Laying the groundwork

Yours Truly at the conclusion of the Peachtree Road Race last year

The groundwork for all happiness is good health.
~Leigh Hunt

As Lindy pointed out yesterday, there is a plethora of information out there about health and well-being. Do I really have anything more to contribute to the conversation?

Well, I don't have credentials as a weight loss expert and I am certainly no fitness guru. But I AM an expert on my own experience as a human being struggling to live a reasonably healthy lifestyle in a world filled with junk food, tobacco advertisement, and mind-crushing stress. The fact is, every day I am faced with a series of choices. Do I eat the doughnut or the oatmeal for breakfast? Do I go to the gym or do I skip it, just this once? Do I stay up late watching Letterman even though I know the alarm will go off at 5:30 the next morning?

I believe the secret is tipping the scales in favor of choices that lead to overall health and fitness. Here are a few of the rules I strive to live by:

1. Eat healthy. For me, this means never skipping breakfast, limiting portion size, emphasizing fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and avoiding foods with ingredients whose names I can't pronounce. I do treat myself - at least once a day - but I have learned to be content for the most part with a Nonni biscotti (110 calories), a fat free fudgesicle (80 calories) or a small McDonald's pineapple mango smoothie (210 calories). I have struggled with my weight all my life; I weigh ten pounds more than I would like right now but I am good according to the charts, so I am trying to learn to love this post-menopausal body the way it is and not obsess about a number on the scale that I may never see again.

2. Exercise regularly. I try to hit the gym at least five days a week (Fitness 19, $14.95/month) where I do 35 minutes on the elliptical machine. I also have a body bar workout DVD that I like to do a couple of times a week, but that tends to fall by the wayside during the summer months. For the record, I do NOT love going to the gym, but I force myself to go anyway. It's kind of like brushing my teeth at night or washing my hands before eating; I don't really give myself a choice in the matter. And yes, I do miss a day now and then, but I try never to miss two days in a row.

3. Drink plenty of water. I start every morning by drinking a big glass of water with my thyroid medication - I have an mildly underactive thyroid - then I fill a 32-ounce container with water and try to finish it by the end of the day. I also take a bottle of water with me to the gym.

4. Get plenty of rest. I am an insomniac AND a morning person, meaning I often find myself burning my candle at both ends, a direct path to burnout and illness. But this summer I am making a sincere effort to get at least seven to seven and a half hours of sleep each night; it will be harder after school starts again, but I am hoping by then this will be a fully formed habit. And I have eliminated caffeine after noon, which seems to be helping with the insomnia.

5. Wear sunscreen. I have never been a sun worshipper, but I do enjoy being out in the sun and I tan easily. But last year I had a "pre-cancerous" mole removed from my stomach, and my dermatologist warned me to be careful. "You have great olive skin," he said, "but you're not invincible." Point taken.

6. Practice preventive maintenance. I am always appalled when I find out that someone I know and love hasn't had a PAP smear in ten years, or had a mammogram EVER. Go to the doctor, people. Get those checkups. What you don't know can kill you.

7. Don't smoke (duh) and drink alcohol in moderation. Enough said.

8. Develop a spiritual practice. Whether it's going to church on Sunday and worshipping with a body of like-minded believers or sitting in the lotus position doing breath work and meditating on "OM," find a way to center yourself and explore your connectedness with the Universe, whatever you perceive it to be. This does all kinds of good things for your head.

9. Find work that you love. 
10. Purge toxic people from your life.
Both mind-numbing work and soul-crushing people make me want to eat potato chips and drink gallons of wine while staying up all night watching infomercials; in other words, they make me care less about myself and making positive choices. Do you hate your job? Then find your passion and make it happen. Is someone making you crazy - or worse, harming you or making you feel like you are stupid or worthless? Do yourself a favor. Say goodbye and don't look back.

It has taken me literally YEARS to figure some of this out, but what I know for sure as that the more positive, healthy choices I make each day, the better I feel, and the better I feel, the better I function. Each of us faces unique challenges as we travel our paths across this planet. What is your number one tip for good health? Leave a comment - we love chatting with our readers! And remember come back tomorrow and find out Megan's perspective on this week's topic. Three writers, three points of view - that's what Writers LiP.P. is all about!

Author: Pam Asberry
Website: http://pamasberry.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/pamasberryfanpage
Twitter: http://twitter.com/pamasberry

Resurrecting the Goddess in Me

Pam, my brilliant partner here at WritersLi.P.P. posted the Gods/Goddesses Quiz on Monday which tickled me in terms of me and my alleged goddess. Apparently, I am most like Hera - "The Greek goddess Hera was a powerful queen long before her marriage to Zeus, the mighty king of the Olympian gods. She ruled over the heavens and the earth and was responsible for every aspect of the environment, including the seasons and the weather." After these last few days in Georgia, I would love to "rule the weather."

Do you ever look in the mirror and wish you could be a goddess? Recall the Aphrodite archetype. Envision her perched on a mound of pillows sucking grapes from a vine held fervently by a scantily clad servant man, her moist skin quivering under the breeze generated by the broad-leaf fan wielded by yet another. That’s an idea I can get behind, or in front of in this case. However, as we exist in a time when men and women happily co-exist and men still seem to find themselves “on top” of the pillows it’s hard to fully realize this goddess. So, I have identified one, well, I can identify with.

Get off! These pillows are mine!

