If not now, when?
Welcome to the first year of 2023, everyone!
It seems that many are deconstructing the concept of New Years resolutions, opting for simpler ways to achieve their goals and grow into their best selves. I am also adopting a strategy that is gentler on my soul while holding myself accountable for growth. My key words are sustainable and peaceful.
It’s now been seven years since I began my chemo treatment for breast cancer, which included a double mastectomy, reconstruction, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy.
Also, I will turn 48 this month and am looking back on how things have changed for my health in those 7 years.
Namely, Early Menopause has found the keys to my home, walked through the front door like she owns the place, and is sitting at my kitchen table demanding mojitos, chips + queso, and unlimited Instagram baby reels.
Well, enough. Now is the time to show her a new normal before she bankrupts me and forces me to face early eviction.
First, I read an article that is the most robust defense of physical activity I’ve heard, considering it the answer for (almost) everything. Well, if something could simultaneously help my mind, body, mood, relationships, self-control, confidence, productivity… why wouldn’t I find a way to fold it into my life?
Next, by good fortune, I found an instagram group called the 52 Hike Challenge, nothing fancy, just sustainable plan to take 52 hikes in 2023. Location and mileage are up to the participant, and I’ve already clocked in one hike on beautiful Cumberland Island, Georgia. I can’t think of a more peaceful way to welcome the new year than by wandering a preserved island surrounded by lush vegetation and wild horses.
Dungeness Ruins on Cumberland Island, Georgia
Boxes checked.
How are you taking care of your health in the new year? As always, don’t forget to schedule your mammograms, colonoscopies, and any other life-preserving scans. Eat good food, move your body, fight the darkness, and love your neighbor. And remember, loving others often looks like caring for your own self.
Be well, fellow humans.
