LIFE’S JOURNEY

“Health is a state of complete harmony of the body, mind and spirit. When one is free from physical disabilities and mental distractions, the gates of the soul open.” B.K.S. Iyengar

Working on complete harmony is a continuous journey.

Body: In the past I always tried to exercise every day incorporating cardio 🏃‍♀️, strength training 🏋️‍♀️, and yoga🧘‍♀️. This fall I tore a calf muscle and worse yet I had issues with what seemed like every muscle in my other leg because I had been overcompensating with it. (Getting old is no fun.) Off to Physio every week this winter and making great progress but still not 100%. I am a good student. I follow her instructions and exercises to a tee but my regular exercise regime has been less intense and at times nonexistent. Accepting that reality was difficult but necessary. My legs let me know when I do too much. Finally these past few weeks I’ve been able to increase my time and speed on the treadmill. I’m trying not to push it as I don’t want to regress. Heathy eating also comes in to play and thus today’s recipe.

Mind: Reading is something I love. It’s great that I can order books📚 online from the PEI library and then check them out at the local library. I’m a ‘book in my hands’ kind of person📖. I love to hold a physical book and turn the pages. There’s a certain joy I feel. The weight of the book, the texture, and the flipping of the pages give me a sense of satisfaction I don’t receive from online reading. I also love a physical newspaper 🗞, mostly because I love doing one of their crossword puzzles every morning. I used to buy the Saturday paper and limit myself to one puzzle every morning but this winter I get the paper online. I could buy crossword books but that just doesn’t feel the same. Once in a while I do get a ‘real’ paper. In addition I’ve joined the ranks of the many and do Wordle every morning. Besides loving doing these sorts of puzzles I figure they’re great mental exercises.

Spirit: Hmmmm. This is a more difficult one. Doing small improvements 🧰 around the house lifts my spirit. Even something as mundane as touching up spots on the walls and the trim. That may seem bizarre but I smile every time I look at them. I’ll often walk out of a room and then back in just to enjoy the results. Richard plays lots of music 💽 and that’s good for the soul. I used to play the piano🎹 and sing 🎶but I’ve fallen off and need to return to it. This blog is good for both my spirit and my mind. It gives me a weekly focus. I especially enjoy the research aspect: searching multiple cookbooks for suitable recipes and making them, discovering applicable quotes and music selections, and then finally putting it all together. Like a lot of people a hair cut 💇🏼improves my spirit. Maybe part of that is the head massage💆. On Sundays I often do some baking while listening to Elaine Paige on Sunday on BBC Radio 2. It features music and news from stage and screen productions🎭. Love this show and love to sing along with the songs. 🥰

As I briefly mentioned earlier healthy eating is important. Am I the greatest at this? Nope. I have a sweet tooth. But I try. On the healthy eating side 🍽 vegetarian meals are included at least twice a week. Sometimes it’s simply a salad 🥗 with maybe a hard boiled egg 🥚and other times it’s from a recipe. Today’s recipe, Tomato Chickpea Stew, is from the cookbook Chef Michael Smith’s Kitchen.

I googled songs about chickpeas never expecting to find one but low and behold I found this one. Although it’s actually about hummus, hummus is made from chickpeas. A little bit of fun to lift your spirit.

The Hummus Song (Give Chickpeas a Chance) – Techiya

I’d be remiss if I didn’t include this.

Give Peace a Chance – John Lennon

To Carolyn, who embodied today’s quote, RIP. You are loved and you are missed. Onward with your new journey sweetie. ❤️

Stay safe and healthy.

As always, thanks for your interest and thank you for reading.

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