That Which Nourishes Us

For as long as I can remember, I’ve associated the word nourishment with food. Healthy food, but food none the less. Only recently have I begun to consider the many ways we can be nourished in mind, body and spirit. Several weeks back I experienced something that nourished my body in such a way that food was not needed at a time when I would have typically “needed” to eat. That new-found wisdom led me to explore the multitude of ways that I can nourish myself giving me the inspiration for this post. For me there are eight (well nine but this is a PG blog and we won’t mention the S– word) categories of experiences and ways of being that nourish me. My hope is that by looking at my list you’ll begin to formulate your own so you’ll know where to turn when you’re feeling a bit  “off”.

FOOD 

Because food is the first thing I think of when I desire to nourish my body, that is where I’ll start. For many years I’ve had a love/hate relationship with food. At some point in Junior High School, I learned the concept of food, calories and input, output. Once discovered I began a 35+ year distorted relationship with food. I’ve never been a girl of moderation in anything thus I’ve always taken an all or nothing approach to food. I’m either eating VERY strictly or throwing all caution to the wind. There is no in between in my world. The concept of moderation has been one of the things I’d like to master in this lifetime, but it recently became abundantly clear that complete and thorough nourishment is much bigger than just food for me. Exploring other means of self-nourishment has begun to amend my yo-yo way of eating, creating more calm and self-acceptance. Certainly a more pleasant way of living!

MOVEMENT

Movement is my nice word for exercise. Growing up, I was the girl you could count on to be selected last for any team sport we played in Physical Ed. I was also the girl who periodically nixed dressing out for PE class by describing the monthly cramping I was experiencing. I would do nearly ANYTHING to keep myself from having to exercise. I understood how exercise could affect my burning of calories and yet I wanted to avoid it at all costs. As a young woman, I discovered running. As is my way in life, I took my running well beyond the stage of moderation, creating a hatred for it as well as a serious injury requiring an immediate halt to the activity. Even though I disliked the pain associated with my injury I was pleasantly surprised by the news that I couldn’t run for an extended amount of time. I’ve tried several types of movement in the subsequent years, never finding anything that truly clicked. I’m not a dancer, I dislike lifting weights and yoga has never turned me on. I must admit that after being a runner, walking was one of the “last” activities I thought I’d enjoy, but it’s been the only thing I’ve been able to stay consistent with. So, through walks in nature I nurture my body through the exercise I’m receiving as well as the beauty I’m seeing. Do you allow movement to nourish your body, mind and spirit?

SPIRITUALITY

Ever since I was a little girl, my relationship with God has been tremendously important. I can remember as an elementary school youngster, gathering my sisters in our front room to conduct “church” services. I served as Minister and read from the Bible, gave a “sermon” and served Kool-Aid and Saltines crackers for “communion”. I even gave the sermon during Youth Sunday at my church while in high school. While I have specific ways that I feed my Spirituality, I know and very much respect that others have very different beliefs than I. This understanding has come with age and I now have many friends that hold views very unlike mine. What I’ve come to find is that Spirituality means different things to different people, but one thing seems to unite most everyone I’ve spoken to. We all recognize that there is someone / something greater than us “out there” and we all derive a certain amount of comfort from this knowledge. I find that attending Church and daily prayer nourishes my Spirituality. What nourishes yours?

HOBBIES

From the age of 3 until I was 24 I studied violin and viola, playing in orchestras and string quartets. I made a decision at age 24 not to pursue a music career but that didn’t quell my desire to play. I’ve been quite blessed to live in a town that supported multiple orchestras for me to concertize with up until two years ago. The last two years have been very “dry” in terms of music, but I had the most amazing experience recently. I had the pleasure of standing in for another violist in a wedding string quartet allowing me to play with very talented musicians once again. What I found was that this hobby of mine “nourished” me more deeply than most of my normal food choices. I practiced for hours, through several meal times and never once felt a pang of hunger because my body was receiving exactly the nourishment it required. Do you cultivate and allow yourself to enjoy any favorite activities of hobbies? If not, this could be seriously compromising a fully nourished body.

SELF-LOVE

I’ll admit, this is one of the sections of my nourishment wheel that I’ve not been as successful with as I could have been. As I’ve gotten older I’ve found that you must have complete willingness to love yourself. For years, I believed that if I loved my self “as is”, I’d quit trying to improve the way my body looks and feels. What a crock of hoohah I’ve found that to be! Until you love yourself as is, you can’t expect your life to improve. Why would your body reward you with a better version of itself when you don’t appreciate what you have? Exactly. It isn’t happening. It’s only through self-love that we treat our bodies the way they desire to be treated, which creates the changes we desire. Nourish your body with self-love and you’ll be rewarded beyond your expectations.

RELAXATION

Relaxation used to create frustration in my life. As a child, I was taught that keeping busy and “accomplishing” things was the way to shine as a person. I carried that thought well into my adult life only to find that an overworked Laura is a negative and exhausted Laura. Relaxation doesn’t come second nature to me but I’ve learned to schedule myself down time to decompress. Yes, I’m one of those that’s had to schedule relaxation into my life at different points, but there’s no shame in that because it works. I actually took the time to sit down and write out activities that I find relaxing so that I’d have a list to turn to if I’m at a loss for ways to decompress. Not only is your body, mind and soul nourished through relaxation, it will also enhance your relationships. Have you been allowing yourself enough relaxation time? And if not, what are you waiting for?

WORK

I know that it’s up to me to make my job as great or as boring as it is. Three years ago, I started experiencing burnout and a sense that I wasn’t really “doing” anything with my life. It was at that time that I took inventory of what I do (I’m a color consultant), who I serve and what more I could do to enrich my working environment. Fairly quickly, I realized that writing was a pleasurable way that I could nourish my job, and I’m pleased to report that I’m in my third year of writing for a local Homes and Lifestyle magazine. In fact I’ve enjoyed writing so much that I started a blog about selecting color as well as the one you’re currently reading. Writing has enriched my job to a level that I find truly satisfying. If you’re job isn’t nourishing you in the way that you’d like, try brainstorming ways YOU can improve it rather than waiting for someone else to “fix” it for you.

RELATIONSHIPS

In order for your relationships to nourish you, you must nourish them. Yes, there are those that haven’t seen a friend in years and can pick back up where they left off, but I don’t believe that’s the norm. Each of us desires and needs human interaction and human touch. Through our relationships we receive these benefits while naturally nourishing ourselves. Think of each of your cherished relationships and see if you’re receiving what you want from each of them. If not, realize that you have the power to turn this around.

I am quite confident that the list of what nourishes you isn’t the same as what nourishes me. But, I do hope my list has given you the incentive and space to explore what’s truly important to you. Through this type of self-exploration, I believe you can, and will, actualize your ideal and beloved life.