It takes quite a bit to get me working on anything: craft projects, homework, reading, writing (hah!). Generally, if it's going to take me more than five minutes to do something, it feels like an insurmountable task. If it's going to take moving to a different room to do something, it feels like an insurmountable task. If I forget something in the car and going outside involves putting anything more than a sweatshirt and slippers on, you'd better hope that it wasn't massively important or going to freeze overnight, because chances are I'm not going to retrieve it.
A huge issue becomes quickly apparent when you look at my health. If I'm not in the kitchen (and who hangs out in their kitchen?), I'll forget to eat. If I make it to bed and forget to brush my teeth, that's not happening. Getting out of bed in the morning? The longer I stay in bed, the harder it is to get out. Going to bed at night? After a day of doing nothing, I get depressed at the thought of going to bed with nothing to show for my efforts. Needless to say, I am not a very healthy individual. I don't get enough food or water, yoga and ballet don't happen, and I haven't had a proper sleep schedule since I was 10 or so.
You may be wondering how I ever get anything done, because I do occasionally rouse myself to accomplishment, and here's how: not only do I have a hard time starting anything, but once I'm doing something, whether it's crocheting, watching a tv series, yoga, reading, anything without a set length, I have an equally difficult time stopping what I'm doing.
This can all be boiled down to two major traits:
Obsessiveness
and
Laziness
So what was enough to get me roused enough to start changing my easy, comfortable, worthless life habits?
$3,500
of dental work. Also, perpetual illnesses that could be circumvented by better overall health and well-being over the last couple of years, and the following illuminating blog posts and websites.
Earlier this week, I received my March GladRags Newsletter (not on the archives as of this post), which linked to this Menstrual Monday blog post. I generally get a kick out of what the ladies post on Menstrual Mondays, and it had been a while since I checked out any of their awesome links, so I partook of the March 1st links and after watching the amusing vulva puppet Youtube video, became absorbed in Simple Organic's Green Goal Setting blog post, particularly Goal #2: Green Your Health and Beauty products. Now, I spend more money on this stuff than I know I should, and I tend to buy things that make me feel better about it based on the name and pretty labeling (I know, I know, they're trying to sell a product, and it's been working), such as Herbal Essences' shampoos and other hair products, and St. Ives' facial scrubs. I started checking the scores for these products on Skin Deep and freaked myself out for a good hour or so, running around and grabbing up everything I put on my body during the day and getting yellow and red results. I was getting pretty worked up about it, so I stopped and took a breath.
Breathe in. Zen. Breathe out.
It's going to be okay.
What can I change?
I headed back to the blog post, and immediately stopped and stared at the page. What on Earth could she mean by "no 'poo"? As in, no shampoo? As in, she quit washing her hair?!??? This idea blew my mind. Immediately below it was listed the Oil Cleansing Method, which also took me a minute or two to get over, thanks in large part to years of social conditioning to think of dirt in conjunction with oil.
A little while after these insane discoveries, The N (she has this thing about anonymity) came home from classes, and we went through all of my discoveries all over again with her favorite products. We had already planned on a Co-op trip, and this cemented it.
So that's how this all got started up again. It's been over two years since I made the decision to quit using disposable menstrual gear, and I'm not going back any time soon. Truthfully, it was only going to be a matter of time before I started simplifying and greening up my life again, because any return to healthy living brings me back to the fact that if you really want to be healthy, you eventually see that it comes down to everything you do to your body.
Health Goals for 2010
Better tooth care
3 (good) meals a day
WATER
Go no 'poo
OCM
Safer deodorant
No shaving
Green Goals for 2010
Shop at the Co-op
Walk and Bike
Cloth grocery bags
Less energy use
Reusable containers
Personal Goals for 2010
De-clutter
Budget
Yoga
Ballet
Project-a-week
and most importantly, turn
Obsession into Focus
and
Laziness into Calm.
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