I love publishing this newsletter. I spend the month gathering content, taking suggestions from you and I try to put together solid information that will help you and your family on your path to wellness. This monthly column is to let you know I am here with you! I'm a mom with young children and a crazy schedule; I don't get enough sleep and have trouble eating well. We are in this together and, as a team, we can improve our lives, our families and our communities.
The more I reach out and engage with other moms, the more I thrive. This is what I have learned.
Every time I try to do something, if I don't enlist the help of others, it never goes as I plan, whether big or small. I have a work project I am running right now and everyone involved is in a private Facebook group. This group of women is amazing. Some of them know each other, most of them don't. Yet, they reach out, answer questions, show support and are overall creating a wonderful community experience.
There is this book called The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons For Living Longer From People Who've Lived the Longest. Blue Zones are pockets of populations that have more centurions than other populations. This means there are more people living to be 100 (and older) in these cultures than anywhere else in the world. The author and his team, backed by National Geographic, studied and surveyed these cultures to try to find the fountain of youth, the magic pill, their biggest secret. He discovered they each have 9 things in common and one of them is community.
Whether it is your family, neighborhood, school PTA, book club, yoga class, running partner, work or place of faith, you have a community surrounding you and when you engage yourself and use that community to better yourself, we all benefit. And, it can help you live longer!
What can you do to engage with your community more? Do something that makes you feel connected and gives you a purpose with the group. You'll thank yourself for it!
Until next month,
Jenny
