I am making the transition to winter. It will be snowing soon and
out come the skiboards, snowboards, XC skis, snowtube and snowshoes.
I've been enjoying healthy soups and stews and taking saunas this time
of year. The air is crisp and clean with no annoying bugs. I like to
sit in my backyard making a fire in our stone fire pit relaxing as I
watch the logs turn into glowing coals and the sparks shoot upwards
into the dark sky. One equation for finding happiness states, that to
be happy we need someone to love, someone to love us, something to do
and something to look forward to. Sustainable, healthy and positive
activities fit the bill when it comes to having something to do and
something to look forward to. In the past, all I had to occupy me was
my addictions. How many addicts turn to their addiction out of
boredom? While it is good to be mindful of the present moment, as the
Buddhists say, we are still humans and cannot be 100%% perfect. So,
when it comes to looking forward I now look foreword to the new
seasons and all that those seasons provide in new tastes in healthy
and natural foods and activities.

Many people run from the snow like it is the plague. Myself? I run TO
the snow and NOT away from it. In fact, I can go out my backdoor and
snowshoe or cross country ski if I please. Thoreau had the well
developed ability of finding contentment and happiness in the present
moment. This is what enlightenment is all about - being at peace
within and with all in whatever circumstances we find ourselves and
without pre qualifiers. How many times do you hear persons talking
negatively about the rain or the snow like it is hell. For me it is
heaven, for without snow I could not ski or snowboard and without rain
plants and life would not flourish on earth nor could I kayak, jet ski
or fish. Thoreau wrote of such contentment in Walden, detailing the
building of his log cabin. As he chopped down the trees and hewed the
logs, he appreciated little things like the fragrance on his hands
from the pine sap as he ate his simple lunch of bread and butter among
the wood chips and talked with local wanderers. In his own words, "I
made no haste in my work, but rather made the most of it." Taking my
que from Thoreau when it comes to snow...I make the most of it.

Developing a list of positive time fillers was a big help with my
addictions. As Thoreau also wrote in Walden , "The devil finds work
for idle hands." Before heading in this new direction, most of my
time was occupied by what to buy next, overeating rich foods and
getting fat and when I wanted a break from that I had a picnic basket
of other addictive areas to get drugged up with. Most of my new
activities are sport or movement related as they also serve the
purposes of helping with my overeating disease and have the added
benefit of improved health and don't produce clutter like some hobbies
do. Sustainability is of the highest importance with an activity. You
see, I can mountain bike, hike, ski or canoe as much as I please and
not produce and debt or manufacture clutter or drive me to drink as
some of my less healthy pastimes would produce. In addition, these
movement and sport related activities help with battling depression
and improving balance, equilibrium and brain functioning.

Keeping busy is not the cure-all all for addictions, but it is a
necessary foundational pillar. (My earlier post entitled "7 Benefits
of Addictions Provide Us" goes into more detail on this subject) There
are other benefits from these movent based sport activities in that
they can relax our mind while simultaneously stimulating it for
healthy growth potential. We all seem to build up too much stress
chemicals and sport related activities helps dissipate these
chemicals. (See my snip from a magazine at end of post.) Bottom line:
is the activity pleasing to us, healthy, nurturing and sustainable?
You can also use the SCA guidelines for any questions you have asking:
is the activity placing unreasonable demands on my time and energy,
will it place me in legal jeopardy or endanger my mental, physical or
spiritual health? Remember, as Jack LaLane said, exercise and eating
healthy foods are the king and queen of good health. The king and
queen must also sit on a thrown of low stress living to run a good
kingdom. If you hate to move and hate to eat well, then do as he also
said; "I developed a liking for things that are good for me." Getting
proper exercise is of special import to any computer addicts out there
that only seem to exercise their fingers.

A lady wrote me about her addictions asking for advice. She was 150
pounds overweight, a clutterer and abused alcohol and prescription
pain meds. She detailed how she had two hobbies in life - she liked to
knit and liked to bake. She would sit for most of the day knitting.
She had a large output from her knitting hobby and although she gave
some away, she would keep the bulk of it. This produced much clutter
as the output was continuos. She also liked to bake pastry and would
give away some of her baking output, but again ate most of it herself.
From all the sitting from her knitting hobby her back and joints were
sore most of the time. Her joints were irritated from her sugar rich
diet which was also loaded with salt. Salt is a corrosive and her
joints were just getting more corroded as she ate an unbalanced diet.
Carrying around an extra person in fat did not help her joints either.
At night she turned to alcohol for some relief. During the day she
would pop pills. She had high blood pressure, swollen legs and high
cholesterol to boot. From her example, we can see her two hobbies were
'addiction promoting and health destroying' and not good ones for her
- if her goal was to live a healthy life.

Can baking and knitting be healthy pastimes? Yes, but not as she did.
A knitter would have to limit their time sitting and would have be
mindful to exercise in order to make up for their inactive time while
knitting otherwise they will deteriorate from a sedentary lifestyle.
The only thing getting exercise with a knitter is the fingers and
maybe as little of the mind. If they suffer from clutter, then they
have to sell or give away all their output from knitting. With baking,
it is the same. If you suffer from fat and like to bake you cannot eat
much of your output and have to sell or give it all away. If you
cannot control yourself with just eating a little, then you have to
give it all away without a taste. If you cannot do that then find
another hobby. As the saying goes, "If you don't want to slip, then
stay out of slippery places." How did this lady end up after my
advice? She kept on going her own way, deteriorating and dropped out
of the program. All I can do is plant recovery seeds - I can't force
them to sprout.

