Assembly Complete: "It Looks Like a Rope!"

Every day I wake up to three kids holding down the sofas watching a Netflix selection as the sun breaks the horizon.  Someone makes breakfast, someone else feeds the dogs, another does the dishes and one of us begins the directives.  Although it is typically a mildly choreographed interpretive dance, I usually get roped into more than I bargained for.  Do I mind?  Not really...  because I have learned to say, "No."

Saying "No." is a tool used too little, but not here.  Boundaries are plentiful and not too often blurred.  The word 'Rules' is a positive one, instead of imposed with a negative tone.  Schedules have become tangible guidelines for the day instead of invisible, unwritten wishes.  When no boundaries exist and no schedules are written, 'Yes' feels like the only option, and where there is a resistant 'yes' there is a rope.

Ropes, in this metaphor, are the options.  Baked or fried, date night or leftovers, water or soda, walking or driving, staying or going, beach or pool, TV or board games;  options are everywhere.  The great news, dear reader, is that when faced with options you have the power to choose.  You decide what goes in the cart, on the schedule, in your coffee, on your body, and what you want.  You.  Without the strength to say 'No', without boundaries and rules, without a plan, you leave yourself open to get roped into anything.

How is this related to food, health, wellness and vitamins?  You decide.  Can you find nourishing foods if you don't know where the snakes lie?  Can you overcome exercise pitfalls if you don't know where your walls are?  Can you declare your intentions if you don't know what you stand for?  Is it possible to eat real food if you get roped into Bisquick and cereal?  Can you find your purpose if you don't know what you are a fan of?

Assembling your elephant might take more than three weeks; in fact, it might take the rest of your life.  During assembly, be sure to eat real food, to drink plenty of water and to give your vitamins their vitamins.   And, as always, remember to wash your hands; construction can be an awfully dirty thing.  

Anna~

Thank you for following me through this series!

Assembling Your Elephant: "It Looks Like a Fan!"

Julie Andrews is ringing in my ears right now. "Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens. Brown paper packages tied up with string." Today I ask, 'What are a few of your favorite things?' Identifying what you are a Fan of is the next piece of the Elephant.

Be a fan of your food: Thirteen essential vitamins exist in nature and are required by the human body; they are are essential because they cannot be made within the body and are needed for immune function, growth, hormone production, digestion, cellular respiration and many other secret activities that take place under the skin. Getting those vitamins out of nature and into your body is key. Salads, for sure, are easy go-to assemblies of vitamins and minerals, but if you don't like the garden variety salad, it's probably not on your menu. Take a moment and think about vitamin packed foods you not only like, but will actually eat. Simplify your grocery list by purchasing fan favorites and then... eat them. (An incomplete list of Nutrient Dense foods can be found here.)

Be a fan of your movement: Interest in exercise in individual. While I like to run, my son likes to rollerblade. While Cadence likes to pedal her way around the world, Kendra likes to chase a soccer ball. While my husband is swimming and biking and running to the base and beyond, I am gardening, cleaning and walking beside the dog(s). We all know we need to move around in order to create and expend energy; it's time to stop waiting for Monday and decide what type of exercise you are a fan of. And then... go do it! Don't worry about all of the days you didn't do it, just seize the moment and work it out!

Be a fan of your work: My job is not a singular one. I am a mother. Wife. Health Coach. Teacher Assistant. Student. Friend. Family Traveler. Wine enthusiast. Just like you, I have many things I work at on a daily basis; things I have chosen and that I love to nurture (me, kids, gardens, etc.). There are also things I am not a fan of. Instead of dwelling on things I dislike (dirty toilets, bills, the post office), I have identified what I love and have willingly focused the bulk of my energy on those things. Now is the time for you, dear reader, to decide if you are a fan of your work! If you are not, ask, "What am I a fan of?" and then... be it!

Be a Fan of Your Elephant:  Dear reader, you have followed me along this path of Assembling Your Elephant with dedication and interest, and I thank you.  So far I've rambled on about walls, snakes, trees, spears and fans, and hope you have taken something away that has helped you assemble your elephant.  My final post in this series will be Wednesday.  Before then, please send me a picture (literary articulate description or photo) of your elephant.  I would love to include reader photos and comments, with your permission of course, in the final post.

While you craft or photoshop, eat real food, drink plenty of water, give your vitamins their vitamins and, as always, remember to wash your hands.  

Anna~

Comment or send your thoughts and photos to anna@infiveparagraphsorless.com.  Thanks!

Assembling Your Elephant: "It Looks Like a Spear!"

Half of your elephant is already assembled.  Walls have been recognized and established;  excuses, obstacles and roadblocks exposed.  You have decided what your tree looks like; what you stand for with respect to your individual purpose.  You have also identified your snakes; devious ingredients, poisonous menus, self doubt and the like, and life itself.  The next piece of the elephant the blind man revealed is the spear.  It's time to lance the boil, dear reader; it's time.

Too often we hide behind the 'it's the way we've always done it' mentality.  I do it.  I am sure you do it as well.  "I have always always had that."  "I have always done that."  "I am not a morning person."  "I don't do windows."  "This is the way I've always done it."  The parameters we assign to ourselves are safety nets utilized when fear or nervousness is felt.  The unknown is certainly a scary place!  But returning to the same old parameters every time you are faced with a new situation, a dangerous invitation or an elephant in the room requires nothing of you.  No growth.  No insight.  No trust.  No faith.  No intuition.  No light.  Nothing.

If that is true, then the results will never be different either.  "I wish that work wasn't so stressful."  "I wish I had more time with my family."  "I wish money wasn't so tight."  "I would give anything for a vacation."  "I don't know why I can't get things done."  "Why is this happening to me?"  To be quite honest, dear reader, the answer to it all is usually, "Because this is the way you've always done it."  You can't expect change if you change nothing.

