This summer solstice brought a calm wind, warming sun and the longest day of light all year. The day before’s blustery wind, with a hint of chill and fast-moving clouds, seemed like another season entirely.

Changing Seasons and Choosing Health

So goes life, and so goes our health – stormy then calm, biting, then balmy. I have the privilege of speaking with many of you, starting with your initial Discovery Calls and moving through your care with our clinic, and I know you resonate with this truth. While we have very little control over things like weather or traffic or larger existential grapplings with climate and politics, we do have a lot of control over our day to day choices. Most of us “fall off the wagon” with our nutrition, our exercise, our meditation, our supplements. It’s natural. Jeff and I both survived Covid in late May, and I’ve definitely been off track in most ways since then, suffering an extra dose of brain fog and fatigue. Eating more simple carbs, skipping my workouts in favor of sleep. I know many of you have too. We might be done with Covid, but it’s clearly not done with us yet!

Re-Teach Yourself and Begin Again

What do you do when malaise strikes, habits have fallen away, and doldrums have set in?

First – practice self compassion. Notice what is happening, seeing it clearly. Offer yourself kindness (different from indulgence; you know what I mean!).

Then, as we say in meditation training – Begin Again. It’s as simple (and difficult) as that!  Begin Again. Now.

Back when I started my career as a bright-eyed elementary teacher, my friend and mentor across the hall wisely informed me that she thought of herself as a “re-teacher” as much as a teacher. This seems true in our health care journey as well. Definitely, many of us learn new things about our bodies through the detective work in Functional Medicine. Asking “What is too much” that is causing harm, and “What is not enough” that would help us thrive is a daily practice. We learn, then we re-learn. Often the same lessons. SIBO goes away, then it comes back. We gain some strides over our toxins, then we wake up achy and rash-y again.

I was stressed and grumpy on our last official day of Spring. The wind blew cold, my body was stiff and exhausted, and my heart felt particularly heavy as I lay my head on my pillow….I then got a good night’s sleep, awoke fresh on the Solstice, and I Began Again. I went for a brisk walk giving myself the early morning sun-on-my-face start to the day. Re-teaching myself, with kindness and compassion, that any day I wake up is a better day than the other option. And I have infinite choices I can make. Never perfect. Often messy. Mostly “good enough.” Very human, connected to all other living beings who sleep, wake, yearn, strive, and savor.

The practice I’m committing to this summer is to make note each day of one thing that brings joy and beauty to me and to this world. I abstain from social media for many reasons, but I do enjoy texting or emailing beautiful photos to select loved ones. Even better, getting to share such moments together. While not your typical “doctor’s prescription”, such wisdom doesn’t have a long list of possible adverse side effects, you don’t need a prior authorization, and co-pays do not apply.

Wishing you moments of joy, beauty and health today and every day!

Heather, Jeff, and the Terrific Team at Healthy Connections

Barb, Nanci, Isa and Kirsten