Health -- the anti-resolution

VF pt. II -- A case for loosey goosey goals; no quantifying, just intuition

If you missed last week’s explanation of my New Year’s state of mind, you’re going to want to read that first.

Health

This is elementary. Everybody talks about this in the new year. What makes it noteworthy to me is the value behind the value.

Health is just a pillar along with the other 5, but what each of them holds up is a divine mystery. It’s what I think all resolutions seek to obtain: joy, peace, happiness.

Every year, aren’t we all always asking, “Now what’s going to make me happy this time?”

Health is a blanket word that covers all the pillars collectively. It is what I would call the structure that upholds all peace, joy, and happiness. Each pillar that holds up these heavenly feelings can be paired with the word.

Marriage and motherhood = relationship health.

A relationship with God = spiritual health.

Writing = creative health.

Celebration = the expression of excitement and appreciation. Let’s call that an aspect of emotional health.

When I list health as a pillar, I mean specifically physical health. There’s something special about it. If any of the other pillars fall out of whack, another can normally compensate for them. Physicality is different. No matter how lovely my marriage, motherhood, writing, and festivities are, if my body falters, the whole structure crumbles.

My physical body is the vessel in which I experience every other kind of health. I value it because peace depends on it uniquely.

All the other pillars of my life — romance, motherhood, writing, celebration, and God — are to be relished in, but health is different. It isn’t immediately gratifying the way playing in the garden with Lavie, kissing my husband, or writing my novel are. I’m motivated by its opposite — its absence.

Health is a sheep in my fold that I’m responsible to steward over and time is a wolf at the perimeter, waiting to see if I’ll protect this ewe or offer it up. When I turn my head away from health, the wolf inches forward. If I abandon her too long, he will swallow her up.

Health isn’t value fulfillment as much as value protection.

When I neglect it, it weakens all the other pillars in my life. I grow impatient, cranky, insecure, distracted, and numb. All of those traits strip fulfillment from marriage, motherhood, creativity, and spirituality. They form the antithesis of peace and joy.

I think this is why physicality makes it onto most everyone’s list of resolutions.

This is why physical practices are an everyday check in for me.

Every day I build in practices to care for my health, and every day they’re different.

This is why I carry a toolbox and not a to-do list.

Toolbox:

• Sunshine, fresh air, nature

• More water

• A walk

• A stretch

• A dance with my daughter

• A good lift

• Sleep

• Oranges - vitamin C in the winter

• Bananas - potassium for cramps

• Nature’s Gatorade (mom’s recipe) - extra hydration

• Sleep

• A fitting tincture from my herbal wiz/mom in law

• Quiet

• Talk therapy — Marco Polo, phone a friend, a stroll with my mom-walk group

• Cycle syncing

The reason I pay such close attention to health is because it’s easy to ignore until it’s too late. I’m a writer — a hermit, a homebody. I frequently forget my physical existence. After a week of stellar drafting and pumpkin bread in bed, I realize I haven’t stepped outside. I haven’t walked. I haven’t changed my fuzzy socks since Sunday or eaten any fruit. And I realize because I’m weary and depressed from skipping all of those things.

Whenever I feel off, the first place to look is my body. The diagnosis is normally intuitive — it’s easy to spot what’s missing. So many surprising remedies lie within it too.

A walk moves the energy that’s itching to jump from my limbs, but it also calms the chaos that cooks up in my mind when I’m still for too long. It rests my weary heart when my emotions have run rampant.

A walk can be the difference between sanity and insanity for me most days.

But I’m not going to walk every day. It’s 10 degrees outside.

This is the thing about physical practices. They aren’t eternal, and they shouldn’t be. I see human beings prescribing themselves strictly regimented routines in the name of health, and I call that counterproductive.

Human beings operate in a natural state of flux. So does human health. I believe in assessing my needs day by day and selecting the right tool for each.

I won’t run you through scenarios, because you’ve heard them dozens of times already. I will ask you to pause and recognize your own, ask yourself what the remedy is, and then scroll down to read on.

What does your body ache for today?

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Here is my own physical reflection right now:

I’m in a season of progression. I am sizzling with hunger for physical fulfillment. I have the tools, time, and space to sleep well, enjoy lots of protein, get outside in nature, meet my strength goals, and enjoy my body.

I have goals right now.

This might seem to contradict the intuitive nature of value fulfillment, but the last thing that I want to write to you today is —

It doesn’t.

There’s some magic ley line between freedom and progress, and this is mine. It roots in time. What offers me the freedom to make intuitive decisions based on what my body shows me it needs is the fact I don’t try to guess ahead of time.

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions to workout __ days a week, eat __ grams of protein with each meal, or sleep 8 hours every night for the entirety of my existence.

But this Sunday, I said, “Alright, I’m feeling better. Tuesday and Friday look open. I think I might lift those days.” Both days worked out this week. I tried something new — the gym before sunrise and enjoyed some stellar morning endorphin rushes.

My husband and I are hoping to be blessed with another baby in our family, and I want to be in great health when I get pregnant again.

That’s a goal of mine. I don’t need a schedule to make me reach it. I know what I have to do — strengthen my muscles, pick my recipes, buy the ingredients at the store, cook, regulate stress, sleep well.

Those are my thoughts on health for now. I have a feeling I’ll be visiting this topic again in the near future, and I look forward to that.

Thank you so much for reading, friend. I think I’ll be back next week to dote on relationships and love — my favorite! <3

If you took this to heart, I’d love for you to come back again. You can read past posts on motherhood, creative writing, wellness, and womanhood here. Please like this post if you’re on Substack and leave a comment with any thoughts you’d like to share. I would be absolutely delighted to read your thoughts.

Take care of yourself,

Ally Mia

P.S. Here is my physical health moodboard!

Photos from Pinterest, of course :-)