A Renaissance Soul blogging on traveling, books, work, miscellany, and enjoying life.
Be all you can be. No wait, that was the Army’s slogan, right? OK, how about this: make the most of your life.
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Read on to find out just how to do just that by finding out more about each side of the life optimization triangle or scroll down for a full list of life optimization posts.
Emotional Health
The mind…it exerts a powerful Jedi-like force on your whole self. And just like the Force, it can be with you…or not. Emotional health is all about keeping those wheels turning and cogs meshing right upstairs with the ultimate goal of living a satisfied and content (or dare I say happy?) life.
Physical Health
If you ain’t got your health, you ain’t got nothing. It’s hard to fully enjoy life and all of the wonderful experiences it offers if you don’t feel good. So, you have to do all of those boring things like eat right and exercise. I know, I know…but you’ll thank me for it later.
Spiritual Health
Who are you, why are you here, and (to borrow a line from Monty Python) what is your quest? No matter what religion you belong to or if you observe no religion at all, spiritual health is all about building and maintaining a connection to something bigger than you are. It’s about discovering and developing your soul and finding meaning and place in this world. (Wow, this category sounds so “Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy”, but I promise to try to keep it fun.)
Inspiration
Everyone occasionally needs a kick in the seat of the pants to go out and BE AWESOME! I hope these posts, snippets, and quotes do the job and inspire you to be amazed and amazing.
I have a sabbatical coming up early next year and I'm pondering walking the Camino de Santiago during it. The Camino has been in the back of my mind for years - since before my last sabbatical back in 2018 actually. That wasn't the right time for me to do such a solo trek for … Continue reading Considering doing the Camino de Santiago
I've had a link to this article, "Buy less, do more: 5 reasons why experiences make us happier than things" sitting in my post drafts for quite some time and thought that with the holiday season upon us, it's timely. Also I'm a sucker for a fun portmanteau, and "stuffocation" fits the bill nicely. 🙂 … Continue reading Avoiding “stuffocation” this holiday season
There's a part of me that feels like it's self-indulgent to say I have a chronic autoimmune disease since that sounds so serious and dramatic. But there's another part of me that recognizes that it's rather ridiculous to feel this way because it happens to be true.
As I mentioned in my last post, we recently moved our kids back to college. For my husband and I, this was a given. We have helped move both of our kids in and out of dorm rooms and apartments since their freshmen years. It's not that we enjoy carrying stuff up and down stairs, … Continue reading Love is a verb
Today is Easter Sunday, but it sure doesn't feel like it, which makes it hit home once again how surreal life is during Coronatime. I started off Lent as I normally do - giving up something that is not easy for me to give up - but not too long into Lent, that didn't seem … Continue reading Easter Sunday, COVID-style
"...Storytellers are a lot like athletes. A great athlete makes everything look easy, as though his body just naturally moved that way. But in fact, he has so mastered the techniques of his sport that his technique has simply disappeared from view, and the audience sees only beauty." ~from The Anatomy of Story by John … Continue reading Storytellers are like athletes…
[note - reference previous re-blogged post on benefits of writing] Benefits of Reading Reading has been linked to an amazing array of benefits, including these: Just six minutes of reading is enough to reduce stress by 68%, and numerous studies have shown that reading keeps your brain functioning effectively as you age. One study even found that elderly … Continue reading Good News for Bookworms: Science Says Reading is Good for Your Health
No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." ~ Aesop
I don't normally write about certain personal details about my family or marriage, but this blew me away so totally that I feel compelled to shout out what a lucky woman I am to have such a fantastic man to share my life with. I am well and truly blessed.
My daughter recently tore her ACL and was in a wheelchair for the better part of a couple of weeks while it healed enough for her to walk for longer periods of time on crutches and then finally on her own. It's never a good time to tear your ACL but there are certainly worse … Continue reading Mobility
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