gut and Make The Decision
My friend Jay always says to me “When there’s doubt, there’s no doubt”. If we follow our instinct, we will never have to make another decision again in our life.
Create Solutions and Make Peace With Them
We may choose to view ourselves as victims of circumstance but for the most part, we create our circumstance and therefore have the power to change it. Positive change results from positive action. Negative circumstance results from negative reaction.
A Cute Outfit Means Nothing If You Feel Like Shit
We’ll spend more money on a consultation for colours to paint our walls than on consultations to resolve our health issues. People who hide from reality and pretend like everything is sunshiney, glossy and perfect all the time are those in the most pain. It’s okay to have bad days.
It Is What It Is.
Acceptance of ourselves- our appearance, our relationships, our health, our family, our friends… We must accept things just as they are. Refusing acceptance is the surest way to create our own suffering. If we can simply accept things as they are, we begin to eliminate negative emotions from our lives that include jealousy, envy, competition, criticism, destruction and dissatisfaction.
Laughter Is The Best Medicine.
When was the last time you had a good laugh? The kind where you can’t catch your breath and tears are rolling down your cheeks? If you can’t remember it has been way too long.
And now for some more pictures.
My mom working on her work of art. She’s the true artist among us.
A close up of my work of artistic genius
My sister-in-law Carly hard at work
My dad’s rhinstone and birch bark creation
My brother decided to make the cows road kill
You know I picked the chairs for my porch!
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Having random, dorky dance parties with myself nourishes my soul. There is something so freeing about “dancing like no one is watching”.
Also, the “tip” that has helped me be a happy person is:
Be a forward thinker.
I don’t look back at the past. I can’t change it. I don’t cling to things from my past. They are just that, things. The memories are what count. There is so much life to look forward too; so many things left to explore. Why waste your time looking backwards? Carpe Diem, people!
I love this post Meghan!! (Not to mention your art project and your pink deck chairs!!)
I always say that I feel like I have a good balance of things in my life – work and play! Activities that I enjoy include: singing, dance, yoga, reading great books and taking walks. Singing karaoke in my basement is also a lot of fun, not to mention a good dance party (Katrina why aren’t you in Canada?!?!)
And it really is okay to have bad days! We all have them and I think when we release our emotions (rather than bottle them up) we feel a heck of a lot better in the long run.
I also think you’re going to get some weird google searches after this post “Meghan’s Guide to Making Love”
xo
Love this post! It is so hard to add play when you feel sick so this has been hard for me over the past few years.
I find it so interesting that we live in a society where outward appearance is so important and there is absolutely no crying. Crying shows your weakness and who would want to do that? I am a very emotional person. My dad has always said that I feel emotions to the extreme but I dont mind if anything its something that I value about myself. If I’m upset you’ll know. I hate it when other people are upset and wont let it out. Why let it fester? Whats wrong with being really happy, angry, or upset? I love my emotions
My boyfriend and I do this thing once a week that for me is the most relaxing thing ever. We camp out on his sofa and watch movies for hours. I dont think about the fact that I’m not moving and its one time when I dont have to be thinking about my diet. Its fabulous
I love art (and I LOVE your pink chairs and all of the way cute boxes your family made! what fun times together!)
I love anything artsy fartsy. I am a big hands on kinda person… love to knit in quieter months, spin yarn sometimes, but at the moment watercolor painting is my love
cooking or creating new healthy meals is definately another favorite too
hobbies are GREAT.
Awesome post!
Personally, I’m a simple gal when it comes to making myself feel good. A cup of tea, a good book, and a comfy chair recharges me every time. If I’m feeling indulgent, I’ll do a green clay mask at the same time, haha, but only if I’m by myself. I’ve scared the bejeezus out of my roomates that way before…
I also just posted about a broader concept of nourishment just last night! I’d love it if you read it!
http://openendedquestion.wordpress.com/
Aw, what a fun family activity!
Is pink your favorite color by chance?
i love those pink adirondacks! way cute
Fabulous! Love you in pink, too! Wish I could come to that screening tonight. Keep smiling all summer long…
So true Meghan. My life working from home hasn’t (read isn’t) the easier ride I’ve been on and I’m realizing more that you really need to be mentally healthy as well as physically. They really go hand in hand.
