Healthy Life Habits

Breakfast on the Aegean

We have lived as a family around the North Aegean for over 20 years. It's where our kids grew up. Earlier this year my wife and I returned to the Aegean and set up home in the northern part of Greece. We've been here for three months after a roller-coaster year of traveling and moving. Now that the dust has settled a bit, I am finding some good routines. Routines create good habits. Good habits create traction for healthy living. I'll share some of what works for me.

There is an interconnectedness between what we do to stay physically, mentally, and relationally healthy. For example, what may seem like just a physical activity may also be great for stimulating ours minds for optimum thinking and learning. And that may often be just the stimulation we need to cultivate our relationship with God and others. Let me provide an example.

I've tried to implement three simple routines or habits for daily health traction. I walk, run, and then swim to exercise my body. While I walk and run I listen to Greek language recordings to exercise my mind, and I listen to my Bible app to feed my soul. Here's how it works:

I get up early and walk 20 minutes to the coast. But while I walk, I listen to recordings of new words, phrases, sentences, brief dialogues, and short stories in Greek. All of these are already tagged to my personal experiences. So I'm already hugely invested in listening to things that I connect with, and that I really want to learn how to say. And walking helps me think deeply as I listen and learn about these things, like grocery shopping, ordering coffee, buying bread, meeting neighbors, greeting people, or getting into basic conversations that spark interest and help me learn and grow in my inter-cultural communication. As I think about people I've met as I walk, listen, and learn, I also pray for them. Does this make sense? Our best pursuit of overall health is when we intentionally weave these meaningful interconnections with our bodies, minds, and relationships.

When I arrive at the beach after a 20 minute power walk, I take my shoes off and run 10 minutes flat out in the sand. Exhausting, but energizing. And great for my feet, ankles, knees, and hips. Did I say I was 59? This little stretch of beach is a gift! I then throw off my shirt and jump in the sea for a 20-minute swim in the cold North Aegean waters. I get out, gather my gear, and do it all again coming home. Total time: 1.5 hours. That's one-tenth of my working day. Time well spent.

I then eat a big breakfast: boiled eggs, feta cheese, fruit, vegetables, nuts, and olives, all drenched in olive oil and tahini. And I drink lots of water, topped off with a Greek coffee, or Turkish tea. Now, I'm ready for the day.

When you invest in overall health, you feel better, think better, and relate better. And when you do this every day, every day becomes better.