Pirates and soldiers of the past often times walked with a limp. My eye kind of pulsates from looking at a screen all day. Would I consider myself a modern-day pirate? Probably.
I often come home from work, take off my boots, throw on some comfy pants and wool socks. The American dream amiright? I've heard of people who even go so far as to take a shower as soon as they get home from their occupation just to mentally compartmentalize their day.
"How to live a stress-free life" is a catchy title and good clickbait for self-help resources, but in reality, even if you sat on a large cushion and had people feeding you grapes all day, you'd still have stressors. It's just how our neurons fire.
If you ask me how I define maturity, I'd say the biggest indicator is how someone handles themselves in times of stress. If you're the type of person that is big into dramatics, I probably don't drink beers with you on a regular basis. Approaching the situation, I prefer to think nothing is either good or bad, it's just a thing to figure out. Whether that's true or not, it helps me remain even keel.
Self-management in relation to stress is what I've been pondering a lot these days hence the surfacing of a blog. Having coffee this morning, I'm sitting here watching the leaves fall through the sunshine in the cold silence. It's peaceful and it separates me from the areas of life that add stress.
It's not necessarily the processing of issues or stress that I focus on, but more so, the detachment from them. I seek out opportunities and situations that separate my mental space from the responsibilities of being an adult.
Something my father taught me growing up is about trees. I don't think he is an arborist or tree enthusiast himself, but he knew enough to get me hooked and instill an appreciation for the individuals that make up the forest. Now I find myself looking up as I walk amongst trees to identify species, look for acorns and evaluate the soil quality based on these variables. Another thing in relation to trees that I learned as a chico is about the pruning technique.
Pruning is a simple, but fascinating concept. The gist of it is, if you trim the lower branches of a tree, the plant will allocate resources to the top, therefore, promoting height growth and a straighter middle of the arbol.
We as humans do the same pruning on an annual basis. Every year we set fresh goals and trim our lower branches in hopes of bettering ourselves. It's one of my favorite habits of humanity. Self-improvement.
This year I'm planning on getting even more in sync with the earth. Whether you're fueled by the outdoors or not, there is something innate in us that recharges when our lungs fill with mother nature's oxygen.
Even if you have chosen to spend a majority of your time in a concrete enviroment, make time and effort to find some green leaves to remind yourself of nature and pruning. Go look at a tree and give your eyes a break. Yep.
New in my life: Transmissions are better than car payments. My yard being a destination for deer is a 2020 stretch goal. "Young and Dumb" is getting harder to justify. Yellowstone or bust.
Keep smilin'
Joe
No comments:
Post a Comment