Religion – Page 16 – Andrea Arthur Owan

Conscientious Eating Basics: Adding the Good and Weeding Out the Bad

Which of the following most describes your eating or meal experience?

A) I throw together 2 pieces of bland bread, lunchmeat, a slice of cheese, a limp strip of lettuce and a spread of mayo and mustard for lunch. Every -day.

B) I often eat while working at my desk and/or computer.

C) I eat while watching television or reading the mail, magazine or a book, or chatting on the phone or reading text messages.

D) I often stop at fast a food “restaurant” or pick up a pizza for dinner because it’s late, I don’t have anything at home to fix, or I’m too tired to prepare a meal.

E) Most of my meals are microwaved or come from frozen packages.

Relate to any of those? How about one or more of them?

Today we’re getting an introduction to several posts dedicated to conscientious eating. But before we get into specifics, let’s look at some dismal facts:

For a variety of reasons, our current medical system is based on people being sick and dying.
2/3 of Americans go to work with flu-like symptoms. (We really do live at work.)
The #1 reason for bankruptcy in the U.S. is medical bills that can’t afford to be paid.
Sitting and lack of activity is killing us, literally. Seven hours of TOTAL sitting time a day doubles your risk of death.
1/3 of Americans die before 65.
Most people don’t get enough sleep.
70% of your immune system is in your digestive tract.
Many experts believe all disease begins in the gut.
Even though we may be surrounded by people, we live and work in a very solitary way.
Since the beginning of time, plants and food have been our true medicine. We need to return to that foundation.
69% of Americans are overweight or obese.
SUGAR is now considered by many professionals to be poison.
While we are living longer thane ever, we are sicker than ever.
We grow our foods in the chemicals they use to make chemical weapons.
High fructose corn syrup is like crack to your body and brain.
We tend to treat separate symptoms rather than the whole person.
When you’re under stress, you crave sugar, fat, and salt, and there is no satiation (satisfaction met) point for these.
It is emotion that causes people to reach for the wrong kind of food.
90% of serotonin—a chemical and neurotransmitter that regulates mod, social behavior, digestion, appetite, sleep, memory, sexual function and desire—is manufactured in the digestive tract, not the brain as we once thought.
Wellness is really a diet and mental health lifestyle connection.
We really are living in a “food desert” that comes with a 5x the average death rate—death that comes from curable diseases.
Cultures that eat grains have a higher rate of dementia.

Important Takeaway—

Food does affect the body and mind, but most of us blindly eat whatever is put in front of us or opt for the quick and easy (boring) meal approach.

Conscientious eating—

As we explore conscientious eating, which goes beyond just being mindful of how you eat, we’ll focus on:

being more aware
being more mindful
taking back your health

As Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, said,

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”

As we move rapidly into this busy holiday season, where we’re ramping up everything in our lives to an often frenzied, overspent schedule, I invite you to keep something very important in mind—

It can be self-destructive to not tend to yourself.

Please take a moment to let that statement sink in. Meditate on it.

To many of you, that truth runs contrary to what you think your religious faith teaches you. It might even sound as though it borders on sinful, contrary to God’s word.

But how does Jesus, the reason for this marvelous season and for our very lives, say we should approach our lives?

With a light burden. Not a weary or heavy-laden feeling.

I can hear many of saying right now: “What does that have to with conscientious eating, Andrea? Or eating in general?

Plenty.

The fact, as I already noted, is:

Emotion causes people to reach for the wrong kind of food.

Life is emotional. The holidays even more so.

Just as our physical choices, activity choices, lifestyle choices and career choices affect us profoundly, so do our food-style choices affect us. What it comes down to is:

Adding the good stuff and weeding out the bad. (In that order.)

As we go into Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year, we’ll be learning about food—God’s magnificent gift to us. A gift he created for our

enjoyment and pleasure
sustenance
mental and physical health and healing
social fulfillment

And as we go forth, keep those highlighted statements in mind:

**It can be self-destructive to not tend to yourself.**

Emotion causes people to reach for the wrong kind of food.

