Out of Sorts Into Balance

I'm a pretty stable human being. From one day to the next I'm generally optimistic, enthused and firing on all cylinders. On the rare day that I'm feeling out of sorts, I always peruse my inventory of responsibilities, stresses and concerns to identify the primary source of the imbalance. If I'm successful in identifying the guilty culprit, I make the necessary adjustments and move on.

I'm out of sorts today. My wife is out of town. Work is crazy right now. And I recently moved into a new office and am feeling a little displaced.

I reached out to my Facebook universe and asked "When you feel out of sorts, what do you do to get back in balance?" The answers are coming in fast furious, which I will share in this blog post, in somewhat real time.

Petal shared that for her, music soothes the savage soul, especially music from her home country. I must have picked up that mental cue because I'm listening my iPod while typing this, the soundtrack to The Bridges of Madison County.

Patricia suggests a glass of wine and some Charles Dickens! Love it, especially the Dickens. I find incredible solace within the pages of a good book. I just spent an entire week reading The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill, it was incredibly calming.

Bruce from back home in Saskatchewan shuts off his brain for awhile by watching a scary movie or a good cartoon. I like the shutting the brain off idea, but I do that by having a short nap or slowing my heart rate down. I also like the thought of watching a scary movie, preferably Scary Movie, which I just think is too funny.

Our dear friend Beth from Red Deer, who dropped off a beautiful card at the house when she was up in Wood Buffalo visiting (we were down south in Mexico) -- Thank You Beth -- slips into her hot tub, set at a roasty toasty 107 degrees, no jets, just the silence of the great outdoors. I had an outdoor hot tub once, but one winter's night the breaker tripped turning it into the world's smallest skating rink by morning. I only use other people's hot tubs now.

Life coach Gary says to change the thoughts and balance will return. That is a very "glass is half full" perspective that I truly appreciate. How we think about things makes all the difference in the world.

For Susan finding her balance is a three step process: go for a walk, phone a friend and listen to music, in that specific order. Ironically and completely by accident I came home from a walk, talked to my wife (my best friend) on the phone and now I'm listening to music.

Judi in Delaware goes to the beach. Just being near the ocean grounds her right away. Judi, I'm completely feeling that, fondly remembering the beach at Playa del Carmen early in the morning. The closest thing we have to an ocean is the river, which is just around the corner and through the forest.

My dear friend Sana made me laugh with her response. "If I have access to a beach, I go there...if not, I call my 911 masseuse for a one hour therapy, if not available I head for the hot tub. I know I can't afford to get out of sorts, so I just suck it up and get going again..." The phrase "just suck it up" just makes me smile, I can't explain why.

Anna in Ottawa suggests to breathe. A few minutes of stillness can work wonders.

Elizabeth goes to the gym and does a kick ass cardio routine so the body and mind get exhausted. Or she calls her cousin who is battling cancer yet has the most extraordinary will to live that she inspires everyone around her. I should call my Uncle Joe, facing life or death surgery in the coming days, that would quickly put things into perspective. Thanks Liz.

Michelle spins when her world is spinning. "There's something about the rhythm and the feel of fibre in your hands that makes everything good." This suggestion resonates strongly, except for me it's doing dishes that has a similar effect. The feel of the soapy hot water and dish cloth in my hands is deeply grounding.

Thanks for the ideas, they are all excellent. I feel better already.

April 19, 2010 - 191.2 pounds, 30.2% body fat