BODY, MIND, and BALANCE
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The Body, Mind, & Balance Bulletin Summer 2006 Issue Contents -Cheers from Valerie The only thing that is constant is change. When I first heard that saying a decade ago, I was single, had a pony tail, rented an apartment, was pledging for my Ph.D., and working three different part time jobs. Fast forward to today where I am happily married, have a short hair cut, own a house, have a doctorate in psychology, and work three different jobs (some things never change, but I love it all)! One of my goals was to provide a free and educational forum where people could go to learn more about topics related to health, fitness, nutrition, and psychology. I was fortunate to meet Valerie Shinbaum as I was tackling the opportunity to do this by starting a radio show. I have since found out that Valerie and I share the same date of birth, same professional field, are left handed, love to bike, and work in that unique place known as Montgomery County Community College. Fortunately, both of us were open to this new and exciting opportunity of starting a radio show regardless that our combined experience in that area was zero! Here we are now in the middle of 2006 and we are changing the format of “Body, Mind, and Balance” once again. We want to reach more people! We want to reach people at their convenience! We want to allow anyone to access our information for free! So, as you navigate through the web page, you can access our past radio shows for free at any time and will soon be able to down load for free our new video interviews. Sprinkle that in with articles and other topics and you have a free, convenient, entertaining, and informative community wellness web page! Change is everywhere, both external and internal. We hope that you enjoy the changes that we have made and will continue to make with “Body, Mind, and Balance.” Cheers from Valerie How my life has changed in this past year 2005/2006. Starting in December 2004, I went into business for myself at last, after many years of working for others. While I was confident this was a right decision for me (it was always a goal of mine), I had no idea where it would go. So far, it’s a very interesting ride, and I’m enjoying the new twists and turns along this road. One of the best things that came along during 2005/2006 was an opportunity to be a radio talk show co-host. I’ll never forget that early weekday evening in Spring 2005 when Cory Bank called to say he was putting together a radio talk show to discuss topics related to mind and body and the balance of the two. It took about 5 seconds for me to say “Yes, how much does it cost?” I mean, really, wouldn’t anyone jump at such a chance? Thank goodness I did! The year on the radio airwaves was great. I met and worked with new people all the time, and found that just about everything came pretty easily to me. The challenges I encounter along the way with any project give me the opportunity to grow and this project certainly did that! What is it about new things that excites me? Read my article on change, also in this issue, and you’ll understand why this is a subject near and dear to my heart. I see change as a gift - a chance to learn new things, meet new people, discover new strengths within myself, struggle with new obstacles that test my limitations. I’m all for embracing change, especially when it’s for the better, and the radio show year 2005/2006 was just that! Now, as we head in this new and exciting direction with the
Body Mind and Balance website, I think what Cory and I started together will be
taken to the next level. I don’t believe in coincidences, and so it’s no
coincidence that Cory and I were sent into each others’ lives. We have plans
and directions for ourselves that are falling into place for both of us as we
continue to work together. The Body Mind and Balance website continues to
thrive and Cory and I are thriving along with it. It’s a thrill to have been a
part of this project from the beginning and I’m fascinated with the changes and
evolutions that are going on as we try new things, say goodbye to other things,
find our way to the next thing - it’s an exercise in maintaining ‘body mind and
balance.’ Can’t wait to see what happens next! Thanks for visiting and please
stay with us. Change - Seasons, Moods, Outlooks - LIFE! In my “A Year In Our Lives” article, also in this issue, I talked about how change excites me. It does! I enjoy change in my life, and feel a little stale when I’m doing the same thing all the time. I have changed colleges, residences, clothing styles, friendships, employment settings, romantic relationships, furniture, career directions. There is not much in my life that hasn’t undergone change. And here’s the reality - we are always encountering changes. In fact, the one thing that’s constant in our lives is just that - CHANGE!! Now we’re here at the change of seasons, it’s come around to summer again. I appreciate how the seasons change in this part of the country. Just when we’re sick of one season, along comes another one to give us fresh perspective. In summer, we have the longer days, more chance to get more vitamin D, wear lighter clothing, ride a bicycle on a sunny day. In autumn, the trees are glorious with their colors - red, gold, orange, brown. Winter comes with the snow and ice (yes, it’s often a part of the package), but there are warm fires to sit in front of, and hot cider to drink, and snowy slopes to ski on. And then comes spring, and the colors are with us again - the new leaves, the fuchsia and purple and white of the azalea bushes, the balmy feel of the soft air in a world that’s waking up again after its cold weather hibernation. When else does change occur, and in what other ways? Just about anywhere and about anything in our lives. There are some things we hope to count on - love, money, work, health. But as you know, these are things that can and do change. Our bodies change, our energy levels change, our lifestyles change. We don’t spend our whole lives in the same place doing the same thing in the same way. So why then, are people so afraid of change and why do they resist change with such force and strength? It’s because we really fear the unknown. We become complacent in our safe, comfortable nests and don’t like to be pushed out into the unknown world, where we have to make an effort to find new safety and comfort and the means to build a new nest. It’s hard to start over, and yet it’s a fact of life that to some degree, many of us do just that again and again throughout our lives. I think of changes in life as I think about the way seasons bring changes. Our lives have many seasons, and change is a part of each one. Rather than be afraid of those changes, why not adjust the attitude, lose the fear and embrace the changes? We can see change as opportunity instead of loss, risk instead of stagnation, within our grasp instead of beyond our reach. Change requires courage,
as the serenity prayer of the 12-step program states. Then again, doesn’t life
require courage too? How many times would we rather just stay in bed with the
covers over our heads, but we know we need to get up and out and face the
world? We make that choice toward courage every day we live. Sure, some
changes will come and they won’t be good. They will rock our sense of security,
and leave us trembling with anxiety. But then we have those changes that come
and with them comes more joy into our lives than we ever thought possible.
Whether change is good or bad, it is unavoidable and inevitable. For what it’s
worth, we can choose to see each change as another chance to learn about
ourselves, to add new coping strategies to our skill sets and overall to
celebrate our capacity for embracing change! |
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Created: 12/24/05 |
