Ask Aunt B

Dear Aunt B Readers,

Last week’s question started me thinking how little time people spend on understanding their health and their bodies. I then started thinking about fundamentals. Funny how this little mind of mine works. All things in life have fundamentals. In sports, fundamentals are taught and when you learn the fundamentals even people with little raw talent for the sport can excel quickly. So what are the fundamentals of healthy living? I mentioned a few last week,. However, I feel that a little more detail is needed in this very important topic.

I listed five last week: sleep, healthy eating, drinking filtered water, moving your body and some form of relaxation. Additional fundamentals might include getting some fresh air, social connection, good hygiene (oh my goodness, why didn’t I mention good hygiene), and good mind training.

Some of these of course are interconnected. I am going to take the next few columns and dig deeper on these fundamentals.

Social connection is huge. Are you all getting enough social connection in this covid era? What is enough social connection? How are you connecting with people? Where and how do you meet new people?

First let’s define social connection. Social connection is the feeling that you belong to a group and generally feel close to other people. As human beings we are a social group. The need to have these social connections is built deep within our experience. Think about it, back in the day, the way back day, one couldn’t and didn’t survive if they were not connected to a group for protection and to meet humans’ many needs.

In this day, we need to get a bit more creative in meeting these needs. Of course, the best way is in person. When this just isn’t possible, the next best would be with some type of call where you can see the other person. When this is not available then phone calls alone can help. Finally writing letters and sending cards can help meet this need as well. Who do you know that has had very little contact with people that could benefit from a letter or nice note from you? You never know how much it might brighten one’s day. I think it might be nice to call a senior center and ask if anyone there might en joy having a penpal. If you have an interest in history, it could be fun to write to a senior person and ask about their life. Something that you do to help another could actually end up helping yourself.

Making an effort to stay connected to friends is important and building new friendships is important, as well. Old friends and new friends actually meet two different needs. Old friends are deeper connections and provide stability and comfort where new friends provide new experiences and new interests. Some of us are lucky enough that we have fostered old friendships that provide both. I say, go for building these types of friendships. Things are opening up some to give us some new opportunities to make new friends. In friendships it is the quality not the quantity that makes a rich life.

Remember social media is just social media and not a true clear picture of the friendship experiences.

When building new friendships stay authentic and present in the situations. Have fun out there.

Love,

Aunt B

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