(the ultimate) Healthy Homemaker Series ~ the heart of the matter

November 9, 2013

This week at FIMBY I've done some nearly unprecedented for me. I published five days in a row, on a specific topic, and I finished a short blog series.

I won't be doing that very often, it's a huge amount of effort. And I'm about ready to crash (actually I'm mentally and physically excited for long hike in the mountains tomorrow to reset), but first, I need to wrap it all up.

Here are the posts in the series:

• Healthy Homemaking ~ In the Kitchen
• Healthy Homemaking ~ Mental & Personal Wellbeing
• Healthy Homemaking ~ Soap Making, Skin Care & "Green" Clean
• Healthy Homemaking ~ Herbs & Essential Oils

See The Low-Down on Bundles, also from this week, to explain ebook bundles and my participation in them.

After blogging about this topic for the last week I don't have much more to say except a couple thoughts.

Firstly, for me, health and homemaking are the perfect pair. Maybe I see things that way because we rely so little on the medical system and health care professionals (conventional, alternative or otherwise) for our family's health. (Though I'm glad it's there if we need it).

Instead we rely on the patterns and activities of healthy living, that we have established in our home:

• eating well
• exercise & movement
• rest
• relationships
• natural living (reduction of chemicals in the environment etc.)
• connection to nature
• mental wellness

I've been learning in recent years, sometimes the hard way, that health is not something we arrive at. Healthy Living - check. It's something we continually practice. It's a growth curve.

You climb up one area, maybe exercise, and after you've found something that works for you, you're feeling pretty good about that (maybe even smug). But that's just a short reprieve before your body directs you again, to grow into even better health.

I love that our bodies are designed this way.

I think we want to go back to Eden and though that's not possible, our bodies - every molecule and cell - is designed for beauty and high performance. And we have the opportunity, if we take it, to spend our lives learning to listen to our bodies so they can be the beautiful expression they were made to be.

That's what health is for me. It's loving all parts of my body and caring for myself from that place of love.

I'm nowhere near the level I want to be in this type of mindful practice.

I still eat things that I know hurt me. Why? Simply because they taste good? And I know I haven't tapped into even a portion of my body's physical stamina and endurance.

I think one of the biggest hurdles many of us face in choosing health is that we truly don't love and value the amazing works of art that we are.

Health is so much more than what you eat, the exercise routine you follow, the products you use on your skin and if you treat sickness with herbs or essential oils.

Health is really about loving your body - the flesh and bones, the synapses, and spirit - and wanting the best for this person you love, you. Wanting the full potential for one-of-a-kind you.

Health as a checklist I get. I'm good with checklists. Health as a lovingkindness to myself is something new for me. But I think that perspective, not "what can I check off my list today", is the true bedrock of health and wellbeing.

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A Bundle Tip ~ About Ebooks

There are two kinds of ebooks (as I see it). The self-published, blogger types ones included in this bundle. And then full length books - fiction and non-fiction.

An ebook is a publishing platform, but in some circles it is synonymous with "blogger-written how-to type" books.

Our family relies heavily on ebooks of all types. I read non-fiction memoirs, biographies, essays, natural history, self-help, and history books on my Kindle. I also read historical fiction, some science fiction, novels, etc. in digital format. Good English fiction is hard to secure in our French language library system and English non-fiction is nearly impossible.

Digital books - Kindle purchases, digital loans from American library systems, and ebook downloads like those in this bundle - meet a real need for me.

But not all ebooks are equal. For example, my digital copy of Super Immunity: The Essential Nutrition Guide for Boosting Your Body's Defenses to Live Longer, Stronger, and Disease Free is a more reliable source of sound science than "5 Things I do to Avoid the Flu-Shot" by Jill Blogger. Do you get what I'm saying?

And I still prefer to have hardcopy reference books that are easy to refer to time and time again. But I see that changing also in the future the more we downsize our belongings.

I like to use the ebooks that you'll find in a bundle like this, the kind of ebooks I've written myself, as anecdotal reference material. You get people's quirky biased opinions sometimes but you also get to learn from them. Everyone has something to offer.

I read books every day and I use my main "reading" time, either after lunch or before bed, for books that I can get lost in, stories mostly. I find this pattern of reading to be most refreshing and revitalizing to me.

I don't sit down, tea in hand, to read from cover to cover, the blogger-written how-to type ebooks (unless I've agreed to review the book for the author, which I don't do very often).

Instead I use these ebooks as quick and easy reference material, because usually the content is very accessible. The recipe, the strategy, the idea - is right there handy to try. And I can often get in contact with the author if I want.

image credit: Simply Designs

In this particular bundle, the download is already sorted by topic. This is particularly useful to me as I can see at a glance the general subject matter.

Healthy living and healthy homemaking are completely possible without this bundle but I know you will find some really good resources, products, and support in this offer to help you in your journey.

A special bonus for you if you buy the bundle through my website.

You probably are familiar enough with bundles to know that the sites you purchase through (ie: my blog or someone else's) get a cut of that sale. Which means I would be super pleased if you are considering purchasing this bundle that you do so through the links on my blog.

Any link from my site counts, not just the buy button below.

Click here to get the low-down on the complete bundle.

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