Growth, in its simplest definition means to get bigger.  I am not suggesting you need to expand your physical presence, but it might be delicious to expand your life's presence.  How?  Lance the boil!  Grab ahold of your spear and slice through your safely placed parameters.  Instead of relying on the same old actions, delivering the same old results, give yourself permission to move beyond your boundaries.  Redefine what it is you want to become and grow into it!

Now, just as the elephant is assembled from six different perspectives, so are you the sum of your parts; a holistic being.  Whatever it is you have decided to grow into, eat real food, give yourself plenty of water, nourish your parts with vitamins and, because lancing boils can be a bloody mess, remember to wash your hands.  If this isn't the way you've always done it you are on the right track!

Happy Lancing!

Anna~

Fine tuning your life takes consistent practice.  If you are out of practice and want to break free from years of bad habits and stagnant behavior, I can coach you thru it.  Visit Anna Burrill, Your Health Coach to schedule a free consultation with me today.  

Assembling your Elephant: "It Looks Like a Snake!"

Snakes: a long limbless reptile that has no eyelids, a short tail, and jaws that are capable of considerable extension. Some snakes have a venomous bite. - Thank you Dictionary.  Snakes can be brightly colored and obvious or hidden within their surroundings.  Snakes can be beautiful and intriguing or can be defensive and dangerous.  Snakes can be larger than life or barely noticeable.  No matter their shape, size, coloration or demeanor, all snakes are sneaky.

There are several ways we can apply this to your Elephant.  Let's begin with diet.  Within your diet are sneaky ingredients that can sabotage even the most ambitious efforts.  Aspartame and the like.  High fructose corn syrup. Artificial colors and flavors. Sugar.  Nitrates.  Sulfites. Tartrazine. Sodium benzoate.  Even ingredients like E1520 and E620 are snuck in to assist with color, flavor or shelf life.  These all but invisible ingredients (dozens more exist) are found within packaged, processed foods products conveniently designed and marketed as natural or healthy.  What is E1520 anyway? 

There are larger, more obvious food snakes as well. Soda.  Ice cream. Fast-Food.  Luncheon meat.  Breakfast cereal.  Powdered cheese sauce.  Minute rice.  Canned fruit.  Bagels.  Microwaveable vegetable pouches.  Bread. Turkey Bacon (I know I probably lost a few readers on that one).  Many of these foods are relatively fine all by themselves if eaten once a month or when in a bind, but if your menu is breakfast cereal and canned fruit for breakfast, a cold cut sandwich with a soda for lunch, and minute rice with steamed, microwaved veggies for dinner and ice cream for dessert, you may be sabotaging your health without even knowing it.  

Snakes mightn't be food at all but sneaky behaviors that derail even the most determined train.  Self doubt.  Complacency.  Comparison to others.  Excuses.  Denial.  Fear.  These mind sets sneak in and with considerable extension smother determination, dreams, goals, interest, passion, purpose, growth, life and possibility.  Sometimes it happens so invisibly over time that it isn't recognized until  a bottom is found.  The good news is that at any moment you have the ability and courage within you to rid yourself of the snake.  It may take more than one foul swoop, but it is possible.  

Start with real food.  Foods without labels make great snake repellents.  Give your vitamins their vitamins by eating many colors and textures and flavors.  Wash it all in with water.  And, because snakes have a musky odor, remember to wash your hands. 

How is your Elephant coming along?

Share your story, ask your questions, or report your progress below.  I would love to have a conversation with you!

Anna~

Assembling Your Elephant: "It Looks Like A Tree!"

Just to the left of the fence around the yard is a grand tree.  In the spring it buds full in pink flowers followed by pink foliage and then, delicately, everything turns green.  The neighborhood is filled with them actually.   In the summer they are noticed for their shade, in the fall they are a nuisance for their leaves, in the winter they are feared when covered with ice amidst the wind, but in the spring they are a great source of pleasure.  Large living chameleons able to provide shade, shelter, protection, stability, enjoyment, and satisfaction gracefully, beautifully, rhythmically.    

I maybe should have started with this one.  Finding health, or finding ways to be more healthy, or finding reasons why you aren't as healthy as you'd like, starts with defining your tree.  You embody all of the properties found in the trees about my yard.  I am not sure why I thought to start with a Wall that may be in your way before I asked you to appreciate your Tree, except for the fact that
John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887) said it must be so.  If that were my reason, however, this post would be about a Spear. I digress~

You, to the point, are a tree.  Assembling your elephant, I remind you, is to look at your life as a sum of its parts.  A whole.  You are the center of that whole.  Everything that happens to you or about you matters when it comes to your health.  It matters little how you look in comparison to others; less how others look at you; and, least, your size.  A tree does not face a storm comparing itself to other trees, nor does it grow or shrink or hide away from controversy; it simply stands with flexibility and patience and acceptance of the storm.  

I remember Shel Silverstein's book vividly when I think of trees; giving every last bit of themselves to make others happy.  Imagine if we were so wise.  To give what we wanted instead of demanding our desires.  To apply ourselves when solving problems instead of waiting on the riverbank for someone else to fetch a floatation device.  To reach up for more light and clean air and new rain instead of waiting for service and air conditioning and a turn in the shower.  To give in order to be happy.  Period.

You are a large, living chameleon able to provide shade, shelter, protection, stability, enjoyment, and satisfaction gracefully, beautifully, rhythmically.   You are already in possession of beauty, and grace and strength.  You already possess gifts ready to be given and knowledge ready to be shared.  The only things that can make you more complete and able are real food, plenty of water, and nature's vitamins.  But, just remember, before you approach the world with a broad reach, remember to wash your hands.

Anna~