Good for the Soul, Good for the Body – Part 1.

This is the first of two in a blog series on the importance of mindfulness. You can also hear this blog read and sung on Episode 17 of our Change Well Podcast

There is a definite connection between body and soul.  Be happy, feel better.  Share kindness, win friends, and feel good.  On the other hand, when you are stressed or miss your workout, it is not always easy to turn the other cheek.  Common sense confirms recent studies that caring for others improves the well-being of those you helped and your own!

I have struggled to learn this lesson. I am naturally an intense person and a bit of a curmudgeon—a person who is sometimes not kind to others, particularly myself. Driven to achieve, I occasionally drive other people out and beat myself up. This often leads to regret, guilt, and, more often than not, an eating binge. A happy person is a healthy person, and vice versa.

That is why when I started on my weight loss journey, it was just as important to cleanse my soul as my body.  I took several measures to help me improve my disposition and, correspondingly, my health.  This is what I did. 

1. Write in my Kindness Journal – I journal six minutes daily in a Kindness Journal.  It sets my daily goals for being a better person and helps me envision the person I want to become.  It also provides me a place to recognize those items the day before for which I was most pleased (being kind to myself) and reflect on those who were kind to me.   Lastly, I set my intention on one kind of beneficial act that I will do to make the world better for others.  I use this particular journal, but you can use another Kindness Journal
2. Record happy thoughts in HappyFeed – In addition to writing in my Kindness Journal, I record three things I am so glad about each day using the iOS application HappyFeed.  You do not always have to write something earth-shattering.  Sometimes, I write something like, “I got 8 hours of sleep last night!”  The key is to dwell on what makes you happy rather than what makes you stressed.
3. Pray, Meditate, and Give Thanks – There is no room for worry when thankful.  You feel better about yourself and also those around you.  Also, the Power of Thanksgiving can break through even the darkest hour.  I spoke about this in the following blog.  The Power of Thanksgiving
4. Help Others – Helping others benefits those you help and others.  First, when you allow others, you focus on them, not the issues you face.  Also, you are so preoccupied with the task at hand, whether it is building a house for Habitat for Humanity or walking to raise funds to combat cancer, that you often do not have time to overeat.
5. Smile – The simple act of smiling lightens your mood and that of others.  Better yet, laugh; it is the best medicine, as they say.

Working on your heart and soul can make you a better person and help you lose weight – a double whammy (ok enough with the W’s).  I have glorified this concept by establishing my most sacrosanct scheduled time of each day – Body and Soul Time.  If you look at my calendar, you will see 6:00 – 8:00 AM each day, blocked out as Body and Soul time.  This is when I do a weekly set of body and soul combos, combining mindfulness and prayer with exercise—more on next week’s blog.

But for now, let me close with, of all things, the importance of being third. A few weeks back, when thinking about Dr. King’s legacy and other selfless people like Gandhi and Mother Theresa, I tried to find the common thread that pulled them all together.  And I realized it was because they were each Third – behind their religious beliefs and their care for others.  I then thought about how hard it is to be Third in my life and thought of that classic song – “It’s Not Easy Being Green.”  So, I decided to write this song/poem to the tune of It’s Not Easy Being Green.  I hope you enjoy it. My thanks to Kermit!

It’s Not Easy Being Third

It’s not easy being Third,
Putting yourself behind our human family and God’s word,
And people tend to pass you over,
Because you’re not in the latest fashion,
or have cool toys like some other guys.

But Third’s the purpose in your life,
And Third can help end earthly strife,
And Third can change the course of a nation,
Or build bridges to others, or define history.

When Third is what you are meant to be,
It could make you ponder why, but why ponder?
Why ponder, I am Third, it’s written on our Souls,
And it is where we are meant to be.