**You need to add the good stuff to your life and weed out the bad.**

It won’t happen immediately or all at once. Our goal will be to recognize what causes us to fail in this area and start the weeding process.

And we’ll accomplish it together!

Join me this Friday when I’ll talk about the art and health of social eating. It’s something I knew and really learned how to do while walking the Camino de Santiago. Actually, when I ate on the Camino. That post will give you a bonus to our conscientious eating discussions!

Until then,

Decide that you don’t want to be one of the dismal statistics.
Pray about what God might be saying to you in this area.
Find a good friend, or several, to be accountability buddies with you. Friends that want to embark on this life-changing journey with you, to support and encourage you. To be supported and encouraged.

Thank God for the bounty He has provided, and prepare to enjoy it in new ways. With family and friends.

PS I’m humbly requesting prayer for recovery from having a bone spur cut off my big toe. While the surgery wasn’t long or extensive, the recovery is painful, and I’m unable to get around as easily as they said I would. In fact, I’m not getting around much at all. That’s one of the reasons this post was scheduled so late. Thank you!!

Blessings,

Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

Photo by rawpixel on unsplash

How Do Religion and Prayer Affect Gratitude?

You may have wondered if religious people are more grateful than their unbelieving or agnostic peers. Maybe you’ve asked yourself if praying makes you a more grateful person, or if parenting styles encourages the development of grateful children.

Today on Meditation Mondays, we’ll look at those factors: what role does religion or faith or parenting play in gratitude.

What’s Religion Got to Do With It?

As it turns out, a lot.

In a 2003 study, people who were noted as being more grateful had a higher sense of engaging in religion for it’s own sake and a lower sense of engaging in religion for the sake of others. Like someone would if they engaged in religion simply for the sake of improving their social status. In other words: dishonest motive.

Other studies show positive correlations between gratitude and attirbutes typically associated with religion, such as:

frequently participating in religious practices
considering religion to be an important factor in life
having a personal relationship with God
experiencing spiritual transcendence—a perceived experience of the sacred that affects your feelings, goals, self-perception and ability to surpass, conquer or outshine your difficulties
being committed to your religion—a sense of and expressing your commitment

When studying young people ages 17 – 24, researchers found that this age group tends to feel gratitude when they—

have their prayers answered
experience a miracle
have religious friends

But there were behaviors not correlated with gratitude—

the religion a person was affiliated with
private devotion practice
actively participating in organized religion
having a belief in a spiritual world
how important religion is to your life
considering yourself to be spiritual

I found this list interesting. These results show that gratitude is not triggered or related to what religion you practice; whether or not you maintain a practice of doing devotions or having a time of devotions; being active in organized religion; just generally believing in the spiritual world; ranking religion as very important to your life; or considering yourself spiritual.

I find the last finding fascinating.

So often I have heard someone say, “I’m not religious, but I’m spiritual.” My internal eyeballs roll. Exactly what does that mean? I’m not sure they can answer that. But now I have some scientific ammunition for how flimsy that belief can be.

Evidently just being spiritual doesn’t make you grateful.

But what does affect your gratitude is praying and having your prayers answered!

And while both Christians and atheists put a high price tag on gratitude and the benefits that come with and from being grateful, it was the Christians that reported “significantly higher” levels of gratitude in terms of emotions that feel or emote gratitude than their unbelieving peers.

Religion, gratitude, and mental health—

Some interesting findings popped up in this category.

Older adults that tended be less grateful experienced depression with prolonged financial difficulties.

But church-attending older adults who believed that God intervened in their lives to help them overcome difficulties displayed greater gratitude over time.

And religious involvement has been linked to having a grateful disposition, regardless of negative or positive feelings or display of emotions.

Using your religion to deal with stress had a significant association with gratitude, and that has a high correlation to utilizing prayer to figure out what God is trying to tell you or teach you.

The takeaway is:

religion may help people maintain gratitude even in the face of emotional distress.
religion also offers social support, which triggers gratitude.
praying can stimulate gratitude, for achieving help or understanding (for you or others).
gratitude can help you view negative life events as lessons from the Almighty!

