Checking in on Sundays with you, my readers, is a help to me – it makes me accountable.
This past week I thought I was being a slacker by not working out. After review, I’m doing okay and not slacking. I found out this week that I probably have small tears in MCL and a deep bruise on my knee. I’m using a cane more for the few moments my knee ‘gives’ during the day, than for support. I also have started working closely with my massage therapist who has experience in essential oils as well. She’s given me a preparation with coconut oil, oregano oil, lemongrass oil, sage and tea tree oil. It is anti-inflammatory and while it is bringing the bruise to the skin level, it is also making my knee feel much better. I also use Painatrate from Melaleuca several times a day.
So what does this mean for the 30 minutes a day Walkabout Challenge I committed to? (see that information here) It means I’m more creative. I count every time I get up from my desk and go to the front office to talk to my staff. I park my car a few car lengths further away from my destination. I walk around the house twice (like a cat marking its territory) instead of just to the front door when I leave. I arranged things in my schedule this week that include walking – a tour of Iowa’s First fish farm, across the street to meet with a retailer and take the stairs to his office, walking in the airport on my way to Phoenix – whatever few extra steps I can take, I take. Some kind of movement is better than no kind of movement.
How’s that diet thing working out? I get asked that. It’s still a challenge. I’m tracking my calories, and believe me -that really helps. Even though I’m (mostly) eating less that 2000 calories, I’m not eating the right kind of things. I blame it on my dislike of vegetables. I blame it on not enough time. I blame it on my job – I need to eat out a lot and support my local restaurants. See the pattern here? I BLAME.
“We habitually erect a barrier called blame that keeps us from communicating genuinely with others, and we fortify it with our concepts of who’s right and who’s wrong. We do that with the people who are closest to us and we do it with political systems, with all kinds of things that we don’t like about our associates or our society.
It is a very common, ancient, well-perfected device for trying to feel better. Blame others….Blaming is a way to protect your heart, trying to protect what is soft and open and tender in yourself. Rather than own that pain, we scramble to find some comfortable ground.”
― Pema Chödrön
So there’s pain for me with my not eating correctly. Why would I be in pain? Oh my brothers and sisters — this is a story to explore! I’ll be looking at that over the next few weeks. Meanwhile – I’m going to cook on Sundays and make my lunches for the week when I’m in the office. I’ve ordered snacks from Melaleuca (popcorn, snack bars, protein bars) and will consistently return to taking my GC Control shakes at 10 and 3 during ‘break time’.
This approach to better living, to feeling well and looking well involves more than just physical activity. You have to challenge your thinking, explore alternative medical options and be the best version of yourself possible. It’s a journey, an exploration, an adventure.
the quote/picture was found on Pinterest