Many people say they do not like this or that when it comes to healthy
foods, sweat and exercise. I tell them; "you have been getting what
YOU liked all along and it got YOU where your at TODAY. Maybe YOU
should try doing what YOUR RECOVERY PROGRAM likes instead of what YOU
like?" So, if your happy with the status quo, then keep on keeping on,
and if you are not happy, then try another way. You see, a person that
thinks as they always thought will continue to get what they always
got. We need to learn new ways and must unlearn old ways as well.
Some addicts think that by just reciting the 12 steps all will be well
without changing a thing. If nothing changes - nothing changes. My own
life had to change radically 180 degrees from how I used to live in
order to get new life. This is why most addicts fail. They refuse to
change and want to keep their old life as well as a new life. We have
to choose which way to go, but one thing is for sure, we can't have
both.

Now I have much to look forward to in life for activities or rewards
that are not destructive and are sustainable. Activities to occupy
yourself that don't revolve around spending, eating, gambling, sex,
drugs or alcohol or other addictive areas only go so far in recovery
though. You also have to be careful to take time to relax and not
escape life through activity. Horace wrote, "Caelum non animum mutant
qui trans mare currunt--You can run away as far as you like but you'll
never get away from yourself." 12 Step work, reducing stress,
repairing the wreckage of the past and living a balanced life all
contribute to heading in the right recovery direction. I've enclosed
some of my activities below for your perusal. Also be careful you
don't find another excuse to compulsively spend with each new activity
or sport you take up. That is something I have to watch. For instance.
If you take up rollerblading, you buy one pair of skates and one set
or protective gear, etc. You don't buy 5 pairs of skates 5 different
skate bags and 8 sets of skate clothes, in all colors for each day of
the week plus one extra for holidays. If you want different skates,
you sell the old pair and then buy a different set. Everything is on a
"one in ~ one out" basis to avoid compulsive spending, stockpiling and
clutter. Sure, you have to spend initially to be set up in an
activity, but once set up the spending stops except for some very
small incidentals and fees.

Partial List of My Positive Time Filling Activities:

Hiking, Mountain Bike, Climbing Gym and Rock Climbing, Basketball,
Rollerblading, Trail Running, Jet Skiing, Racquetball, Swimming, Sun
Bath, Fishing, Canoeing, Skateboarding, Weight Training, Target
Shooting, Camping, Jogging, Kayaking, Motorcycling, Skiboarding,
Snowshoeing, Downhill Skiing, XC Skiing, Yoga, Massage, Meditation,
Dirt Bike, Free Lectures and Movies at a Local University, Snow
Tubing, Snorkeling, Scuba, Napping or Relaxing in a Hammock, Picnics,
Library, Spiritual Studies, Free Musical Events and Concerts, Church
Services, Scenic Seasonal Car Trips, Travel.

Here is a small snip in Psychotherapy magazine from an article on the
benefits of exercise with addiction.

Why does exercise have such an impact on the emotional brain?
Naturally, there is, first of all, its effect on endorphins. These
tiny molecules secreted by the brain resemble opium and its
derivatives, such as morphine and heroin. The emotional brain contains
many receptors for endorphins, and that's why it is so sensitive to
opium-it immediately radiates a sensation of well-being and
satisfaction by hijacking one of the emotional brain's own intrinsic
mechanisms. Opium has a powerful effect on emotions-in fact, it's the
strongest known antidote to the pangs of separation and mourning.
However, when derivatives of opium are used too often, they can become
habit forming. Brain receptors become inured to them, so the dose must
be systematically increased in order to produce the same effect.
Moreover, because the receptors become less and less sensitive,
regular pleasures lose all their power and potency-including sex, the
pleasure of which is often reduced in drug addicts.

The secretion of endorphins brought on by physical exercise does
exactly the opposite. The more the natural mechanism of pleasure is
gently stimulated by exercise, the more sensitive the mechanism itself
becomes. In addition to relishing sex and life's other big pleasures,
people who exercise regularly actually get more pleasure out of the
little things in life: their friendships, their cats, their meals,
their hobbies, or even the smiles of passersby in the street.
Essentially, it becomes easier for them to be satisfied, And in fact,
the experience of pleasure is just the opposite of depression.
Depression is defined, above all, by the absence of pleasure, more so
than by sadness, which is probably the reason why the release of
endorphins has such a potent antidepressant and anxiolytic effect.
Stimulating the emotional brain by exercise also kindles the immune
system. It promotes the proliferation of "natural killer" cells,
making them more aggressive against infections and cancer cells. The
opposite effect occurs with heroin addicts, whose immune defenses
collapse, often causing them to become gravely ill.

Exercise may also strengthen another physiological mechanism related
to emotional health. This mechanism involves what we have already
learned about heart rate variability. "'People who exercise regularly
show a greater variability in heart rate and more coherence than
people who do not. This means that their parasympathetic system, the
physiological "brake" that brings on periods of calm, is healthier and
stronger. A good balance between the two branches of the autonomic
nervous system is one of the best potential antidotes to anxiety and
panic attacks. All the symptoms of anxiety start with an overactive
sympathetic system, a dry mouth, accelerated heartbeat, sweating,
trembling, a rise in blood pressure. The sympathetic and
parasympathetic systems are always in opposition. Thus, the more
stimulation the parasympathetic branch receives, the stronger it
becomes-like a developing muscle.

Take care,

V (Male)

Agnostic Freethinker
Practical Philosopher
Futurist
AA#2