Effects of Praying on Gratitude—

Research has shown that if you are instructed to pray for your partner for a 4-week period of time, you will likely report having higher levels of gratitude for that person than someone who just thinks good or positive thoughts about their partner.

Ever have anyone say to you “I’ll be thinking good thoughts for you!”

When someone says that to me, it always leaves me feeling a little flat and uninspired. I always assumed that was because the person saying it was usually an atheist or agnostic. But maybe it’s because deep down inside my heart, I know “good thoughts” won’t cut it. Something deeper needs to be involved.

But don’t fall into the trap of simply egging someone on with adding religious-speak, either, like using the words “spirit,” “divine,” and “God.” Using those words fall just as flat. They don’t increase feelings of gratitude.

And do you think that having intrinsic religiousness and a trait of gratitude increases your gratitude for a favor? Evidently that power combo didn’t effect the expression of gratitude in response to a favor.

Men versus Men—

In the German men versus American men study I mentioned in last week’s post, the researchers also discovered that 1/3 of the American men in the study preferred to hide their gratitude.

None of the German men expressed that desire or need.

Gratitude and people around the world—

Far more than Americans, United Kingdom citizens tended to link gratitude with a host of negative emotions, like:

guilt
indebtedness
embarrassment
awkwardness

And kids?

American children were the most likely to express “concrete gratitude” (the desire to repay a gift or favor), when they were compared to children from Russia, Brazil, and China.

Which kids were the least likely to express it? Russian kids.

However, 11 to 14-year-old Russian kids expressed “connective gratitude” (taking into account the desires of the benefactor when repaying a gift or favor) than the other children.

What about parenting?

Drum roll? Brrrrrrrrrr. The answer is…?

Nothing. Not anything concrete, anyway.

What a researcher named Andrea Hussong did find and publish in 2017 was while 85% of parents encouraged their children to say “thank you,” only 39% of them to experience gratitude in ways other than saying those two words.

The question that still remains in the area of parent-taught gratitude, though, is how parenting choices influence how children think of and experience gratitude.

Researchers say it’s an area ripe for more research, and more study needs to be done on it.

NEXT WEEK we’ll take a break from looking at the research to explore more of gratitude in prayer. You won’t want to miss this post! It’ll provide you with great preparation for Thanksgiving, and a good Christmas present idea—for you or that special friend.

Until then, be thinking about how you pray and for whom you pray.

Who could you pray and increase your gratitude for?
How might you increase your children’s gratitude expressions through parenting?
As Thanksgiving approaches, who can you think of that would get a real boost from a show of gratitude?
How could you boost your own gratitude trait?

Blessings,

Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

Photo by rawpixel on unsplash

What do Personality, Cognitive Traits and Gender Have to do with Gratitude?

Are some people just naturally grateful, or did their parents teach them to have gratitude? Does gender play any role in gratitude? What about personality, cognitive, or psychological traits?

It turns out that you can answer yes, yes, yes and yes! to all of these possibilities.

Let me show you why.

Determiners of your gratitude—

Psychologists are looking into what determines whether or not a person demonstrates gratefulness. They’ve wondered whether it is personality, cognitive or gender. First, we’ll explore their findings in personality factors.

Personality and gratitude—

Scientists have wondered if gratitude could be considered its own personality trait. Can it be added to the Big 5 traits Saucier and Goldberg categorized in 1998?

Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
Extraversion
Neuroticism
Openness

The findings are inconclusive. While it is clear some people are more grateful than others, the researchers still debate whether gratitude, or gratefulness, can actually be classified as a bona fide personality trait.

So then they turn to:

Cognitive factors—

This area is where the research yields more conclusive data. According to a Greater Good Science Center whitepaper on the subject:

“The ways that we think about a giver can increase or decrease the likelihood we will feel gratitude in a certain situation. In particular, studies have found that how participants see the intention of a benefactor, the cost to the benefactor, and the value of the benefit are all independently and significantly associated with the level of gratitude reported by these participants.”

In other words: the higher the perception of gift-giver benevolence—the genuineness behind the giving—the greater the recipient’s gratitude toward the giver, and with the gift.

Free will or predestination?

