When imbal­ance occurs, we feel it quick­ly. The impact of our repet­i­tive tasks can take a toll. Resist con­fine­ment and allow soli­tary expansion…

Liv­ing away from truth is harm­ful for mind and body alike. A truth we are well served to keep in mind is that humans are col­lab­o­ra­tive crea­tures. And in order to work well with oth­ers, we first need to take care of our­selves. By giv­ing our­selves appro­pri­ate time to be alone, to access our thoughts and feel­ings, we are able to expand our self-aware­ness and become bet­ter pre­pared to engage with others.

Sim­ple actions to sup­port well­be­ing can help heal wounds and expe­ri­ences of dis­con­nec­tion. Iso­la­tion, lethar­gy, and neg­a­tiv­i­ty are well treat­ed by exer­cise, eat­ing well, and speak­ing with oth­ers. The cru­el irony is that the worse one feels, the more one retreats away from oth­ers and into the depths of depres­sion. Yet, this ten­den­cy can be more read­i­ly coun­tered with increased aware­ness of one’s thoughts and emo­tions, com­bined with a focus on shared pur­pose and healing.

There are myr­i­ad ways to feel cen­tered. Every one of us gets to choose what feels right. There’s visu­al­iza­tion, in which you imag­ine your­self like a tree, your trunk grow­ing from the ground, roots spread­ing deep below the sur­face of ground­wa­ter, and every oth­er nitro­gen-rich nutri­ent sus­tain­ing cre­ative growth. Play­ing sports or tak­ing on ath­let­ic chal­lenges is anoth­er way to become present in the moment and gen­er­ate increased aware­ness. Surf­ing requires patience, bal­ance, and one­ness with the wave. There’s no short­age of activ­i­ties that pro­mote alignment.

Right this moment, you might choose to take a break from read­ing and use that time to reflect silent­ly. Or med­i­tate. A deep inhale, accom­pa­nied by a mantra of love, kind­ness, and pos­i­tiv­i­ty, awak­ens the soul, fol­lowed by a slow exhale that releas­es all that you no longer need, what­ev­er no longer serves. The next breath of oxy­gen you draw in will fill your lungs, heart, brain…and cre­ate a pos­i­tive effect on the mind.

There’s much to be gained in acknowl­edg­ing grat­i­tude for this life. When we feel our­selves suf­fer­ing through the ham­ster wheel of repet­i­tive com­pu­ta­tion­al chores, it helps to pause. Go out­side, absorb some sun­light, breathe oxy­gen from trees, reach into the sky. Jump up and feel your body recon­nect with the ground when you land, the earth beneath your feet. Take a cou­ple deep breaths when things feel heavy. Take a moment for your­self, wher­ev­er that leads. At night, see if you can find the first star to appear in the sky. Or regard the glow of the moon. Sub­merge your­self in a body of water, a riv­er, a lake, the ocean. Or sim­ply take a sip of water. The ele­men­tal forces of nature can reju­ve­nate. They can help us under­stand the rela­tion our bod­ies have to what the ancient Greek’s referred to as Gaia, or Moth­er Earth. Rev­el in the endur­ing and evolv­ing rela­tion­ship between your­self and every­thing else in existence.