Take Your Heart to Heart

Prologue: At this point I've declared Pick One Thing to be my new campaign. I'm approaching it as an overall personal wellness project, which I hope to share with others over the course of a year. I've moved the related posts from my Be Well Weekly blog to here, giving them a focused place of their own. My related tweets as TheAbWhisper on Twitter have also been set up with their own identity now, www.twitter.com/pick1thing.

I've Picked this One Thing thing for a couple of excellent reasons. 1. It works. And that's what I say: we should do whatever works. 2. It has infinite possibilities. And that's what I believe in: infinite possibilities.

I started with just thinking about picking one thing, then I tried it, then I noticed good things came after, then I wrote about it, here: Pick One Thing

After that, I picked something more specifically general. Changing Attitude. It was something I could address for more than a day. Something big that really mattered. Then I wrote about it.

Then I had a setback of sorts. Actually, a valuable lesson. (cuz that's what setbacks are usually designed to deliver...) I overshot my attitude and smacked someone upside the head with my cheerleadery-chin-up-life-is-good-opinionatedness. It was an accident, but it bothered my friend. I needed to remember I'm not in charge of convincing anyone to change their attitude to the way I think it should be. For anything to evolve, especially a life perspective, it can take some time.

So I picked Reclaiming Your Time as the next Pick One Thing thing. Many people I know, especially women, need to pick this theme for themselves more often. We have time anxiety, and are impatient. I came up with some pretty good tips for myself, and shared them here.

At the same time I was interested in producing shorter, more-to-the-point reminders and ideas. Enter Twitter. pick1thing is a perfect way to concentrate (and center!) my thoughts with fewer words. If you don't feeling like reading the long blog version one week, you can just check the cute little sister version on the left, under Quickies. Please follow me--click on the link there that says so!

Finally, I arrived at today. I began writing this brief history of Pick One Thing in order to explain how I'm really following my heart on this one. I feel it. It's got a nice rhythm. It can offer a bit of order to the whole of something, or serve as a steady background base drum to keep me moving forward. It can be open or focused. Physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, all the above. I love it.

So, Pick One Thing brings us to Your Heart (and mine).

How important it is to consider, connect with, take care of, and honor your heart! I mean,
A) Your heart equals life
B) Your heart equals love
C) Your heart equals compassion...feelings...an intuitive guide to your most heartfelt notions

When you're heart gains health, your whole body gains health! It's right in the center of all the action. Grand Central, in and out, all that oxygen, that blood, those arteries and valves...

It pumps you up! It tells you when you're moving too fast, and when you're skippin' down the cobble stones feelin' groovy. When you're worried, afraid, anxious. When you're fluttery, blushing, enchanted. When you're lonely. When you're sure of yourself. When you have eaten too much of a bad thing.

Don't just listen to your heart. Learn your heart. Sure, it's a big thing to pick. But we all have only one of 'em, so really, few things are more worth picking than your heart. I was going to give you more details, about chambers and cholesterol and life spans and stress... but my heart tells me you probably already know a good amount and I don't want to repeat the obvious.

So instead, I'm going to give you some general project guidelines for the week. One day, look up information on the American Heart Association's website. It's a plethora of facts and fyis.

Another day, when you go to the grocery store, buy at least 5 items that are known to good for your heart health. Google "top five foods for your heart" and you'll get results to lead you. Then pull out or search for recipes that feature them, and cook yourself something yummy.

If you smoke, then quit for a day. One day challenge of sheer will. If you get through that day, plan another day that you can get through the same way. If you can get through two of those, you are ready to plan for a life without cigarettes. SO PLAN IT. If you do nothing else for wellness this year, quitting smoking will still be the single best decision you could ever make for your heart (AND all the other parts of you). Your doctor can even help with meds to ease your cravings.

Finally, be sure to open your heart this week. It's never difficult to find some one who needs your care and concern, or a warm smile, or a nod. And remember, YOU need your care and concern, so open your heart to yourself, too. Every time I make a conscious decision to show my love to someone, genuinely, I am always rewarded tenfold. The same will be true for you.

Put your hand there, right now, and make a pledge to it. Say "I heart my heart."

Okay you don't really have to say that, but you should think it. Wait, no--make that, you should feel it. Deep down inside. At the very center of your human condition. How beautiful is that?!

I HEART YOUR HEART. And mine. XOXO