And interestingly enough, people who believe in free will (rather than pre-destined) or those who have been primed to feel more free will exists, believe a giver is more sincere in his actions.

This finding has been supported with neuroimaging studies of the brain area associated with reward. In a bullet point nutshell:

A benefactor’s intention or motivation influences a recipient’s gratitude experience!

In yet another interesting research result, though

“People had to believe they were responsible for their own success at something [like a test result] in order to feel gratitude for the help they received.”

Other results show—

Gratitude levels were affected by comparisons of a giver or gift to other favors or gifts given by others. Kind of like a gift comparison scale.

Unexpected favors and gifts resulted in higher gratitude levels.

Yet a recent study indicated that

“Gratitude was more related to the value of the benefit received rather than to the participant’s expectations of generosity from people more or less close to them.”

Evidently people are prone to comparing gifts, weighing the differences between them, and assessing the giver. It all starts getting more complex than imagined, but who among us hasn’t experienced some of these thoughts:

Thinking the gift giver was just trying to get on our good side or schmooze us.
Comparing—before you even had a chance to shut down the ungenerous, skeptical thought—a gift someone gives you to a gift the person gave someone else.
Not feeling particularly grateful for a gift because the gift didn’t hold much value for or to you, even though the giver thought his gift was stupendous and thoughtful.
Feeling overwhelmed with gratitude for a gift you know the giver thought carefully about and bought, even though you knew it was costly to them.

And then there’s the gender factor in gratefulness—

Studies point to children and adolescent girls being more grateful.

Adult women appear to be grateful than adult men. And women tend to be more grateful to God than men.

In 20009, researchers Kashdan, Mishra, Breen, and Froh found that

“Men were less likely to feel and express gratitude, made more critical evaluations of gratitude, and derived fewer benefits.”

Could it be that men associate gratitude with weakness? That’s a question researchers are still pondering.

Or could it be the culture in which the men are raised?

Research indicates that’s a possibility.

In experiments, men from Germany have been found to be significantly more grateful than American males. And the German men were also more likely to see gratitude as a positive.

Do American men see gratitude as a sign of weakness?

Individual barriers to gratitude—

“Yes” the research shows. Personality and individual factors do appear to play a role. There are certain personality traits that negatively affect gratitude. They include:

Materialism, and

Envy (coveting)

“High materialists are less happy in part because they find it harder to be grateful for what they have.”

Cynicism

Scripture has some things to say about a cynical attitude (it’s not positive), but something else to be considered here is the iGeneration—also known as Generation Z, Post-Millenials, Founders, Plurals or Homeland Generation—has some significant, disturving characteristics. They tend to be:

Very cynical and less trusting
Have the highest IQ of any other measured generation
Have the highest rates of suicide, which is one of the leading causes of death for teens and young adults

Do all of these factors—cynical nature, high intellect, and mental illness (and a sense of hopelessness)—prime these young people to have less gratitude toward life, gifts, people, nature? And God.

What are we older adults demonstrating for them and teaching them through our words, actions and way we live our lives? Through television programming and movies? The way we, ourselves, use and get addicted to technology and social sites that do little or nothing to improve our lives, or only make us feel more disconnected and lonely.

I think we have a serious problem that needs immediate attention.

Narcissism and gratitude—

Ever give a narcissist a gift? What kind of response did you get? Flat? Disinterest? Not much of an acknowledgement or thank you?

Researchers wonder if narcissists might not even notice a gift has been given to them. Why? Because they believe they’re entitled to the gift.

Sometimes it seems as though there are a lot of narcissists around these days too.

Are we raising and conditioning a generation and nation of narcissists because of all the “you deserve it” rhetoric the last 40 years? Madison Avenue marketers have made a bundle pitching us that line, and we become envious and frustrated and sometimes depressed when we can’t have it or don’t get it. We overspend to have it, sink ourselves into financial quagmires by buying into their advertising lines.

And politicians get in on the you-deserve-it game too. Pay careful attention to what they say and how they feed into narcissistic tendencies.

How are we allowing others to affect our gratitude?

The headwinds/tailwinds (barriers vs. benefits) factors—

Ever have something go really wrong in life? How do you compare it to the times when things were really going right?

