The Wellbeing Series
For a while now I have been quietly considering how all the activities of my life affect my mood with their healing powers. Exercise clears my head and gives me energy. Music and Drama help me get lost and then find comfort. Food can do all three. Garden helps you grow, walking helps you move on, and helping others helps us to help ourselves. Similarly alcohol makes me anxious, too little sleep and I’m tiring to be with, watching too much TV tunes you out.
– every minute has the potential to be magical – why not ?
I think all aspects of our life are really important in maintaining well-being, including our cultural intake. The brain and body are physically linked so food and exercise have a clear relationship with how we feel. Sports and Cooking are rightly widely extolled as key to keeping a healthy body and in turn a healthy mind. But also part of our life experience is culture The Arts and Nature, Creativity, Literature, Music, Drama, Walking, Gardening, History and more – all these are food for the brain and are in my view so just as important in stimulating a happy and active mind.
Personally I have found calm and clarity in several activities, that each provide me different things at different times, much like selecting a meal with your mood in mind, choosing what to do in your free time is worth careful consideration too. In a semi regular series I will blog on the following;
- Walking and watching; looking and learning (getting perspective)
- Wild Swimming
- Gardening (sense of achievement)
- Music (creativity)
- Bird watching (gratitude)
- Den Building (play)
- Reading and Writing (relaxing, cathartic and constructive)
- Sports and Social (fit and healthy)
- Theatre visit (social action and wider world)
- Kind to others; kind to self (acceptance and appreciation)