Life Is All About Balance #AtoZChallenge

I almost skipped writing today’s post, because of a long to-do list, added to which I secretly wanted to sulk a teeny little bit. Then I decided, why not free-write and ramble away? Writing is always therapeutic, and it would also keep me on track with the good ol’ AtoZ.

Here’s why I wanted to sulk: I finally had my routine health tests done the day before yesterday and was nervous about the results, which came in yesterday. I have good cause to be nervous because I was pretty sure the reports would not make my doc smile.

Wait! Before you jump at conclusions, I admit that I deserve what I got. If the results aren’t great, it is mainly because I haven’t been doing everything I ought to have been doing.

Sure, I’ve been watching my diet. But then, without exercise and enough sleep, medications and diet alone cannot manage to keep my reports looking good. I am guilty of sleeping really late and being up early, thanks to the recent stress of data loss—and this has done nobody any good. My blood sugar levels have been having a field day at the swings. And I know that true balance is when diet, exercise, and enough sleep come together. Sigh!

The sooner I get back to that balance, the better. I need to seriously reschedule my days. I must stop catching up on work during weekends. I must bring back that one compulsory hour of walking and meditation, as I used to.  I really must become a 9 to 5-er, and occasionally play hooky to live out my fantasy of binge reading all day.

I guiltily admit that I did enrol in a gym last year and it was fun for as long as I had a buddy. But when said buddy went back to college, I found it easy to skip days. Finally, I decided to close my membership when it expired and pledged to walk on my terrace as I used to, before the gym days. That so did not happen.  I often found amazing excuses to do it tomorrow.  I do walk most days, but I become miserable on days I don’t and actually could have.  Errgh.

Now, thanks to these reports that serve as a wakeup call, I find  myself pledging to return to my earlier exercise routine and strike that balance pronto! Luckily I have not gained weight, or I’d be howling like nobody’s business!

When I was first diagnosed with Type2 Diabetes (making faces at it!) I made radical changes and stuck to them. I went off rice and wheat, and planned my diet around sprouts, salads, veggies, fruits, and nuts. Not only did I bring my blood sugar right back to the target levels, but also had some welcome, if unexpected weight loss.

So, I decided to take stock of my life. Some solid self-talk was in order.

I know that exercise is critical to health for type 2 diabetics, or anyone for that matter. Yoga-inspired stretches and weightless workouts are great for us multitaskers. You can exercise for energy, right at your desk and get (and stay) fit without going to the gym or hiking at a nearby park. I do all that, just not regularly the past three months. Now, I’ll be regular.

There’s walking of course.

On days it is too warm to get outside, I have found exercising indoors is practical and efficient, particularly for stretching and other warm up stuff. But, to be fair, I love Mother Nature. When She provides fab weather, I prefer to spend as much time outside as possible. There is the added advantage of getting my vitamin D quota, which our bodies naturally produce in sunlight.

I will work in time to relax, and be less stressed about work, what with summer vacation around the corner. I see lots of indoor games in my immediate future with the kids around me. And they are nothing like the ones I am used to.

During my childhood, indoor games were mostly board games like chess, carrom, bagatelle, monopoly, and of course, playing cards and the ever-present jigsaw puzzle and crossword puzzles. Lots of reading too. Oh, there was indoor badminton and table tennis, along with volleyball in the basement.

But today, the gaming device landscape has revolutionized indoor entertainment, ranging from specially designed, kid-friendly tablets to common mobile phones. Practically every kid I know has some sort of device she manages quite dexterously. Sometimes I wonder: are these ubiquitous devices ruining social interaction (along with our retinas)? Perhaps. But it doesn’t have to be that way, thanks to parental control.

I had never been a fan of gaming, until my little friends introduced me to it, and literally forced me to play with them. Of course, gaming, like just about everything else, is perfectly healthy in moderation. One of the boys I know loves sports games which lets him play on his favorite teams. If I had a choice, I’d go for the puzzle games, which are intellectually stimulating and can provide meaningful mental benefits.

Just this afternoon, my neighbor’s pre-teen came rushing over to introduce me to Poki her latest craze and I settled down to an hour of excited chatter. This is a site for gamers to gather and enjoy countless adventures in every category.

Apparently .io is the newest trend in the online gaming world and Brutal.io is one of the latest games, giving players the chance to compete in a neon world. Who knew?

She explained that Brutal.io revolves around harnessing energy and using physics to score points and grow. Yes, when she said “physics” she looked at me, as if hoping that would entice me.  Okay, so there are games for both children and adults, providing different challenges to each age group. I did drive my young friend crazy as she tried to explain it to me—I guess I am just too lazy to focus on these things and am quite happy to allow my “opponent” to win. I mean, I just don’t have the enthusiasm of a twelve-year-old with this.

Even though most of my nieces and nephews enjoy video games to pass the time when it is too cold to go outside, or if it’s raining, they’ve never succeeded in roping me in. Thanks to the internet today, there’s a nearly endless supply with more games coming out every day and Brutal.io is just one of many.

After she left, I laced up my shoes to go walking—may as well turn over a new leaf right away, eh? As I ran up the stairs to the terrace wearing my new bright pink lace-edged capris, anticipating a gorgeous sunset, and heard the sound of parrots, I smiled and thought—it is always about balance.

Yep, life is all about balance. And all is well in vidzworld!

Your takeaway from this post?

“Take care of your body. It is the only place you have to live”

Cute pic of the bear striking a balanced pose is from Shutterstock.