What I Know About Healthy Natural Living

Health sometimes seems like this thing we only hear about when it is not well. 2020 certainly had a focus on it and changed so much of our day-to-day living. Even then though all the news centered on health was for protection and again it all seemed so negative. Could this be because we only think about it when it is causing us pain or inconvenience?

What I know about health is it is there every day. We may not notice it but we cannot do what we do every day without it. It is everything about us that make us possible. Our health is what fuels our day, helps us solve big and little problems that come up and what keeps us safe. Health is not just a state of being but it is our own energy. What I know about health is it cannot exist without nature.

The visual that comes to my mind when I think about health is seeing myself outside taking in a nice deep refreshing breath. I am somewhere scenic like the mountains feeling refreshed with the view around me. I can literally feel my body respond to this place by being less stressed. The problems that were bothering me out in the world seem so insignificant in that moment. I feel alive. I know there is a bigger purpose than what I’ve been caught up in lately. Nature rejuvenates me body and soul standing right there. What I know about healthy natural living is it is these types of moments that remind us what is important about living.

When I think about what I put my body and mind through every day I feel ashamed. So many days spent bent over a keyboard and on the phone working. Too many days feeling exhausted and not enough time to give myself what I really need. Hours spent going through motions of exercise trying to get it in and done to say I’m doing something good for myself but my heart isn’t in it. I’m just going through motions because it’s what my demands of my time. It is what is necessary to pay bills, buy groceries and survive. What I know about healthy natural living is it doesn’t feel or look like what I do most days.

Does that surprise you?

Here I am writing to you about the wonderful ways living more natural is good for you and yet I just admitted to not doing it right either most of the time. The truth of the matter is what I share with you is my own journey. It is my own recognition of shortcomings and how I am growing in this process too. What I know about healthy natural living is it first requires us to recognize what isn’t working in our life. It invites us to reconnect with mind, body and soul aligning with nature to live fully alive. Feeling that the first time is like taking that first deep breath on a mountain realizing what you’ve been missing all along. The challenge is how to create that feeling in every day life and not just when we go on vacation.

What I know about healthy natural living is its intention for feeling alive every day is sometimes in direct contrast to how most of us live every day. There is no promise of every day being a great day but there is hope we find the way to weather it while still honoring who we are and what we need to feel our best. It is the ability to do what is right for ourselves to feel health thrive in our being. That state where we feel like we can manage the stress in our day, give our body movement and fuel it with good foods. It is also where we allow ourselves time to heal, recover and rest when we need it.