Turns out that the headwinds (things are going badly) events get far more attention and weight in our lives and thinking than do the tailwinds (things are going great) events.

We tend to focus more on the barriers we face than on the benefits we enjoy.

Barriers versus benefits.

What do you focus most on?

Some of the funnier, and really revealing, examples researchers cited are:

“Democrats and Republicans believe the electoral map works against them.
“Football fans take more notice of the challenging games on their team’s schedule than on a rival team’s schedule.
“People more frequently recall episodes when they thought a sibling was treated better than when they themselves were treated better.”

And you?

How would you measure yourself on these scales and with these factors?

Do you have friends or family members that could be poster children for any of these factors?

Do these results cause you to pause and take stock of your own gratitude, and the gratitude you’ve received (or haven’t received) from others?

Does it deepen your understanding and appreciating of gratitude?

As we move toward Thanksgiving, when gratefulness is really on our mind, start thinking about how tailwinds and headwinds in life affect your thinking and gratitude. Could you turn your tailwinds around to view them in a more positive light?

How can you raise your gratitude quotient?

NEXT WEEK we’ll look at social and cultural factors linked to gratitude—like religion, culture and parenting?

Until then,

Keep priming the gratitude pump, in you and your family!

Blessings,

Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on unsplash.com

Keeping the Camino Alive at Home

One of the biggest things I miss about being on the Camino de Santiago is that I’m no longer outside as much as I was when walking it. I’m inside. Too much. All that fresh air, sunshine, the varied terrain, endless views, and those interesting cloud formations to enjoy and revitalize me.

So that’s one of the ways I’m continuing my Camino here at home. I’m making a point of getting outside more often. Taking my ten-minutes from writing breaks outside. Feasting on the cooler weather, the backyard plants that have busted out in uniquely fall foliage and flowers, the brilliant green baby grass sprigs that have exploded from the ground. Then there are the songbirds that have returned from their summer mountain escape to feed at my feeders. The animal life outside the walls of my home is busy, and I’m enjoying witnessing it!

And I’m still walking.

But there are other ways Chris and I are continuing to maintain our new sense of freedom and peace.

Today I’ll give you three ways:

Trying to maintain farmer hours.

We’d been trying to do this for about a year, but when we walked the Camino, we had to. And now we crave it!

The albergues (hostels strictly dedicated to Camino pilgrims) require the lights to be out by 10:00, (actually, they’re required by law to lock the doors and turn down the lights to ensure no late-night revelers crash the establishment and pilgrims can get some sleep). Many pilgrims wanted them out earlier, so they could hit the trail before dawn. So we developed the daily rhythm of rising with the sun (or the light switch being flicked to “on”) and beginning the winding down process right after dinner, which we usually ate around 7:00 to 7:30. (Although some blessed restaurants opened the dinner doors at 6:00 to accommodate us Westerners!)

One private home we stayed in (it was like a B&B for pilgrims) required the lights out at 9:00 because she had other tenants that needed to rise early.

Without television, computers, or phone WiFi (pronounced “Wee Fee” by some in Spain) to distract us, we wound down, read our maps and planned our next day’s route, and maybe chatted with other pilgrims. Sometimes we strolled around outside the hostel to enjoy the quiet or distance city lights before retiring to bed. Sometimes we scribbled thoughts in our journals.

At home, we’re making sure the computers are shut down at least an hour before bedtime and only necessary lights for maneuvering around the house or bedroom are left on. Since we don’t watch much television, that’s not a problem for us. But when we’ve been sitting on the couch watching it, we make sure it’s off at least an hour before bed too. (Football games that go to 11:00 PM not included!)

The cellphone is left in its hammock in the kitchen (Chris leaves his in the office room), and we don’t read emails, texts, or Internet articles online, or answer phone calls either. If I can, I even shut down the Internet connection. When Chris’s company uses the dead-of-night hours to load new programs on his computer, we can’t do this.)

