Nothing hurts!
I have been waking up every morning and noticing that I feel fine.
My right shoulder doesn’t hurt.
My left knee doesn’t hurt.
My lower back doesn’t hurt.
My eyes are not dried out. I don’t have a slight headache.
It had seemed like I had one ailment after another for the past couple of years, and when one thing got better another body part started barking.
What’s the difference? One main thing: SLEEP.
I am intentionally and systematically getting more sleep, almost an hour more than usual per night, sometimes more like 90 minutes.
I am exercising less, and eating more meat again, but I have not gained weight.
I have learned to get in bed earlier, and to fall asleep with the television on (since silence makes it nearly impossible for Melinda to sleep due to her tinnitus) and to stay in bed until dawn, getting 45-60 more minutes of sleep than I was. It feels like I am taking a miracle painkiller. I have stopped taking Aleve, which had become almost daily.
Debra Carlton told us that all six areas fit together, and no one area is more important because they all affect each other, and she said if you focus on one area, it may have an impact in other areas. I’ve found that Sleep is the most important because it gets my mind right, and when I feel refreshed mentally, I make better decisions about my health.
The other area that I’m focusing on is Positive Social Relationships. I’m staying in touch with my sick friends like Andrew with leukemia (started treatment this week, doing well) and David Bolton with another severe Covid bout. I had a Zoom meeting with all my siblings last weekend to share and stay on the same page with each other. Erin and I joined brother Scott for his psychiatrist meeting to assure he gets all his needs met. This settles me down in a deep way that gives me a sense of wellbeing, like I’m doing what is needed, and by the way… that helps me sleep at night!