Enjoy Life

In our fast and busy life-style and all the disturbing occurrences in society, do we really find fulfillment and joy in our life or are we living under constant pressure with high demands?  I know what it is to be busy, and I have A type personality, so I feel the pressure of life and even create it.  I’ve had to learn how to enjoy life in spite of all that NEEDS to get done. Our mental and emotional state does affect our health, and constant stress will damage our adrenal glands. Here are some pointers:

LET GO Identify the important things that really should get done, and then let go of the rest. Priorities matter. There’s a wall-hanging in our home that says: “Happiness ~ God First, Others Second, Self Last.” We nee to make sure that we don’t get too busy with non-important things that we neglect what is important or that we get too stressed or are always rushed. When someone asks you, “How have you been?” What’s the answer? Often, I find myself saying, “It’s been busy.”  Then I remember the acronym for BUSY: Being Under Satan’s Yoke.

LAUGH This is something I have to work on since I’m more serious-minded. People with a positive outlook on life tend to be happy, and research has proven that happy people live longer, are healthier, are more successful, enjoy more fulfilling relationships, earn more money, and are liked and respected more. There are numerous studies showing the health benefits of laughing. These include:

• Less spike in blood sugar for diabetics
• Relaxation and reduction in muscle tension
• Lowered production of stress hormones
• Improved immune system function
• Reduction in blood pressure
• Clearing the lungs by dislodging mucous plugs
• Increasing the production of salivary immunoglobulin A, which defends against infectious organisms that enter through the respiratory tract
• Aerobic effects that increased the body’s ability to utilize oxygen
• A rapid ability to disregard aches and pains or to perceive them as less severe

LIVE IN THE PRESENT. Life has its bumps, and at times, even tragedy happens, but living in the past or fearing the future, does nothing for the present. In fact, it can hinder it. Forgiveness often is the key. Forgiving others, and forgiving oneself is important and can bring healing. But most important is obtaining forgiveness from God.  Another aspect for living in the present is to savor the moment. Enjoy the sunset, walk through a park, spend time with your children – without the iphone, eat a meal together as a family, etc.

LOVE. Love is healing. Loving others makes life worth living. It gives a purpose to life. Find different ways to help and be a blessing to someone else, especially your family, and see how much it blesses you. Here are some ideas:

• Give a smile away.
• Send a love note to a love one
• Make a meal for someone in need or sick.
• Hug. “10 hugs a day keeps the doctor away.”
• Daddies can play-wrestle with the children.
• Say “I love you” to your spouse, parents, and children.

There are many ways to show our love, but here is a simple yet profound definition of love: “Love suffers long, and is kind, love envies not, love does not boast, is not puffed up, it does not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.”  (from the Bible: I Corinthians. 13:4-7)

We’re Here to Help YOU!
Amy Willis M.H., CN