How did the easy, basic stuff get so hard?
Can we find ease again?
So happy to see you here! It means a lot that you show up here every week to share some thoughts with me. It’s one of my favorite parts of the week!
Today, I have a great story to share with you from one of my failures this week. Failure always seems to be the best teacher. Have you ever noticed that?
Welcome to The LIFT
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WHAT’S MISSING?
If you remember, last week, I wrote about bone health + how it’s so much more than just calcium.
It’s just one example of how we get things so backward. If something is missing, we go to a pill first - instead of looking at the whole picture + addressing the root cause of the deficiency.
You can go back + read that post if you missed it, but in last week’s MISSION, I challenged you to take your shoes off + connect with the ground. So, did you do it?
With all of the health benefits the simple practice of grounding offers, I was determined to try it myself. I think most of us intuitively understand the importance of time in nature for our health on every level - mental, physical, emotional + spiritual. Plus - I never like to challenge you to do something I’m not practicing or at least willing to try myself!
Sunday, the day The LIFT was published, was the perfect day to try some grounding. We spent the afternoon at my daughter’s house hanging out in the backyard, playing cornhole + celebrating Easter. It was sunny + warm - a perfect time to slip off my shoes + connect with the earth. But did I?
Nope.
It wasn’t as easy as I thought. Her backyard is hardscape + artificial turf. I’d have to stand in a planter to pull off a direct dirt connection. So, I figured, I’d get to it later.
On Monday, I decided to give it a whirl again. I should mention, I live in a high-rise that sits adjacent to a shopping mall + a trolley station. There is nothing but hardscape + artificial turf inside or around the property. Again, I’d have to climb into a planter box if I wanted to touch dirt - not sure my neighbors or property managers would appreciate that.
There is a really nice green belt by the mall, so mid-day when the sun came out, I took a little walk so I could plant my feet in the grass over there + do my ‘grounding’. I was so proud of myself for taking a break, getting outside + walking in the afternoon sun to do something good for me.
But, when I got to the entrance of the park, there was a rather shady character coughing loudly, smoking weed + taking up most of the sidewalk. As I approached, I was debating just turning around to return home. But, there were a few other people walking toward me on the other side of him, so I just powered past the guy as he rambled on about something. He ended up walking in the opposite direction, so I continued on with my mission.
As I stepped into the wide open grassy area, lined with trees + gleaming with sunlight, I looked around for the perfect spot for my grounding adventure. As I scanned the area, I realized there were several people already there doing their own form of grounding - sleeping on the ground. Guess it’s a popular spot for the homeless mid-day. It just didn’t seem like the safest place to take off my shoes + zone out, so I kept walking around the block + back home.
On Wednesday, I decided I would do my ‘grounding’ in a neighborhood park where I run early mornings. It’s always quiet + safe there. I could stop during my run for a brief break to stand barefoot on the grass.
But, no. Wouldn’t you know…the landscape team was there testing the sprinklers. Every sprinkler in the park was on. I couldn’t step foot on the grass without getting hit by one of them.
At this point, I had to laugh. I mean - how hard can it be to just take off your shoes + connect with the earth? As I’m writing this, it’s Thursday + I still haven’t done it.
MOTHER NATURE
I haven’t given up on grounding, but the whole effort has been an eye-opener for me. I didn’t realize just how removed I am right now from nature. I think a lot of us are.
Sure, I spend a lot of time outdoors. I live only 4 miles from the ocean. I have plenty of access. But, in my daily life, being in nature takes work. It’s not an easy, natural sort of thing.
We don’t realize how artificial our environments are because it’s become so normal for us. The way we gather our food in grocery stores instead of farms, the way we transport ourselves in cars rather than on foot, the way we work sitting on our butts rather than working with our hands, the way we communicate with each other digitally instead of in person.
And then, we wonder why we are sick.
It’s kind of crazy, don’t you think?
Essentially, we take out all of the things that should be part of a healthy, natural life - food, walking, community - and we commoditize them by offering them as a service or product. Have you noticed that? We’ve built an entire economy on dis-ease. Health is business.
If you want to be healthy, it takes work.
Our grocery stores are lined with aisles of supplements, probiotics, prebiotics + powders to help us digest the food that we have manufactured + processed.
We have gyms + fitness studios (crossfit, cycling, yoga) on every corner to make up for the fact we don’t walk anywhere + to keep us from getting inflamed or overweight from the environment we have created.
We have even done this with our relationships. Our social connections are now a commodity through social media. And, everyone needs a therapist these days to help us process all of this + our lack of meaningful connection.
Of course, all of this stuff requires time + money. So, we have to work more for the money, which takes more of our time. We have to wake up at 4am to get our workout in or to meditate just to survive. And, we end up exhausted from lack of sleep trying to squeeze it all in.
You get the gist. It’s nuts. It makes no sense at all. But, we’re all so stuck in it, we just grab whatever quick fix we can find to keep us going - which keeps the whole cycle going.
Until it doesn’t. Because eventually, it all breaks down. It has to. You really can’t go up against Mother Nature.
BACK TO BASICS
If you have traveled, you know that not every culture is like this. There are lots of cultures that prioritize healthy food, walking + social connections.
We can choose to prioritize these things in our lives here, too.
It’s not easy + it is certainly not natural in our current environment, but it is simple. And, it works. We can end the ‘dis-ease’ + find ease again. Not just for us, but for everyone simply by interrupting the cycle. One person at a time.
YOUR MISSION:
This week, I challenge you to look at this cycle in your own life. Where are you giving up health, exercise, community or sleep, in an effort to have a ‘better life’? How can you contribute to breaking that cycle?
RESOURCES:
LISTEN: The Root Cause of Obesity, Autoimmunity, and Cancer – With Dr. Zach Bush | The Model Health Show
IN SUMMARY:
Quick update: On Friday, I finally did it! Got some grounding in while out for my morning run. It felt good. I could feel it in my bones! If you haven’t had a chance to do it yet, maybe you can squeeze it in today?
And - if you get a chance to listen to the podcast interview I shared above with Dr. Zach Bush, do it. The more of us that are willing to slow down + bring a little more intention + awareness into our daily lives is how we’re going to help heal not only our most chronic diseases, but our planet as well.
See you next week?
Meanwhile - you can read thru the archives here. And, please reach out to me anytime!
Email: karen@itmaybemenopause.com
Instagram: @itmaybemenopause
Your post this week made me very grateful for where I live! (semi-off-the-grid on ~30 acres) Although I do miss aspects of urban life, I feel much more grounded now with my neighbors being elk and other wildlife. I don't take my shoes off to connect much, but I am always getting my hands dirty.
One of my goals this year is to start bike commuting to town, rather than driving the six miles each way. It only takes about 20 extra minutes each way, and it saves me the stress of having to find parking in town. Your post rekindles that desire to make the effort.
Also, your post makes me think about the importance of bringing nature indoors with houseplants and other quiet, natural spaces to unwind, like a reading nook.
Have a good week, keep it up!
I loved this so much and can relate! I too live in a high rise, the river is a few hundred metres away and a park as well. I often think I’ll go by and do some grounding there, but instead walk through or past as there are things going on, people around that I’m not feeling comfortable being near and so on. Thank you for your words, they are an encouraging reminder for me to get back down there and find my place 😊