Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Positive Thoughts and Deeds for Better Health

I would like to talk a bit about our well being in a different light for a moment.
Although the desire to take care of our physical bodies has proven to be beneficial for us in many ways, so many of us ignore our mental and spiritual well being. Now, what exactly does that all mean?

Many associate the idea of a "spiritual well being" as being a member of a religious group or organization. I tell you though, there are many who are faithful members of religious organizations, who are in a very poor state of spiritual health. Now, there are many of the same, who are in a good spiritual place, but that's not what I'm getting at. What I'm saying is, being a member of anything, does not guarantee a healthy state for spiritual well being. I will add this as my own opinion, I do believe that belonging to a like minded group of individuals can be very satisfying and rewarding.

Okay, for one to compliment the proper things that we do for our bodies, our spirits must be in alignment with a very similar kind of process or thought pattern. We give our bodies good food, so must we give our minds good food. We exercise our bodies, so must we exercise our soul.
How do we do that?

It's not difficult.

1) The food we give our mind is " good and positive thoughts." At the same time, just as we would eat healthy all day, and then not ruin it at the end of the day with a meal filled with high carbs and trans fats, we can't have positive thoughts while we surround ourselves continually in an environment of negativity. Notice I said continually, mostly because it's impossible to remove all negative forces from your life....it's just not in your control. What is in your control though, is avoiding consistent intimate contact with those who are consistently negative. Consistently engaging with people who are negative can and will bring most people "down". The effects can actually decrease all the hard work you do for your body, both physically and mentally.

Being around negative people will decrease your "feeling" of well being and can even cause false insecurity, low self esteem, and actually decrease your faith and hope for deserving good things in life.

Think about it for a moment. Have you ever felt exceptionally great, and then spent a day with someone who had a terrible outlook on life? Tell me, by the end of that same day, how did you feel? Still felt great? How was your outlook and enthusiasm towards your goals, were they filled with the same level of excitement as when you first met up with that person? Okay, point made.

Now, how do we exercise our souls? Another easy answer.

We take those good and positive thoughts and and do good and positive deeds for others. These can be really simple things, like a smile to a stranger, a kind word, an encouragement to someone who is having a bad day. Maybe a friend is having a difficult time with something that is easy for you to do...why not help them?

I remember one day I was having a tough time emotionally, we all have them. I decided to make a cake for someone. I know it sounds silly, but the act of exercising a positive good deed for another person is remarkably therapeutic, not to mention uplifting.

My husband Allen writes most of the posts for the blog AskTheTrucker. He gets a ton of e-mail, and believe me, some days it's difficult to answer all the questions that come in, especially when he's tired from having a tough week driving. I will tell you this though, I've never seen him not come out feeling better than when he started answering those e-mails. The process of answering questions to those who are hurting, or just having a tough time, and knowing that he made a positive influence/effect on their life, offers enormous effects and benefits for his own life.
It never fails.

So, the moral to the story? Maintain positive thoughts and treat others with positive actions... as you would want to be treated.

The rule hasn't changed since it was first given to us, and if you think about it, it was given to us so that we ourselves would benefit from it! The outcome is...we're all winners!

5 comments:

  1. agreed, we need to realize the importance of total health: mind, body, and soul.

    I wish I could remember who said it, but:
    "what is the point of living if not to make the world a better place for others?"

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for your comment. If we could only realize that the more we do good and positive things for others, the more of the same will come back. Not to say that daily trials will no longer exist, but we'll have more of the "good stuff" in our lives to balance it out.

    Guess it's the old, "Reap what you Sow"

    ReplyDelete
  3. We are not just physical beings, but we are also mind and soul.
    With this in mind how we treat others is a reflection of how we feel about ourselves. Your personal world view, is reflected in the values you show in your actions, and the way you handle others.
    The bottom line is that we need to find ways to view others in a new light. What is that person going through. And get out of the thought pattern of the thoughts, "what is in it for me", when we do this. Then the troubles we have seen small compared to what others are going through.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Kathy,

    You couldn't have said it better. We need to realize that others are trying to make it in this world the same way we are. You don't know what another person has gone through or is going through at the moment.
    We're all guilty of jumping the gun, but, if we are more aware, then perhaps we'll think about things a little more before we act foolishly.

    ReplyDelete
  5. That is so true, what a great post. “A man is what he thinks about all day long” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

    ReplyDelete