A few weeks ago Tracey wrote about her One Little Word   choice for 2017.  I am going to follow her example and share my first month’s experience with my 2017 word.  I chose the word  “nourish”  for this year.  Nourish came to me clear as could be at the end of December.  What was not so clear, was exactly why or what I was supposed to do with it.

As I responded to the initial questions posed by Ali Edwards in the January materials, I wrote that I wanted to nourish my body, mind, and spirit.  Still quite a bit of vagueness there, but in writing those words, I made a commitment to figuring out exactly why I felt so strongly called to nourishing my self, my whole self, this year.

Most of us associate the word “nourish” with food, with what we eat.  Foods are  tangible.  There are choices that are healthy and provide nutrients for our bodies and then there are those choices that aren’t so healthy, but sure do taste good.  I have one foot firmly in each of those camps!  I do cook and eat healthy meals, but I am also an avid snacker.  I snack because I think doing so provides an extra boost of energy.  I need that extra boost of energy because I don’t get enough sleep/  I don’t get enough sleep because there are so many things that I want to do…and there you see nourishing oneself goes far beyond just the food that we put in our bodies.  It is about everything that goes into our bodies, touches our bodies, surrounds our bodies.  It is about those things that feed our emotions, that stimulate us intellectually, that touch us spiritually.  We are complex machines.  Our physical, emotional, and spiritual selves do not function independently of one another.  Therefore, we must care for, nurture, and nourish each piece of our human existence.  Sounds simple, right.  🙂

So how did January go?  What did I do to makes strides toward doing a better job of nourishing my body, mind, and spirit?

I was more successful with providing my emotional and spiritual self with a healthy fare than I was with feeding my physical self.  I continue to take a photo a day and write (almost) daily morning pages.  I have started knitting again, something that I realized at the end of 2016 that I really missed last year.  These are all seemingly little things, but taken together, they keep me grounded and somewhat sane, which I consider a major feat considering the current state of affairs in this country at the moment.

I hate to say that I failed at making any positive moves toward providing nourishment for my physical self, but if I am honest, and honesty is important, I have to say that I fell way short on this aspect of caring for myself.  The good news?  February is a new month and brings with it the opportunity to start with a clean slate, with new goals, and with newly gained insight.

So, this month, I am getting physical.  I had intended to get back on the treadmill at the beginning of January.  I can list lots of “reasons” why this didn’t happen, but then I have to stop and remind myself that I really have no reasons…I have only excuses.  Yesterday, I started practicing for February.  I got back on the treadmill and started the first week of Couch to 5K.  I did a second day today!  And, I feel good!  Bring on February!  I like having concrete, measurable physical goals.  Couch to 5K is a nine week training program that prepares you to run a 5K race at the end of those nine weeks.  We’ll see how it goes.  It may take me more than nine weeks to achieve that goal.  I have an old out of shape body that quite possibly will demand two or three weeks on a level where a younger and more fit body may require only one.  That’s OK too.  Doing something is better than doing nothing.

My youngest daughter and I are doing a 5K race together at the end of February.  I agreed to do this with the stipulation that I can walk rather than run.  My normal walking pace is four miles per hour, a reasonable pace for walking so hopefully I won’t be an embarrassment to her!  If I stay on track with my training program, I may be able to run part of the race.  Again, I’ll just have to wait and see how the next four weeks go.  Walk, run, or a combination of the two…I have a goal, something to work toward, something to motivate me, something that I am excited about doing.

All that said, I do know that I also need to work on my snacking and sleeping “habits” but they are not this month’s priority.  Perhaps these things will reap some residual benefits from my running.  If that’s the case, excellent!  I certainly will not complain.  And if I still snack too much and sleep too little, I’ll concentrate on those things in March, or April, or May…I don’t say that from a place of procrastination, but from one of being realistic.  One thing I do know is that I have to be gentle with myself.  It is too easy for me to beat myself up for not reaching the unrealistic personal goals that I often set.

I am grateful to be working towards nourishing my body, mind and spirit amidst the framework of Ali Edwards’ One Little Word.  I know that I have a year to journey with my word, nourish.  I am excited to see where that journey takes me.

What can you do to nourish your body, mind, and spirit in the next month…or year?