For many reasons, we’ve always maintained a strict rule in our house that there are NO televisions in the bedrooms. Having one in a bedroom allows you to disassociate too easily from the rest of the family; it’s a serious sleep and body rhythm disrupter; and it ruins your husband-wife intimacy.

I’m sure you’ve read or heard the research: Keeping all the electronics going right up until bedtime, and often after you’ve gone to bed, ruins your sleep and causes sleep disturbances. Your body needs time to raise your melatonin levels to ensure good, healing, restorative sleep.

On the Camino, we got it!

Preparing well for your day and making sure (as much as is possible with you) that you don’t rush to do anything!

On the Camino, if you weren’t prepared to pack up your backpack and leave the albergue at the designated (no excuses allowed or accepted) time, they locked the doors (8:00 AM in most), then you risked forgetting an item and getting off to a harried start.

I’m continuing that at home. If I can’t finish something in the time I have, I re-schedule it or plan to do when I know I have the time.

I resist allowing others to load up my time with things they think are “critical.” Most of the time they’re not. I don’t commit unless I feel a joy about doing it and know I have the time. Obviously some work requirements fall outside of this rule, especially in the joy department. But I’m also taking inventory on what gives me joy and a sense of purpose and what doesn’t, and that’s giving me more freedom (and reason) to choose what I do when.

In the simplest example, I don’t start a load of laundry at 9:00 at night, when I intend to be in bed by 9:30; or if I know I don’t have time to get the load washed, dried and properly hung up or folded to avoid wrinkles.

I don’t overschedule my day.

If I end up not being able to complete something I hoped to accomplish one day, I don’t stress about it. I move it to the next day’s schedule. Most of the time it’s not a critical, deadline-driven item. If it is, I make sure it gets done first, whether it’s my favorite thing to do or not.

I know, and am honest about, just how long it takes me to get ready to go some place.

On the Camino, Chris and I were able to whittle down our morning prep and backpack loading time to 45 minutes. But that amount of time felt rushed. An hour was more comfortable, so we planned for an hour. And then we rarely ran outside to rejoin the path. We’d stretch, survey the day, weather and our surroundings, smile at and chat with some passing pilgrims, make sure our water bottles were filled, our packs were comfortably situated on our backs, and our poles were in our hands. And then we’d decide if we wanted a café con leche and croissant before we got started, or would wait until a mid-morning break or the next town for those.

Back home I’m spending more time thinking about all of the items I need to gather together to accomplish my day and make it a success. Do I have everything I need to run the errands I plan to run? Have I put the necessary items in the car? (Like my grocery bags.) Can I consolidate errands on one day?

And the biggest, most effective question?

What can I do to make my day less stressful, less chaotic, more enjoyable, productive and successful?

Answering that question requires that I slow down and focus on what I’m doing and going to do. Where I’m going and how long I’m likely to be there. How long it actually takes to get there, without rushing or cutting others off in traffic. Making the journey itself enjoyable.

And another question I can ask myself is:

How much of the frustration and chaos in my life is my own fault, of my own doing, by my own hand?

Most of the time we have choices. We can set boundaries with others, and ourselves. When we don’t, we need to stop pointing the finger of blame at our bosses, our co-workers, our spouses and our kids. If we let them erase or move our boundaries, then we are likely the ones to blame for the pain, frustration and exhaustion it causes.

Which translates to: No whining allowed.

Whatever I’m doing at the moment, no matter how small or insignificant it seems to be, I’m focusing entirely on what I’m doing.

Again, if getting up late and having to rush to prepare for your day and pack your backpack distracted you, you risked leaving something behind or starting your day feeling frantic and already physically and emotionally overwhelmed.

On the Camino, we got into the habit of planning two days out in advance. How far we planned to walk, the city where we would to spend the night. Then making sure we had lodgings secured someplace in that city.

That relieved us of the pressures (and potential mental distractions) of wondering what our day would look like, what we’d have time to see, whether or not we’d arrive in time to get a bed at a hostel (some are first-come, first served), and whether or not we’d have to walk all around that town to find an available room, or bed.

So now I’m on a mission to remove as many distractions as possible from life. Even the tiniest things that cause my brain to hiccup.

