A baseline. Something to come back to when the world gets too noisy.
I want to write this down while it’s still simple, before I overthink it into something complicated. If there is one thing I am good at, it’s overcomplicating things. This is the version of “well” I keep returning to — not a plan, not a program, just a handful of true things I’ve learned to trust.
Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.
Michael Pollan said that, seven words, and honestly they are words to live by. So much of what ails us — the fatigue, the fog, the aches and pains — slows and changes when we simply eat more plants and better protein. Real food. Food your great-grandmother would recognise. It’s not actually that complicated, even though we’ve made it feel that way.
And here’s the suprising part: some of the most powerful plants aren’t in a shop, cart or grocery store at all. They’re growing wild at the edge of the garden, pushing up through the cracks in the driveway, the ones we’ve been taught to pull and toss. Dandelion. Plantain. Nettle. Weeds, we call them — as if the earth made a mistake putting them there. But they’ve been quietly offering themselves this whole time, right on our doorstep, asking nothing in return but a little attention.
Move your body
Again, it’s so simple. So simple that I don’t actually have to write a paragraph for this but I will anyway because humans are silly and we need reminding.
Go for a run. If you can’t run, choose pilates, or go swimming or do yoga. We have to do exercise daily as though it were prescription, and remind ourselves that there will be health consequences if we don’t. Muscle strength, balance, cardiovascular fitness and mobility give us the ability to climb stairs, carry groceries, play with our children, work, travel and remain independent as we age.
The goal, therefore, isn’t necessarily to become an elite athlete or spend hours in the gym. It is to give the body regular opportunities to move, challenge itself and adapt. Walking, strength training, cycling, swimming, gardening, playing sport or simply breaking up long periods of sitting all contribute to healthier, more resilient body.
Choose quality. Every time.
Not more. Better. I’d rather have one thing that was made with care than five things made to be forgotten. I want the items in my home and on my body to have a story — a real person’s hands behind them, a real reason they exist. That’s not about money. It’s about intention. It’s a quiet rebellion against a world that wants us to consume without asking questions.
And breathe.
This is the one I forget most and need most. The breath and pray, with intention, assuring your nervous system it’s safe to stand down and that Jesus has got you. That’s it. Not a retreat, not a routine — just a pause long enough to remember you’re a body, fearfully and wonderfully made, not just a to-do list.
None of this is a rulebook. It’s just the shape of what I keep coming back to — food that’s real, plants that are wild and close, movement, things that carry a story, and breath that brings me back down to earth. When the noise gets too loud, this is the baseline I stand on. This, and Jesus.
Leave a comment