Friday Finds for December 10, 2004
Sunday, Dec. 12, 2004, 10:46 p.m.

QUESTION: Find what?

WHAT I LEARNED: Find time to take care of yourself.

This is a different kind of Friday Find. Okay, it�s a late Friday Find but it�s also a set of finds that came to me in the wake of my mother�s recent stroke. It�s easy to put off today what you can do tomorrow but putting off the time to take care of our physical, mental, and spiritual well-being is not a great idea. I am going to work on changing that and with this goal in mind here are my Friday Finds.

WHAT I NEED TO FIND:

FIND THE TIME FOR EXERCISE

I hate exercise. Running intimidates me. Aerobics class embarrasses me. Weight training confuses me. Organize sports brings out the loser in me. Still � exercise is on my list of what I must find time for in my life.

FIND THE TIME FOR FUN

For so many of us, there is no time left at the end of the day just for us. Work, family, friends, school, household responsibilities, and community obligations get first dibs on our day. A little more time for me is on my list of things to find during each day. Time for a hobby, time for a good book, time to page through a lovely magazine, time to play a computer game, time to knit a throw, time to take a walk, time to talk to a friend, time to play a game with a family member, time to go to the movies, or just time to be extremely silly. I�m going to work on finding more time for fun.

FIND THE TIME FOR EATING RIGHT

Food, glorious food! So often it appears, not warm from my oven and made with loving care, but instead arriving in little white and red Chinese carryout boxes, or served with fries, or nuked straight from the freezer. A little home cooking is going to find its way onto my plate from now on. I�m getting my vitamins out too. Who doesn't love a good vitamin supplement? Here�s to finding some good nutrition. I think I�m going to work on getting the kids cooking too. We can spread out the healthy cooking. This sounds kind of fun.

FIND THE TIME FOR REST

Sleep deprivation is rampant in this day and age. Almost every night I go to bed realizing that I�m not going to get enough sleep yet again. Sleep is restorative and even preventative. I noticed in a recent article that getting enough sleep could reduce your chance of flu. I know a good night�s sleep makes me a much more pleasant person to be around. Finding sleep is going to get bumped up on my list of good things to do for myself as well as others.

FIND THE TIME TO NOURISH THE SOUL

I often find myself too busy to attend to the spirit because I am running around attending to the urgent tasks and issues of daily living. How wise I would be to start my day in this way:

Every morning lean thine arms awhile
Upon the window-sill of heaven
And gaze upon thy Lord,
Then, with vision in thy heart,
Turn strong to meet thy day.
~ Thomas Blake

How important it is for me to find time everyday to replenish my soul and yet how easy it is for each day to go by without doing so. Yet, a few minutes stolen from my day here and there for this pupose go a very long way. Whether a prayer in the morning upon waking, a meditation at lunch, or some spiritual reading at bedtime - time for the spirit creates a mind that is clearer, a heart that is lighter, and a day that is approached in the best way.

FIND THE TIME TO NOURISH THE BODY

How easy it is to take good health for granted. I know that I had done so countless times. I am doing it now. How easy it is in the midst of the pressures of work, home, family, friends, school, and community obligations to neglect our health by ignoring health issues, put off the doctor�s appointment, forgoing a visit to the chiropractor, or not even making time to take a nice calming bath at the end of a hard day. I have often put my own health and well being at the back of the list of things to concentrate on because I am too busy making other things in my life a priority. I have to find a way to change that pattern in my life into a healthier one. After all, what good is a clean house, success at work, and everything in its place if your health suffers because of it? We all know the answer - not much.

These are my Friday Finds. What are yours?

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