When I think about the one key component to being healthy, or getting organized, or finding happiness, I think basic. As in, the simple fundamentals.
It sometimes feels that going back to the basics is kind of hard today – not only because we make it hard but because we have this thing called social media that has infiltrated every part of our life. There is so much good that it has brought, of course. We are more connected in a sense, not so much on a deep level, but we know what is going on with more people, more places, more things in the world. And it can be good to be informed.
It can also be a detriment.
It can overload an already very active mind. It can add layers of options that confuse what can be quite simple. It can bring more thought, more stress, more comparison (which can be quite negative). The ability to
use something like social media in limited quantities so it doesn’t suck your energy or distract you any more than you were – is what is so hard because getting distracted can be so appealing.
Getting distracted is a savior sometimes when what you have to do is just not blowing your skirt up.
So you let distraction in. And things get layered. And complicated.
We have more sort through. More to figure out. We have more on our minds and all kinds of messages floating around that don’t get addressed. They can’t get addressed – it’s too much! And most of this action happens without us even being conscious of it.
So, how do we get conscious of it? We need to get back to basics. Instead of focusing on being busy (or looking that way), overloaded, and stressed til it becomes so rote that we don’t know there is any other way to be, we need to get unstuck and tone it all down.
Start from the beginning. Do the simple. The basics of what makes life worth it.
When was the last time you did something so simple as laugh – like a *lot*? You know that kind of belly laugh that makes your stomach jiggle? That alone can add in so much health and happiness physically and mentally. I am guessing that if we make it a challenge to not only do it more often but note when it actually happens, we’ll be focusing less on other’s perceived joys and more on our own inner joy.
That kind of joy makes us aware, and conscious participants in life. Joy breeds joy and that makes us more willing to spread kindness.
Which is what we need a lot more.
That is what we should seek out. And savoir it; allow to seep into our being enough to slow us down. Enough to bring us home to simple.
Such basic medicine, laughter. And easy!
Here’s hoping we turn to it more often.
Let’s see how often we can add it in. I want to hear from you! How often, and in what ways, do you feed yourself the medicine of life?