Like not reading the mail while I’m watching the news. Although I might use the commercial breaks for that.

And that includes reading text messages and emails. The only time the phone gets my attention during that time is if Chris or one of the boys calls.

Really enjoying folding the laundry and putting it in neat stacks, rather than haphazardly folding them and maybe leaving a heap of clean clothes on the bed because I got distracted by something else, or was trying to accomplish too many loads of laundry in a day or was too tired or frustrated by something else (like my ridiculously over-packed schedule) to really pay attention to doing a good job.

And not reading something (email, magazine, mail, etc.) while I’m talking to someone, telling them “Keep talking, I’m listening.” And focusing on my meal without reading mail or chatting on the phone. (For years studies have shown that people who pay attention to what they eat, really sit down, slow down and pay attention to their food slow down and eat far less and enjoy their food more.)

Focusing on cooking and preparing a meal instead of watching television (another place to not allow a television is in the kitchen). I’m even getting to the point where I don’t like the distraction of cooking at the stove and talking to someone—including Chris—simultaneously.

Have you ever seen a busy restaurant kitchen? It’s chaos and stress. I’ve determined that the quality and timeliness of my meals is in direct proportion to the amount of attention I give them.

I’m opting for quality and timeliness. It’s certainly allowing me more food preparation and cooking joy than I’ve ever experienced before!

One other positive benefit of being more deliberate and intentional with everything I do, including the laundry, is that I’m experiencing far fewer “now, what-did-I-come-in-this-room-for-again?” senior moments. Just another confirmation that it wasn’t so much my aging, shrinking brain as my lifestyle causing me such frustration, distraction and a sieve-like brain.

And it’s allowing me to enjoy devotion and prayer times with fewer distractions. My mind stays on topic. And I can really listen for, and to God. That’s the best benefit of all!

And you?

These steps might be no-brainers for you, things you’re already doing. If so, bravo!! I applaud you.

If not, consider trying them, or just one. Be deliberate. This is brain retraining, so you can learn new habits; make life more manageable and enjoyable. Less frustrating and overwhelming.

I think you’ll find that your mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health will improve!

NEXT FRIDAY I’ll give you some additional changes you might try. Including some of the Spanish lifestyle behaviors I think allows them to outrank us in longevity.

Until then, may you find joy in being focused and undistracted!

Blessings,

Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

Photos by Andrea A Owan

Zig Zag Hiking: Making the Climb Easier on the Camino de Santiago

I stood on the side of the rocky path and gasped for breath. My heart pounded so hard I thought my chest might explode. Sweat dribbled down my face and back.

This was brutal!

And I was not enjoying it.

The journey begins—

Chris and I were on our first day of walking the Camino de Santiago. We knew this day would likely be the toughest, although word on the street was that the next day—from Orisson, France to Roncesvalles, Spain—would be just as murderous, if not more so due to the steep elevation gain toward the end and then then precarious descent.

We would start in the medieval French town of St. Jean Pied de Pont, in the Basque country of southern France, at the beginning of the Pyrenees foothills. An elevation of 594 feet above sea level. In 5.1 miles, we would ascend to 3,614 feet.

By car, a 6-minute drive.

By foot, hours.

Not a trek for the faint of heart.

When Pierre, our adorable French bed and breakfast provider, waved his hand in dismissal and said in thickly accented English, “Oh, it is easy. No problem!” I chuckled. He was a strapping twenty-something who looked as though he could jog up and down that mountain all day and not feel tired.

In our giddiness to finally be on The Way after a year of planning, praying and physical preparation, the first mile or so didn’t seem so bad. And the view was gorgeous and the weather perfect, (fog and rain had been forecast for our start day, and we were relishing clear skies and warmth), which distracted us a little from our labors.

But then the real climbing started as we broke from the paved road and headed up the livestock path. We wobbled over and around sharp rocks as we made Z patterns up the switchbacks and stopped often to catch our breaths or adjust the position of our backpacks.

Then I found myself hiding in the shade of a tree, panting and sweating, looking down on all of those pristine white farmhouses with their identical red trim. My enthusiasm plummeted. Everything I had worried about in ascending the Pyrenees was coming to fruition.

