I’m overwhelmed with all the options out there to be healthy. Period. It’s overwhelming. Everyone has a different something for something. And ideas for this or that. And solutions for x, y, and z. AND - worst of all - everyone seems to know the right thing to do and they sure do look credible.
I’m kind of done with it, honestly. And I say that alongside this feeling of a ticking time bomb inside of me that feels like I might be missing yet another train to some kind of better life. Maybe if I do that one thing or take that other thing, maybe I will avoid the pitfalls of peri-menopause. Maybe I’ll thrive as I age. Maybe I’ll be able to control the chaos in my body (and, ahem, the world), if I get this one thing for my health right.
But, no. Just like the “girl power” movement brought on by movies and cartoons didn’t actually result in equity for women, I sometimes see how the latest buzz and craze that claims to be revolutionary and “no one is talking about it” is yet another way for folks to make money. Which means you and the impossibly vulnerable human experience of chaos that is uncontrollable (in your body and in the world) are being exploited and turned into profit. We just don’t see it anymore because everyone on social media looks like your very best friend.
Don’t get me wrong, I do think that 99% of folks out there do want to help. But, I can promise you - from being in my position - they are also clamoring for your attention. They have to or else the service they are providing doesn’t stand a chance to support their efforts. And, once we get to the clamoring phase, we’re making mistakes when it comes to the basic truth about health ad wellbeing.
I don’t claim to actually know the truth, but I do this: If you are around elderly people whose bodies are failing (all of ours will) and whose skin is forever wrinkled (all of ours will be) and who only really want to feel meaning and belonging (you will too), you see the truth sitting there plainly in front of you. You will see their faces, their hands, you will hear their voice, the sounds of their regrets, but you will also experience the most devastatingly beautiful thing that will level you if you let it.
In the end, all of these efforts and all of this buzz won’t mean shit. It just won’t. We will simply be happy to feel contentment and connection. And if we are so lucky, we will be able to be glad that we simply kept moving our bodies and listening to them when they needed rest, water, nature, touch, laughter, and other humans.
Gosh, this feels so urgent to me right now as I find myself on social media, trying to find my place in a space that has absolutely exploded with ways to be stronger, healthier, age-less, hormonally healthy - fuckkkkkkkkkkkkkkk. And then at the same time, I see my parents and the parents of loved ones going through this period of life that is screaming at me to listen, listen, listen, listen. We’re not listening because we’re scared. We’re middle aged. The world is a hot mess. And everything is out of control from our bodies to just basic safety - and all of this after we have barely recovered from the pandemic.
So, yeah, no wonder we’re targets for this marketing right now. It feels so good to try to stop the chaos. It feels so good to click a button and gain some power back. I am with you. I have been feeling it too. But. I’m taking a break from it and sitting my butt down to just listen to that deep, wise part of myself.
I can’t say if all the stuff out there to improve our health will work. But what I can say is that the basics always do work. Drink more water. Move everyday - just move, seriously. Opt for rest if you are wiped out. Put the phone away and lie down on your back and look at a tree from underneath, watch the world up there in the leaves and the sky move around with you. And then laugh with your kids, even when they are as annoying as shit.
The example of this that was strikingly obvious the other day was this pot of flowers on my deck. I decided I had killed it, yet another gardening fail. I was googling flower food and attempting to move it other places. It just looked too far gone. And then I decided to just water it. And - no joke - within an hour or so, this thing perked up entirely.
I don’t mean to diminish how hard it is to live in a human body and take good care of it. I am just saying that there’s so much we can’t control, so why not just do what we can right now and see how that works. That’s my vote for this month of June.
You can join me in what we call a “Remix” of the Hook, where we simply give you a mini workout (5 minutes-ish) each day that comes from our library of current content. Some days it is stretching, some days a little exercise, but it’s just a little something. A small space where you don’t have to make a decision, but you are doing one thing you can to help sit in the unknown and feel a little bit better.
To register for The June 2024 Remix Hook: Easy Fix, here we go:
As a current member, you’ll simply go to this post in the community and then click “Join”.