I found myself too absorbed in working that before I knew it, I was no longer working but just frittering my day away as I wasn’t being “nourished” in other aspects of my life.
It’s an easy habit to slip into and in fact, I’ve talked about it a lot on my blog this week. I’d love you stop by and share you thoughts with my readers.
Btw, this is Adele from mindblossom!
Adele
Ummm, where’s the edit button when you need it? Excuse the poor grammar/spelling. :/
Meghan, this hit me over the head…I really need to read and re-read this and learn from it and more so, put this into practice.
I love the pictures and all the wonderful projects you and your family did together.
Thank you and bless you for all you do. I so appreciate your work and all that you give us…
Hugs…
Thank you again for your kind, kind comments. I seriously have the best readers ever. There may not be a lot of you… but I’ll take quality over quantity any day!
Meghan,
I love this post! I think you probably have more readers than you think you have. Most of them are probably like me-I read your posts, laugh with you, cook your recipes; but I usually don’t think I have anything to say that anyone would be interested in reading. But I just had to say that I am really envious of your ability to have fun with your family in such interesting ways. I loved your boxes! Where do you display them when you are finished with them? I would want them where I would walk past them at least 20 times a day because each and every time they would make me smile. I agree with you that we each need to laugh more. I find I laugh more when I watch the news less. I also love seeing your pictures. Do you know that you send so much positive, healing energy when you post pictures of your smiling face? I’m just sayin…..Please keep it up!!! Oh yeah, I read science fiction to escape. I am now reading Magic to the Bone” by Devon Monk, and it really rocks! I am also really good at finding ways to make my husband laugh like a loon. It’s good for the heart, you know. I look forward to many more posts from you.
Much love and many blessings,
June
Read your comment on Heather’s blog about free stuff/dog poo ~ good comparison by your prof. You also mentioned Garden of Life products and was wondering you’ve tried superseed? If so what did you think of it? I use it in all my cooking/baking in place of flax seed. Just curious to your opinion (pro & con)
Thanks
I love this post! You and your family are beautiful
Thanks for the well wishes on my post the other day
What a fun post of fun projects! Thanks for the reminder that there’s more to life than cooking and eating.
What a creative family you have. Each box made me smile, but your brother’s wins the “Laughter is the Best Medicine” award. His road kill cows made me giggle. Warped humour is the only way to go.
My hobbies: I lurk on other people’s websites, I write, I cook, I start crafty hobbies and lose interest, leaving a trail of unfinished projects in my wake. (I have several unfinished knitting projects on the go right now. I think my actual hobby may be buying yarn rather than knitting.)
PS. I so wish I could be at the screening tonight. I hope the film plays here, and if it doesn’t, I may just have to be in touch with you as to how one hosts a film!
Could your family be any cuter!!
This post is rather timely for me, Meghan. My journey toward health and healing is one year old this week. Lots of miracles and BIG transformation.
My focus has been on the physical, and hence, the most visible changes —> good bye to heartburn, migraines, fatigue, edema, depression, allergies, aches, pains, and 115 pounds. Naturally, there have also been some big internal shifts (emotional/mental) as well.
But, if healing is really about stepping into our wholeness, then I think it’s time I shine the light on other facets of my being and explore other ways of nourishing myself — body/mind/spirit.
Your post reminded me that I used to love to craft and make things when I was little. Perhaps it’s time to get a glue stick of my own.
Just came back into town from the gorgeous Winnipeg Folk Fest. Or as I like to call it, the hippy derby.
I’ve been riding high on the seemingly endless chant of ‘PEACE-LOVE!’ these past few days. Just when ‘reality’ was beginning to creep in, I decided to stay awake another few minutes and read this post alongside my coconut water.
Thank you for reminding me to craft, to clutch my belly in laughter, and be extra mindful of riding myself of shit (both literally and emotionally).
Your blog is a godsend Meghan! Or I guess I should be saying goddess.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
hallo Meghan,
This is simply superb !!
Love it
[...] are some of my tips, from this post that I wrote a year ago about staying healthy that has nothing to do with what you [...]
Thank you!!!