You all know of my editor, Holly, because I talk about her all the time and because I interviewed her way back. Now she and Valerie Reiss, Beliefnet’s holistic health editor have combined talents and skills in their blog “Fresh Living.” Because I feel like I’m “stale living” so much, with not-so-great smells surrounding me, I thought I might pick their brains on HOW, exactly, you go about “fresh living.”
1. I loved the post you wrote together called “Just Try It: 10 Tips for When Doing Is Hard” because so often living with a chronic illness is just doing it. Let me start with Valerie’s list. Number 10 is “make something for someone.” You mention baking, drawing, or “physically manifesting the love in your heart” Since everything I mix in a bowl looks weird, I tend to stick to intellectual sharing. Does that count? Like, say, giving advice, or just listening to a friend in pain?
Valerie: Sure, I think intellectually sharing is great. I’m not a great baker myself, but I’d also say there’s something about the act of creating a physical object that can be very meaningful, both for yourself and your friend. And it’s a great opportunity to transcend perfectionism and pretend you’re three again, painting or drawing something in art class with that pure intention of creating. Whatever you create and give with love becomes a kind of totem for someone, especially if you explain your intention. It could be painting a smiley-face on a rock, drawing stick figures inside a heart, or making a simple shape out of Sculpey or clay. Really simple. Doesn’t matter what it is. Just matters that it’s from you.
2. Holly, you mention rest in that same blog post. It’s funny I was just listening to a news story that connected so many of our illnesses and disorders today to sleep deprivation. And just recently I’m trying to incorporate the third commandment (keep holy the Sabbath) into my life, which means putting down the work in order for my soul to breathe. Is that what you mean?
Holly: Absolutely, and the Sabbath is the perfect metaphor. One of my favorite books is Abraham Joshua Heschel’s “Sabbath and its Meaning for Modern Man,” in which he talks about the Sabbath as an “island in time.” Consciously making room for rest (and rest-oration) in our lives feels hard in a world where being “busy” is attached to social status, professional success, and even personal happiness. But where are we supposed to get the energy to be sparkling, joyful creatures if we don’t take the time to rest and refresh?
I think rest can take many forms–I know you agree, because I remember your “4 Kinds of Rest” post from awhile back. Rest can mean closing your eyes and taking a deep breath, or turning off your phone, Blackberry, and computer for an hour or a day. Or it can be a full-on nap, a restful night’s sleep, or an escape to a place that makes you feel at peace. I feel rested after I get absorbed in a good movie, smell cookies baking in the oven, or sit for even a minute on a beach.
Mmmmm, beach……
3. Holly, I love the way you incorporate nature into your blogs. I know how important your excursions to Cape Cod are to your soul. What are some ways my readers might be able to take mini-trips to the sea when they can’t pack up bags for the Cod?
Holly: Aah, speaking of beach! Hm, here’s my attempt at 3 ways to take a virtual trip to the sea:
- One of the most beautiful things about the sea to me is that the sea is always moving. Standing still next to the moving ocean is a very centering experience. Try to be still next to something moving (in your office, at a playground, on a busy sidewalk) to bring out that calm seaside feeling. Just don’t do this while you’re driving!
- Read outside, feeling the sun on your face. Reading at thebeach is so much more restful than reading anywhere else, don’t you think? It’s that sunshine thing.
- Wander. Meander. Try to connect with the feeling you get on a beach walk, looking for shells, just thinking your thoughts with no particular destination in mind.
4. Valerie, for four years your have been cancer-free!! Congrats!! I know it might be difficult to pinpoint one single thing that helped you win the war. But could you name a few for my readers because many of them are struggling with chronic illnesses themselves (in addition to mood disorders) and might appreciate your story of hope.
Valerie: Wow, that’s a biggie. And I’m not sure the healing is ever really done–it’s a lifelong process of unfolding and growing and keeping a kindly mindful eye on my health, tweaking and asking for help when needed. But in a nutshell, the things that took me from being very sick with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, stage 4b at age 31, were: chemo; my amazing doctor; love of my friends and family; love from nurses and healers and strangers; chocolate; my boyfriend at the time who stayed by my side almost literally for well over a year; reaching into my inner resources to remember God and a divine order and try to understand how why this might have happened to me and what I was supposed to be learning from it. I’m one for really wringing the meaning out of experiences–and I think that even though this approach makes me a little crazy sometimes, with my illness it steered me away from “why me?” and “poor me” and toward “what’s next?” and “how can I use this to live a richer life?”
5. Ladies, tell me why you decided to write the blog and what the most
important messages you hope to convey are.
Holly: What I hope Fresh Living shows is that a healthy, natural lifestyle is a journey, not a destination. There’s always room for a little bit more good stuff in all of our lives (including mine, God knows), and I hope that the blog is a place where people can get information and inspiration–and also feel like we’re all walking this road together.
Valerie: Ditto what Holly said. Plus I really like how the web connects us with people we would not normally encounter. You know that thing about the wave of a butterfly’s wing changing weather patterns halfway around the world? Well, I love thinking about how sharing stories in this format–from me and Holly and from the readers to each other–can also be that tiny, potent wind to catalyze transformation and making things a little bit better for someone somewhere. Who can also pass that along to someone else.
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