April 7th is World Health Day. I wonder what this means for us as individuals and within the group spaces we are part of. UK culture is often positioned around the ‘I’ perspective but let’s not forget the collective experience also.
So, what does World health Day mean for us in terms of our physical, mental, sexual, relational and spiritual health? What areas are being taken care of? What areas could do with a bit more care and attention? What takes priority and would it be more helpful to continue in this way or make some changes?
I’ve recently been on a break and reconnected with the joy of walking after a protracted period of not being able to. It was lovely. My body needed the movement, the momentum. My mind stopped mulling over various situations, and I was able to re-connect with simply being and take in the view.
Self-compassion and helpful choices
Coming back from my break I am mindful of not being able to achieve all the things on my list in one go so I am going gently, picking up what I’m able to do. Much of this comes back to healthy boundaries; the ability to recognise what we have capacity for and being able to say ‘no’ or ‘not yet’ when we need to.
This might be in the form of taking longer than usual to respond to a friend. Hopefully, if the relationship is strong enough and with clear communications, the friendship will still be there as you are able to re-engage.
It might mean taking on more or less work depending on your own situations. It might mean asking for help.
Helpful decision-making often stems from having a good enough dialogue with our inners selves so we can better attune to our multi-faceted needs. So maybe we can start with simply asking ourselves and each other ‘how are you?’ and really listen to the answers. Not have to distil it into a binary good/bad but simply hear the myriad of feelings. We can then hope to respond with compassion and see where that takes us.
If you’d like to speak with anyone in the team, do get in touch.