When I started my wellness blogging in the fall of 2015, I posted about connecting with yourself as one piece of living a healthy lifestyle.  Wellness and health truly are multidimensional. You may eat primarily whole foods and be in strong physical shape, but  if you are not in touch with your spirit you are missing a piece of the wellness puzzle.  Focusing on taking care of myself physically has always been easier for me than making sure I am taking care of my spiritual needs.

The death of my mom in late February 2017 created a crisis in spirit for me and I needed to take time to heal.  I was able to keep some of my daily routines such as eating healthy and moving everyday, but other routines, I just needed to put on hold.  One of those routines was weekly wellness and health blogging.  I did not make any posts for three months and I did not begin posting regularly until October 1st.

These videos taken at the same location on a beautiful mountain pass clearly depict before and after Edie passed away.  If you ignore dealing with a spiritual crisis, you will not experience healthy healing.

The information in the article entitled 5 Ways to Strengthen Your Connection to Yourself, by Margarita Tartakovsky describes a process which includes recognizing your feelings so you can respond to your needs and take good care of yourself.  Focusing on feelings can prevent us from depression and from engaging in numbing behaviors.  This doesn’t eliminate negative feelings or behaviors, but it helps us to cope more healthfully.

They include:

• Let yourself become aware of your feelings
• Identify and describe those feelings
• Observe your thoughts and emotions
• Engage in activities that bring you joy
• Let go of judgment so you can respond to your needs

Many life events such as the passing of loved ones, moves, or a job loss can create a real crisis in spirit.