I think my all around health is pretty average. On a scale
of 1-10 with 10 being optimal, I would rate my health as follows:
Physical- I’d say my physical health is at 8. I am not the
healthiest person, but I am not sickly either, and I exercise and eat right
most of the time. My goal in this area would be to make sure I maintain a
schedule of regular exercising, and to incorporate more healthy meals into my
diet.
Spiritual- for this I’d say 7, only because some days I am
happy with my life and where it is going, and other days I feel like I don’t
know what is going on, and I feel little
down. For the times that I feel like I don’t know what is going on with my
life, I will remind myself that everything will be revealed in due time, and to
be patient.
Psychological- 9- I have always been strong mentally. Well, I shouldn't say "always". Having three older brothers taught me a thing or two about becoming tough mentally. They would tease me to the point of tears when I was younger, and then one day I decided that they weren't going to make me cry anymore, and I vowed to never let them see me cry again. I found ways of dealing with my emotions and learning to control them. Now I only cry when I'm really stressed, and the tears are such a release of pressure. When
things go wrong, I always tell myself that the problem cannot last forever
which helps me cope with it. I have noticed throughout the years that bad
things make me stronger and more determined to surpass the things that try to keep
me down. Because I feel that I am mentally strong, I don’t know what goal to
set here.
For the relaxation exercise, I found it, for the most part,
to be a little ridiculous. The slow, dreamy music, and the instructions to
relax made me want to sleep, but other parts were just annoying, like imagining
colors and beams. It made me feel like I should have taken some LSD before
listening to it. Because I am mentally strong, I felt that it was ridiculous to
say “my life has a meaningful purpose”. I already know this, and know how
precious life is, and I don’t feel the need to have to reassure myself of it.
This exercise made me think of the hippies of the 1960s.
Donna
Donna,
ReplyDeleteI think it's great that you have become mentally strong. I was teased mercilessly in school and one day I snapped and vowed to never allow people to treat me that way again. For years I lived with an insecurity that overflowed into other aspects in my life. It's sad that it was your own brothers who drove you to that point.
I found your comment on the relaxation exercise funny. It didn't dawn on me to think about LSD or the hippies but I can see where you are coming from. When I first started massage therapy school 13 years ago I had the same reaction towards things like this. I was kind of cynical, not because I was mentally strong per say, but because I was not familiar with trying to get in touch with my "inner self". When we had a Reiki class (energy bodywork) I was convinced my "energy" was broken because I couldn't visualize colors or feel an energy ball in my hands. It took a long time of being around people who were very much into the body/mind/spirit connection and learning more about the benefits before I realized the value of these exercises. Even for someone like you who is already mentally strong, these types of exercises just confirm and strengthen those thoughts within you. I suggest trying them again a couple of times to see if it changes your thoughts on this. :) If you do, let me know how it goes!
Hey Donna, it's great that you have learned how to cope with past hurts. Ups and downs are a natural part of life for us all. I can remember being bullied and made fun of numerous times in school. Kids can be flat out hateful for no reason at times, but I know that when anyone treats someone disrespectfully if stems from an insecurity or emotional wound on the inside. Promising that we won;t allow anyone to hurt us ever again is not possible and can create a wall that is built up in order to shield us from the emotional pain since it's uncomfortable to feel. I empathize with you because I have been in similar shoes. I think about how so many young people may not live up to their life potential simply because of holding onto bitterness and unforgiveness from past experiences with parents, siblings, coworkers, and significant others. Breakthrough is always possible but only occurs when we let go of the hurt mentally so that God's flow of blessings are not blocked. I've had difficult events in my life to let go of that took me years to overcome. My mom walked out and filed for divorce after saying she hadn't loved my dad for over 16 years! I was left to be the responsible one and hold things together since my older brother fled from responsibility and financial issues were becoming more challenging by the day. I held onto bitterness toward her for many years because I connected her one decision to me having to work so hard all the time with never experiencing what it's like to go out and have fun like young people typically do. I now am able to freely talk to her with no ill feelings at all. It's like a mammoth weight lifted off my entire being! It is useless to walk around angry about things you can't control. I actually have a relationship with my brothers and my mom when for years I felt so distance from them. I saw them several times this last holiday season and met up with my brothers to celebrate our birthdays last month! The three of us guys have quite a bit in common like sports, fitness, and nutrition. I'm humbled by what is possible if we will be determined to refuse to let negative emotions from hurts weigh us down. We all need a way to cope with our stressors. I'm very strong mentally just like you but I do see great value in relaxation exercises not because I don't already know my life has purpose, but because we need to consistently remind ourselves and engage those thoughts that produce joy, peace, and motivate to go for our dreams and not settle for an ordinary life. Donna, what spiritual activities do you participate in to grow stronger?
ReplyDeleteDonna,
ReplyDeleteI had to giggle when I read your reflection on the exercise! I can totally see how the music reminded you of some 1960s LSD trip! Although I did enjoy the exercise I can understand how this particular one can be a little annoying. I can also identify with being mentally strong because, like you, I had a brother that liked to make me cry all the time and I was always so upset because people saw my tears as sadness or weakness and for me it was about releasing the frustration so that I did not do something that I wasn’t proud of. Working in the operating room has toughened me up as well because of the environment and the personalities lol! Sometimes it isn’t great to think about the crap that you went through when you were a kid but for me it has helped me see how far I’ve come and I love the person that I turned out to be! Enjoyed your post Donna!
Lindsey