1. Spiritual Time. If I don't pray, go to church, read my scriptures, go to the temple, etc for a while, I really start to feel it in my life - in my heart. I'm not as patient. I'm not as kind - and I lose my eternal perspective and get caught up in small frustrations. 
2. Working out. My husband can attest to this. I get blah. I get ornery. When I work out - especially those good, long, sweaty workouts - it seems to take the "edge" off everything. I take my frustrations out in the pool, on my bike, or more commonly nowadays, pounding the pavement. 
3. Outside Time. The mountains are where I really feel most alive. Breathing that clear, crisp air up there seems to clear my head and calm my spirit. I used to work in the mountains every day and even though my job was anything but beautiful (painting picnic tables, building retaining walls, cleaning bathrooms), all I had to do was look up and know I had the best office in the world. Since I don't live super-close to the mountains, just getting outside for at least a half-hour a day will generally help my need for nature. If I get cooped up inside for too long - watch out!
4. Writing. I have kept a journal since I was about 3 years old. I have loved getting into blogging, but there's nothing like a personal journal to really get it all out there - my frustrations, my joys, my spiritual insights, my deep sorrows, my lessons learned. I have loved going back to read about different seasons in my life - my elementary and middle school craving for popularity, my high school and college dramas and boyfriends, my jobs, my testimony builders, etc. If I don't "expel" my feelings and thoughts into my journal after a few days, it seems they get jumbled in my head and I have a hard time concentrating and focusing.
5. Sleep. This may be obvious and basic, but for me (and again, Jason will very much agree) I become a different person all together if I go for more than a few nights with little sleep. Everything Jason says is an insult and everything my kids do wrong is overwhelming. It's like I'm walking around with this fog in my head and I just can't see things clearly or think logically.
With all that said, today was a WONDERFUL day because I did 4 of the 5 things! I'm a happy woman! This morning I ran 10 miles with my dad. We ran on the Jordan Parkway and it was so nice and shady and everyone was so friendly. Then, Jason and I got to go to the temple and it had been way too long since we'd been and it was beautiful (thanks mom for watching the girls!). Then we had a wonderful steakhouse meal. Then, to top it all off, we went up to Big Cottonwood Canyon - Spruces and Silver Lake. It was a beautiful summer evening in the mountains with the ones I love. Now I'm writing! I am not quite caught up on sleep, but I am happy and blessed and content and my "cup runneth over." :)
2 comments:
What a cute family picture! What a perfect day! What an amazing person you are!
10 miles?! you're my hero! yeah! if you like to be outside, maybe I just found a new camping friend?! Maybe one of these times we can get a group to go! (it's melissa thatcher)....that was a fun post! I learned more about you in that post then I learned in 2 years being in your ward ;)
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