Pleasure is my goddess! That’s what I said – pleasure. Across cultures her name takes many forms - Bast (Egyptian), Hedone (Greek), Bidhgoe (Celtic), and Ichpuchtli (Aztec). This is present day reality! I may not be able to have the servant men taking care of my every want and need, but friends, I'm taking back my pillows! To wrap our heads around this, let’s examine the senses:

Taste. I love this particular sense because it can incite enormous amounts of my pleasure goddess. The fresh taste of a crisp cucumber straight out of the garden. The salty sweat you lick from your lips after a successful workout. All of the sweet and savory flavors life offers can be found in taste. I’m a foodie so on a whim I might want to savor something in particular. That’s when my creativity, or passion, begins to emerge. My goddess of pleasure finds me and together we craft a delicious dish.

Smell. This one is an attention-getter. Imagine being on the cross trainer at the gym. You’re endorphins haven’t quite mounted against the pain you are feeling in your thighs and back. The music you chose for your workout makes you want to cry out in dissatisfaction until a man walks past. You’re body is realizing entirely too much chaos to notice his appearance but his cologne captivates you. The perfect blend of skin and musk you can’t help but wonder who is taunting you with this scent. Your mind races with sexy ideas of what it might be like to get close to his warm, damp skin after his workout; to feel his breath on your neck. You take a deep breath and find that your pain is gone and the music has improved. Ah, pleasure.

Touch. This one I should probably save until last but you deserve a little tease. I love the feel of anything that brings me closer to my goddess on the tips of my fingers. They are very sensitive after all and deserve only the finest sensations. One of my passions is painting so feeling cool, colorful paint glide across paper, or any medium, guided eagerly by my fingertips yields pleasure. Stroking the skin of a lover, feeling tense muscles and warm, damp skin probably elicits more pleasure in me than him, to the point of addiction. Wait! We are talking about pleasure, right?

Sight. The vision of a lovely garden, children playing, the perfect meal spread on an ornate cloth, tight muscles, the sun reflecting off the water; all of these things encourage imagination. They inspire my goddess who in turn inspires me.

Sound. The funniest of sounds to me is the sharp trill of a cow bird. It reminds me of how something seemingly unattractive (plain black bird with a brown head) can create something unique and beautiful. The deep belly laugh of a man in love, the high-pitched giggle of a little girl, or how the ocean crashes against the shore taking on the notion of breaking glass all inspire creativity and therefore pleasure.

Opening my mind, body and soul to these senses, allowing myself to experience life around me sparks inspiration and the goddess Pleasure joins me for a while on my reclaimed pillows. 

*****

Do you have a goddess or muse? Can your senses inspire passion or creativity in you? Comment for the chance to win the hot, not-available-in-stores WritersLi.P.P. t-shirt.

Goddess Pam

Aphrodite

This week's blog topic here at Writers Li.P.P. is GODDESSES. As I did research for my today's post, I couldn't help but compare myself to each deity as I read about her, although I was unable to objectively determine which one I most closely resembled. Then I found an online quiz which removed all the guesswork. Click HERE to take the quiz yourself.

I was delighted to discover that I am Aphrodite, also known as Venus, the Greek goddess of love - at least until I found out a little bit more about her. The thing is, I have always found mythology to be fascinating and its applications to modern times profound. It seems that people really haven't changed all that much in three thousand years, give or take. So I decided to explore some of Aphrodite's characteristics and figure out what I might be able to learn from her.

Here's the short version of the story. Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus, god of the forge. But Aphrodite didn't really love Hephaestus - after all, her father had arranged the marriage, and she was convinced she was too good for her husband  - so she insisted on an open marriage. For whatever reason, Hephaestus went along with this; he even made his wife a magic girdle which rendered her irresistible to any man she wanted. Weird, huh? And whereas most of the gods and goddesses had several jobs, Aphrodite had only one responsibility: to bring love into the world. What a life, right? Once the goddess Athena caught Aphrodite weaving and scolded her for getting involved in Athena's line of work. Aphrodite apologized immediately and promised such a thing would never happen again. And it didn't.

Aphrodite didn't have female friends, although she was quick to help gods and goddesses as well as mortals to win the love they sought. But she is best known for her own many passionate love affairs and numerous offspring. Generally loving and generous, she could also be quite hateful and vindictive when she wasn't given the honor she felt was her due.

So the more I learn about Aphrodite, the less kinship I feel to her. I enjoy the structure that my work provides - the gentle rhythm of creation that buzzes around me, whether I am teaching music students or working on my novel or making a piece of jewelry. I don't know what I would do without my girlfriends, and while I like to think of myself as loving and generous, I also like to think I am compassionate and forgiving when wronged. I am always happy to help others in their quest for true love, but I haven't been so lucky in love myself. I was married for nineteen years and have three wonderful sons to show for it, but since my divorce ten years ago nothing has quite worked out. Being single isn't without its perks; I have enjoyed online dating, meeting new people, dressing up and going out for dinner and dancing, being open to mysterious strangers in clubs and coffee houses and on cruise ships. But something deep inside me yearns for more. And sometimes I wonder if I will ever find that special someone.

Maybe all I need is a magic girdle. Try doing a google search for THAT.

However, I found it interesting that Aphrodite is associated with the sea. Although I am not a good swimmer, I am drawn to the ocean and dream of someday owning a home on the water somewhere. And just as the waves constantly renew the beach, Aphrodite gives us hope in the power of love. That's something you can think about the next time you are lying on the sand, watching the tide roll in.

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Which goddess do you most closely identify with? Have you found true love or are you still looking? Leave a comment for a chance to win a Writers Li.P.P. t-shirt - they're the hottest shirts in town! Leave a comment AND become a follower for two chances to win. Congratulations to Kendall Grey for being last week's lucky winner. Thanks to everyone for your support!