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Blog > Being Clean – Getting Dirty

Being Clean – Getting Dirty

Susanne Johnson
| August 12, 2015

What makes the banana curved and people straight forward? Yes! It’s the sunshine! Being in recovery open up new doors, time to open up yours and get up, get out and get moving. At Heroes in Recovery August is our month of ‘activity’ and stepping into recovery. We like to inspire each other to live a more active, healthy life. Let us see if things I do and learned might inspire you towards a change or how you could inspire others.

First of all, I don’t want to ask you to become an Olympic medalist when I say get active. Being active is all about the fun and physical benefits, not about hard work, frantic goals, hardcore competition, mud, slight weight loss, or preparing for an Ironman triathlon. It’s simply to use the positive healing of sunshine and movement to assist our recovery. Sunshine is a positivist. When things go dark in your life, turn the light on. Did you know that a lack of sunshine can cause SAD (seasonal affective disorder), a form of depression? The ancient folks of Egypt, Rome, Babylon, Syria and especially Greece have used the sun for healing. Many gave the sun the dignity of a god. The Romans had their Gladiators sunbathing to strengthen them, only Christianity put sunbathing to an end and called it a ‘sin’ at the time. In recent years we discover the benefits of ‘Heliotherapy’ again, as it is said to disinfect and heal wounds, kills bacteria, helps skin disorders, lowers cholesterol and blood pressure, cleans blood vessels, helps with arteriosclerosis, increase white blood cells to strengthen the immune system, increases growth and heights of babies and can cure depression.

Looking back to my old behavior I see myself sitting behind walls and closed doors in isolation, engaging in my self-destructive habits of addiction and alcoholism. My resting heart rate was around one hundred, I was pale, had unclear skin, and was permanently fighting a cold of some kind. Not only leaving the intake of poison behind, but also leaving darkness and isolation a thing of the past, I’m today healthy, have a resting heart rate of 57 and great cholesterol and blood pressure counts. Out of the darkness and into the light worked for me. Also outdoor is the place where social life takes action. I love today to be around nice people. I live in the countryside and there is a lot to explore. I’m not a city person at all. I don’t like the smell of a city anymore, and I prefer the noise of birds and frogs over cars. Nowadays I start my mornings with a meeting and a walk in the park. Everybody has the half hour in the morning to do this. If you think you don’t, you should try to change habits. I don’t watch TV. I go to bed at night at a decent time and get up early. I learned over time to adjust my life to natural daylight, it does wonders. My morning walk makes me feel very positive for the day. Positive people recover better, faster and easier from any disease, even cancer, that’s a given. A squirrel in the park might put a smile on my face and I try to keep it there. It fills me with gratitude and love to see nature at its finest at the start of my day. The sun shines even if it rains or if it’s cloudy. Its beneficial rays reach me at any day. Sunshine also makes us feel more beautiful, it gives us warmth and comfort.

I also love to be in my backyard and dig in the soil. Right now I’m harvesting my own tomatoes and more. It’s not only delicious, but also fun to grow your own things. My backyard is full of flowers all year long. I don’t like to have cut flowers in a vase inside the house; I prefer to see thousands anytime I walk outside. They come back every year and give me the colors of gratification for the work I put into it in spring and fall. I feel proud of my garden and enjoy getting dirty in it. I also mow myself. It’s not my favorite past time on a hot summer day, but seeing the result is always a great feeling of accomplishment.

Most everybody loves the beach and the ocean, but not everybody is blessed to live near one. If you live inland you don’t have to suffer a summer without swimming. There are two types of people in the inland: The ones for indoor pools or the ones for outdoor lakes. I’m one of the lake people. I love to take a boat out on Kentucky Lake in the summer and just jump in the water. It may not be the cleanest water on earth, but a shower will take care of it and I try not to drink it. I just love the feeling of nature by choosing the lake and the sunshine. I feel like a kid in a candy store when I hang on to a towable inflatable behind a boat and get splashed all over. Have you tried that lately? It’s fun for grownups, not only for young people. I also love to go sailing, feel the wind on my face and its power to move the boat.

Yesterday I was invited to a get-together of a family who has the most beautiful weekend hideouts in Kentucky; a huge area of fields, woods and ponds for hunting, fishing and resting. It was lovely to spend some hours there and enjoy friends, great food and nature. I was reminded that I haven’t been horseback riding through the woods lately and that this is a thing I need to do very soon again. Sitting on a horse and walking through nature is just filled with serenity and uplifting energy. You see lots of things, which kept secret for pedestrians and can only be discovered by horse. Wild animals for example, which run from men, stay around when you encounter them by horse at times. It’s just beautiful.

Turn on the light in your life and get up, get out, get moving. Avoid sunburn by all means, but let the sunshine into your heart and take a banana with you. Remember, the sunshine made it the way it is and life made me the way I am! I don’t need to be perfect today, a bit curved is just fine.

Please share with us how you use activity in your recovery from addiction, alcoholism or any mental health issue. It only takes a few minutes of your time, but it could make a big difference in somebody’s life. Please hit the share button and mention my name.

Bring on the light! We do recover!

Susanne Johnson

 

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