Going in afraid—

Frankly, I had been terrified of hiking over those mountains. Hadn’t even wanted to go that route to begin with. I’d wanted to start the journey in Roncesvalles, like most other pilgrims, who seemed to be saner than us. This had been Chris’s idea, and he had pushed for it. “I think it would really add to the experience,” he said. “Make it special” Or something to that effect.

Honestly, I was more than a little miffed he was interjecting his plans into myGod-directed pilgrimage. Shouldn’t Ibe the one making the route decision? Nearly everything I read about those mountains talked about them in terms of the “much-feared” Pyrenees; how deadly they could be in bad weather.

But I caved in and tried to train by walking around our 3000-foot elevation, hilly neighborhood, and in Tucson’s mountains. “Remember, Andrea,” he said. “You live in a city with some of the most rugged mountains in the world. Those Pyrenees won’t be anything compared to them!” Humph, how does he know that? I thought. He’s only seen pictures of them.

His pep talk only dampened my worry for a couple of days. I was so worried about it I had a major meltdown the day before we departed Tucson. (The stress of having to prepare to leave the country for a month, with making sure my elderly mother was provided for and calmed down, didn’t help.)

I sat on the family room couch, pounding my fists on my knees and yelling at Chris about how terrified I was of hiking over the Pyrenees, berating him for how he had pushed me to go over those Pyrenees, and screaming and wailing that I didn’t want to hike over those Pyrenees. Ever!

He’d knelt down before me, gathered my hands in his and apologized. Then he encouraged me by saying that if I didn’t want to go, and it was too rough, we could take a cab over the mountain.

Ha! Now here we were, fulfilling what I had feared: Me and my beaten up knees and nodule-sprinkled lungs weren’t going to make it.

But while you can take the athlete out of the competition, you can’t take the competition out of the athlete. I was already on this mountain and determined to fight on.

After my umpteenth stop to slow my heart rate down, we pressed on. Not long after, Chris must have had a revelation because he padded up behind and whispered in my ear: “Don’t forget your training, Mrs. Owan. You should be zigzagging up this mountain.”

Eureka!!! “You’re right!” I responded. “I’d forgotten. All of my hill work at home, zigzagging up our foothills. Thank you for reminding me!”

My giddiness returned as I shifted my backpack again and re-clasped my hiking poles.

And up I went. Crisscrossing the path, weaving around other pilgrims as I greeted them with a wide smile and hearty “Buen Camino!” (The standard Spanish “howdy do” you give other pilgrims as you pass them.)

My heart rate and breathing slowed even as I leaned heavily on my poles. The walk intensity dropped to a level just above feeling easy. And my confidence and enjoyment levels shot up.

It was then I knew that I was going to make it over those mountains.

And thank Chris for pushing for this route.

Even with all of our panting and water breaks, we maintained a rigorous pace and arrived at the Orisson refuge with plenty of time to shower, wash and hang our clothes, enjoy a hot chocolate on the deck overlooking the rolling pastoral vistas of wheat, Basque sheep, cows, and work horses and village of St. Jean, take a nap and socialize with other pilgrims before the 7:00 PM dinner.

And I didn’t forget my zigzagging the rest of the journey, even on the descents. It saved my decrepit knees from disintegrating and the pilgrimage from potentially ending in disaster.

Why zig zag?

Like a switchback trail that cuts off the slope of a mountain, making it easier to climb or ascend it, (even though it inevitably increases the mileage you walk), zigzagging across a moderate to steep path decreases the slope—and difficulty—of the trail. I even used the technique on narrow trails, zig, zag, zig, zag, zig, zag. Shorter steps. Pivot, walk, pivot, walk. And use your poles to maintain your balance and disperse even more of the load, away from your hips and knees.

Like using ski poles as you zigzag down a mountain.

I encourage you to give it try on your next hike with a tough grade. I’m here to testify that it will likely increase your hiking joy and success rate. And let me know if you notice a difference.

Until next week,

Buen Camino!

(And happy zigzagging!)

Blessings,

Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

Photo by Raphael Biscaldi on unsplash.com