FREEDOM - 2025 !
"Next week’s post I’ll share more about Work & Finance"
For May I am writing about my word for 2025 which has three main parts;
Family & Friends
Health
Work & Finance
This week I’m writing about Health.
I guess I needed to ask myself, what do I mean by health and can I quantify and/or qualify it ?
Let’s start with physical health - that’s a bit easier.
Well, I’ve always been very active, playing lots of sport from an early age. My love was playing football and all ball games. I was never that into athletics but I was the Somerset High Jump Champion for the under 11 age group !
Before I moved to France 9 years ago, I was playing five-a-side football and squash at least once a week, plus running. So, I was pretty fit. But moving to France stopped everything over night - too much stuff to do to settle into a new life and no social network to play any sports with ! I could run but running was always about being fit to play sports.
Almost four years ago, I found an online fitness guy - and I have been doing weekly fitness sessions with him since - some breaks due to injury and 2024 was a right off !
But, since February this year, I’m back on it and I add in other sessions with him that are recored plus I have a new bike that I peddle like crazy around these lanes here in Somerset. And I’ve started yoga - but due to some injuries, I’ve hard to stop it until my body is ok to get into the shapes etc. But I know a yoga teacher who will help get me back into it !
I set myself the challenge of being ‘fitter’ at the end of each year than the beginning - trying to reverse the aging process ! I set three core objectives that contributed to being ‘fitter’ - more flexible, stronger and a better cardio vascular fitness.
This year is an easy year - given I didn’t do much in 2024, I started the year a lot less ‘fit’ than I was at the end of 2023. And so far, progress is being made - we’re only in May of course, so a lot of the year left. Injuries aside, I hope to blast through this objective and set up 2026 to be a challenge. I’ve started to add in ‘bands’ to help build more muscle and will add in weights !
But, why this objective? You may ask. Well, I wish to live a long life - but not one where I’m unable to do much due to poor health. I want to be ‘fit’ and active for myself because it feels good, it looks good too (what vanity!) and I have a young family that includes a grandson who I want to be around for as long as possible but also be able to ‘play’ with him - football and running on the beach etc etc etc.
I have a responsibility to myself first but then to my family and friends also - and if love comes my way again, I would want my partner to also be fit & healthy and take care of her body too - so that’s another reason to live this way.
But, physical health is only a part of being healthy. What about my ‘mind’ ?
This in some ways is more difficult to quantify - but it can be qualified, as in I’m not depressed but feel happy and managing life for most of the time.
This part of my ‘health’ has become such an important part of my life. Sitting in silence, meditating, praying, journaling, breathing and walking, have all become daily rituals and I recognise the benefits of doing these things - so, why would I not wish to continue ?
These practices plus having regular sessions with my psychologist became really important, together with friends who also supported me, they really helped me come through last year.
Even now as I feel so much better, I have very few days now where the ‘anxious’ feeling that gnawed at my insides for months 24/7 is present - thank God. These practices now help me stay grounded and help me become the most authentic version of me - I recognise, like physical health, this is a life time commitment and should be part of me - it’s what I do - every day where possible.
So physically and mentally, I’m in a good place, and so so much better than at the end of 2024. And I’ve made a commitment to myself to keep doing both - and these commitments are not hardships - feeling the overall benefits of both and living here on planet Earth is truly amazing and I want to live my life to the fullest. I want to see what’s possible and not be encumbered with poor physical and/or mental heath.
There’s definitely a freedom in being healthy - long may it continue.
Kevan
PS I didn’t include what and how I eat here - but that clearly is important too - I make all of my own food, never buy processed shit, wouldn’t step inside a fast food ‘restaurant’, don’t smoke, don’t drink alcohol and only occasionally have a croissant with my morning coffee !