The Road Goes Ever On and On...and Oh, What a Journey It Has Been.

Hello my little spider monkeys!! (Yes, I gave the flying monkeys a week’s vacation. They’ve earned a break with lots of coffee and Mountain Dew.) Welcome to the final week in the adventures of psychological and spiritual healing! It is hard to believe that it is week 10 and what a journey it has been. We’ve learned about ourselves and how the well-being of a person is connected to each aspect of health. It has at times been easy and other times it has been a challenge, but that’s what learning is all about, and we, my darlings, are never too old to learn.

This week, we were asked to answer a few questions about our experiences and what ratings we gave ourselves at the beginning of the course compared to now. So, my cats and kittens, let’s see what we’ve found out.

1. Review your unit 3 personal assessment of your psychological, physical, and spiritual well-being. Reflect on these areas. How did you score yourself on a scale from 1 to 10 in unit 3? How do you score yourself now? Has the score changed? Why or why not?

I have looked over my scores for my well-being and compared them from Unit 3 and Unit 9. I’ve pretty much stayed the same on them. I know there are changes that I need to make and that some of these changes will take some time. There are areas that I need to advance on and ones that seem to be just fine for me. I’m sure that these scores will continue to change as I continue with these areas of my well-being.

2. Review the goals and activities you set for yourself in each area. Have you made progress toward the goals? Explain.

I’ve gone over the goals that I have set for myself and some I am already working on and others I have yet to start, but I know they will happen. I’m already working on being healthier by eating better and working out. I’m playing my brain games, doing crafts, working on puzzles, meditating and working on breathing techniques, and other activities that will keep my mind sharp. I also make sure to fund something funny to laugh at each day. My spiritual area will probably be the biggest challenge for me, especially when it comes to the loving-kindness area, but I think I’ll be able to accomplish the goals I have set up for myself.

3. Have you implemented the activities you chose for your well-being in each of the three areas? Explain.

I have implemented some of the activities I’ve chosen already. Some were easy to set as goals because I’m either already doing them or I had just started doing them before the class began. Like I said before, the spiritual area will be the hardest for me. I’ve never been a very spiritual person, but in the past few years I’ve found that some of my views have been changing. I still have a lot of the beliefs that I had growing up, but I’m finding new beliefs as well. I’m finding the religion that I want to follow and not one that someone says that I should follow (again, I won’t go into details on that because I don’t want anyone to be offended since my chosen religion – if you want to call it that – is one that many people don’t want to talk about). This will be my hardest area, but if I work hard at it and learn all I can about the spiritual aspect of well-being, then I should do just fine.

4. Summarize your personal experience throughout this course. Have you developed improved well-being? What has been rewarding? What has been difficult? How will this experience improve your ability to assist others?

This course has been very interesting to me. I’ve learned many things that I never knew and I’ve realized how important overall well-being is and how all aspects of our well-being are connected. Many people out there don’t believe that, but once you read about it and actually see the information right in front of you, it begins to make sense and you start to make the changes that you need to make. Knowing that I had already been doing some of the techniques to help with well-being was rewarding because it gave me a sense that I have a good understanding on what works for me. The most challenging part for me will be the loving-kindness. I know that we should treat others the way we want to be treated, but it is rough at times, so once I can get past that part, I should be okay. It’s just going to take some time and practice. I’m hoping that with what I have experienced in this class that I will be able to show others that these tips and techniques really do work and that there honestly is a connection when it comes to body, mind, and spirit. Sometimes hearing that from someone who has experienced gets through to a person better than no experience.

This has been quite an experience for me and I hope that all of you have enjoyed the ride as well. I would like to think that we have all grown together as we’ve taken this journey. We started out so new to everything, like a seedling just beginning to break through the ground, and now over the weeks, we have grown, like a strong tree, with knowledge that we can use to help not just ourselves, but others as well, and that is truly the best reward we could hope for. 

Will I continue this blog? It’s hard to say. Perhaps I will if I come across something new or an experience that I feel would be beneficial to share. I don’t believe that this is the true end of the journey. I feel that there is still much for all of us to learn. To truly understand something, we must learn all aspects, the good and the bad, and I think we will all get there in our own time.

Remember, don’t live in the past. This class has given us the steps to make our lives better and find the way to true human flourishing. And if you ever feel the past is holding you back, remember this line from a famous Disney movie: "Oh yes, the past can hurt. But, you can either run from it or, learn from it." - Rafiki, from The Lion King (Monkey!!!!) I know which one I will choose.

And so, my darling little spider monkeys, I will leave you with these words to reflect upon: Life isn't about all the happy times we have. It's about living through all the challenges life has given us, and all that we have ever been through. Life is a journey. We live and change, sometimes for the better and other times for the worse, but we learn as we go. We will take the knowledge we have learned in this class and make not only our lives but the lives of others better because of it. 

I wish each and every one of you much success in all of the goals you have set for yourselves and in everything you do each day.

Until we meet again!!!