This isn’t a post about new year’s resolutions. It’s not a post about becoming a new person by altering food choices or fitness activities. It is, instead, a post about looking at things differently and moving forward.
As much as the calendar marks a new year on January 1, and we are four days in as I write this, for me new year phases also take place in April and September. There’s something about the freshness of spring that embraces newness and there’s something about the fall that offers new adventures much like the first day of school heralded a new year of learning and exploration.
January though offers scope for reflection; an examination of what’s been accomplished and what might be waiting behind the horizon. A good friend often said, “Don’t look back; that’s not where you are going.” However, true reflection is not about regret but about assessing what’s worked, what hasn’t, what could be tried again, and what could be given a decent burial.
I have spent a lot of time in the past decade looking at strength training and cardiac health as my key paths to fitness. The pandemic brought a renewed focus on mental health as balancing work, life and family priorities came to the forefront when many began working from home.
As much as active movement is integral to achieving and maintaining fitness, there is something to be said for active resting too. This includes napping, meditating, yoga and stretching. I also include cloud watching, wave counting and picture studies in active resting. The first two are pretty obvious: the third involves looking at a painting and examining the lines, the brush strokes, the layers of colours.
All of these are tools in my mental fitness toolbox, with meditation being the newest. Learning how to quiet your mind is challenging when we have so many inputs and demands in our days. Giving ourselves more than five minutes of peace seems like an indulgence. In fact, creating space for quiet is critical.
A friend sent me a post that spoke deeply of this need for space and peace. Coach Molly Galbraith wrote: “Got an email from a woman declining a request for her time. She said: ‘Thanks for thinking of me, but right now I’m going to decline. My plate is as full as I like.'”
My plate is as full as I like.
Imagine what that looks like for you. Maybe it’s inviting. Maybe it’s a little scary. Maybe it is simply too big a concept to grasp.
And maybe it is simply the most radical choice you are going to make ever.
We don’t have to let other people’s priorities and expectations load up our plates. We don’t have to let social expectations pile on more than we can carry, no matter how much we lift in the gym. We can decide how big a plate we want and how much we want on there.
It is okay to have space on that plate. Because the space is not empty nor is it a vacuum. It is, in fact, full of potential, possibility, and opportunity.
MarthaFitat55 is looking forward to practicing joyful idleness in 2024 along with the lifting of heavy things.
