Intentional Sustainability

Part of living a sustainable life is finding a way to sustain yourself. Being active and intentional about your health and well being is tied into overall awareness and not just environmental wellness. I believe taking care of ourselves is taking care of the world in which we live. By taking preventative measures, we are decreasing our sick days at work, decreasing our trips to the doctor, decreasing our intake of medicines...many of which I believe cause more trouble than harm, and we are increasing our time to use in other ways.

My current goal is to drink 3 glasses of water a day. This is a constant goal for myself. I do not drink a lot of water. When I do, I feel better, my skin is better, my hair is better and my overall energy levels are better. Since I have no impulse to drink water, I have to play tricks on myself. I either have to drink a glass of water before I let myself drink juice. Or I put crystal light packets in the water. Those are the only two ways I can get myself to drink water. For awhile, I was doing well. But I stopped being intentional and became too busy to notice my neglect.

I suppose that's another goal of mine. To be intentional. It takes effort and time, but once it becomes part of your subconscious you won't even notice you are doing it. For example, I ordered Thai food for pick up on my way home from work. (Spicy Basil with Tofu. No need for extra basil since I grow my own at home!) They always package it inside a paper bag and then a plastic bag. As I went in to pick up the food I was talking on the phone with my baby sister and didn't even realize that I was taking the paper bag out of the plastic bag and handing it back. I suppose its because I'd spent all day at various vendors for work and stores for personal reasons and politely declining every plastic bag.

There are so many other areas of my life that I know I have to be intentional about so that I will start to become a creature of habit. So...drink water every day. Take a multi-vitamin. Each a piece of fruit.

That's what I'm working on right now. If I do that, I will have more energy, will be more productive and have a clear mind and will save time and energy for things that matter. I have an orange sitting in front of me. I should get to it. As much as I love vegetables, I'm not as inclined to eat fruit.

Being intentional about your health....that's a very sustainable approach towards a better you and a better world.