I spent all of last week in the hospital (not for me, for someone in my family) and I emerge at the other end of it more vociferous than ever: Nothing in the world matters as much as your health.
I am utterly in awe of modern medicine, and of the things that doctors and nurses and hospital administrators do every single day. It is nothing short of miraculous. Hospitals are incredible, and awful places. So much good stuff happens in those towering buildings but the everyday terror that’s laced through days spent there… god.
Any who have encountered injury or illness will attest to that old cliche: ‘A healthy person has a thousand wishes, a sick person just one.’ Truly, I will now reaffirm to any who have the misfortune to find themselves in my orbit: please, guilt-free, invest as much as you possibly can in your wellness to avoid having to invest it in your sickness.
The trick, maybe, is finding that sweet spot where fear is a driving force rather than a hindrance. How can we celebrate and honour our hard-working and beleaguered bodies; how do we ensure we fully inhabit these bodies as they were intended, instead of feeling like visitors in our own homes?
This body is home and I’m so happy to be in it, which is why this edition is about you: your health, your perfect day, your personal power, and even your damn desktop screen.
Sometimes it’s good to ponder one’s smallness in the vastness of the universe and the interconnectedness of all things. But sometimes it’s good to step into that Main Character Energy.
Do you.
Sometime in the early 20th century, Brit novelist Arnold Bennett wrote about time, and our relationship to it. I love how he treats it, like an elastic and mystical force. He wrote that the hours of the day are “the unmanufactured tissue of the universe of your life.” Translation? Just pure potential.
One way to decide what you’d like to do with all that potential is this exercise by Lewis Howes: The Perfect Day Itinerary
Like listing thing as to be grateful for every day, there’s a distinct whiff of the cheesy about this one, but much like keeping a gratitude journal, it’s the simplicity and sheer optimism of the exercise that I enjoyed.
It’s both a honest inventory of how you spend your time as well as an expansive and inspirational way to think about…how would you like to? You don’t have to be super-neurotic about it (or do, if that floats your boat) but map it with specificity.
If it was entirely up to you, what would your perfect day look like? Even dreams land easier when there’s a receptive structure waiting.
Without commitment, you'll never start… without consistency, you'll never finish.
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about agency, and how willing people are to offload their decision making. At a time when we’re fed a steady drip of suspect ‘expertise’ (a reminder that having a POV on Instagram does not an expert make), it’s alarming that so many are willing to take on those recommendations without any critical consideration.
Even more perplexing is watching people get really worked up about this ever-expanding buffet of self-care protocols. If you were so silly as to take every person’s recommendation, whether on Instagram or at that dinner party you were at, as being prescription, or so gullible as to believe that doing them all is necessary to thrive, well, that’s on you.
Here’s a pretty basic overview as I see it (another reminder: this is my opinion and you’re free to disagree!): if you’re presented with a list of 20 practices that may improve your life and/or your health and you complain about how unrealistic it is to try and incorporate all of them instead of coming to the very obvious conclusion that you can:
Choose to ignore it entirely
Choose to just pick, like, three, and get on with your day
Choose to leap in headfirst and do them all because you have the time, enthusiasm and resources to…
…then that’s a you problem.
You don’t have to gaze at the sun first thing in the morning.
You don’t have to wait two hours after waking to drink your coffee.
You don’t have to do a cold plunge.
You don’t have to abstain from alcohol.
If you need someone online to tell you that alcohol has deleterious physical and cognitive effects before you take a step back and reconsider your intake, that’s kind of nuts. Your life will likely improve if you stop drinking a bottle of wine each night, but if you enjoy the artistry of a craft cocktail (as I do, very much) or want to raise a glass with friends at dinner and so choose to forego that one, well that’s on you too.
That’s the great thing about being an adult with a mind of your own; you can decide for yourself.
I work remotely so my computer screen, as sad as this sounds, really is my second home. In a previous edition I talked about how I treat my desktop as a ‘digital altar’ and how I set up my screen to optimise my workflow and mental clarity. It’s definitely nice, every so often, to mix it up and give your altar a refresh.
I love the simplicity of designer Sarita Walsh’s desktop backgrounds and desktop icons. You can play around and customise your desktop to make it uniquely yours. I can attest that it does, in fact, elevate the work-from-home experience which can often be, let’s be honest, a pretty boring affair.
We must be done with cruelty, especially to ourselves, to start again beaming like the sun; fresh.
