Easternize me

Wow I have been updating my blog a lot lately! A great friend the other day was telling me when she feels like her time is spread too thin & she feels like a workhorse, she chooses 3 activities that bring her joy & politely says "no thank you" to everything else. I decided to give this a try too, as I have also felt like a workhorse lately. Blogging is something that brings me joy because I am keeping some kind of record of our family for my kids to look back on.

Just this morning I looked up a few things on the Internet that I have been reflecting on the past few days. What started it, is a book I've been working on called "The Total Money Makeover". It's about being totally dedicated to getting out of debt. It talks about being "gazelle intense", which refers to the fact that gazelles, who really aren't that fast, are intense about escaping their main predator, the cheetah. The cheetah, who is the fastest land animal, is only successful 1 out of 19 times in catching a gazelle.

Later, I was reading a friend's blog, about her recent all-natural birth story. She talks in detail about giving birth to her son using hypnosis, music and training her mind to overcome the pain. She was totally dedicated to this natural, joyous experience in every way.

I began to think about the book & the blog because I really want to get out of debt, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about my friends experience. It made me want to have another child & give the natural thing another shot! Then I realized....seriously, would I be that dedicated & intense? No, I would be the 1 out of 19 gazelles that get eaten.

I have been slightly depressed by my new realization, but also slightly empowered by the honesty! It feels good to look inward, be honest & accept that that's who I am.

I have taken this to another level by looking into some personality traits of my children also. I see a doctor, who is wonderful & looks at the big picture when you go to her for a problem. I recently took Isabella to her for chronic ear infections & Noah for sleep disturbances. In both cases, she asked a lot of questions not just pertaining to the physical symptoms, but also about their behavior, moods and personalities. We decided on a course of action for both, which included some homeopathic remedies. She mentioned that Isabella is very "Pulsatilla" a few times. I asked what it meant & she said it's a personality type that is very sweet, accommodating, their mood changes from sad to happy quickly, and they have a tendency toward ear infections. What? I left wondering how can a personality type and a physical illness be linked. I have totally embraced many natural remedies, practices & ways of thinking, but I still have grown up with western medicine. I had to think about this one & do some research on my own.

After reflecting on this, I realized it does make sense. If a person has a really driven & aggressive personality, for instance, it makes sense that they may experience headaches from stress, or back aches from muscle tension. How can the way we naturally react to the world not affect our physical body & cause symptoms? Noah was put on a homeopathic remedy called "Kali", which I also looked up. His personality is totally to follow the rules, please everyone, seek justice & be logical. His kindergarten teacher had the hardest time getting him to write a creative story. His story about snowboarding was basically just a sequential list of things you do in order to go snowboarding. She couldn't get him to deviate. I remembered the conversation with her as I read about Kali personalities. It makes sense now that a kid who is worrying about keeping everything in order and always doing what's right in this crazy world, would end up with night terrors.

I just thought it was interesting because as I told my Mom this morning about all the physical symptoms that went along with pulsatilla personalities, she had a reason to explain it all away. We are trained to separate physical from emotional, even with a list in front of you explaining all the physical symptoms that have nagged you forever next to a list describing you to a tee. I'm just grateful for the opportunity to see the big picture, and stop putting on band aids when my body is trying to tell me something. My kids will be so much better off with this knowledge early in life.

This is just a reflection of my feelings & what works for me, not a sales pitch for homeopathy! We still love our pediatrician & who knows...Isabella may end up with tubes in her ears? I just love alternatives, options that are less invasive whenever possible & peace. It brings me peace to understand & be happy with myself, Len & my kids exactly as they came to me from God.