How to have a Spice-y life

Crawling back into bed in the small hours of the morning felt like coming home. The comfort and warmth and darkness enveloped me; my whole selfmindbodyspirit relaxed. Utterly drained and exhausted, even the effort of pulling the duvet around me felt too much. Within seconds I was asleep – for a little while at least. It felt like heaven.

Let me ask you something: are you feeling tired right now?

Maybe not – maybe you leaped out of bed this morning absolutely raring to go, bouncingly full of the joys of spring, so pumped that a second cup of coffee would be over-the-top unnecessary.

Or maybe, maybe, you and I woke this morning feeling weary and tired, and it’s a tiredness that comes from life. Life has thrown a curveball - actually, make that several curveballs - at us and we’re all living in a world that constantly feels weary. It’s the sort of weariness that’s not solved by a good night’s sleep. It is a weariness of spirit, because we fill our lives with frenetic activity and then add escapist activity on top - compulsive social media, mindless television, recreational drinking – because we are too tired to choose stuff which would be truly life giving. And our emotions become dulled and numb; our bodies groan and ache; and the guilt and the exhaustion become second nature and we come to accept them as normal.

What we need, you and me in our weariness, is the spice of life. Because we are so busy taking care of life and taking care of others that we forget to take care of ourselves and give ourselves some SPICE - the acronym for the 5 areas we need to be fully human and fully alive.

Spiritual

Maybe we’ve ignored the manufacturer’s handbook for ourselves, trying to operate without following the instructions. Stress is always a warning light that we’ve taken our focus off God and are looking at our problems from a limited viewpoint. Rick Warren said he believes the single greatest cause of stress is that we take ourselves too seriously and we don’t take God seriously enough.

What helps you reconnect with God each day?

Reverence for (or worship of) God adds hours to each day. Proverbs 10:27

Physical

Finding what works for our own particular bodies to feel great, keep in good health, be the best we can be. Nourishing ourselves physically with the right food and the correct exercise. For me, it’s low sugar and low carbs, 7.5 nightly hours of sleep, lots of fruit and veg, long long walks, and regular exercising.

It’s taking care of what we’ve been given.

What makes your body feel in great shape?

Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvellous--. Psalm 139:14 (NLT)

Intellectual

Stimulating the brain is as important as exercising the body – use it or lose it; and without that stimulation and new knowledge, we get very stale. Some of us love crosswords and jigsaws and Su Doku; others of us play the piano or learn a new language or map-read our way across new territory as we walk….

New experiences that use all the senses are good for our minds.

What stretches your mind?

A wise person is hungry for knowledge, while the fool feeds on trash. Proverbs 15:14 (NLT)

Creative

We humans are amazing at the way we can be so creative. We can invent theorems, knit a sweater, write a magnum opus, paint the Mona Lisa, compose limericks, cook up a storm. We are made in the image of a creating, creative God; to be creative is in our genes and gives us life.

How can you create something today? (other than creating a mess….!)

God created human beings; he created them godlike, reflecting God’s nature. Gen 1:17 (The Message)

Emotional

“It is a slow death to be gloomy all the time.” (Proverbs 17:22 GNT) When did we learn as a generation, as a culture, to be so serious about everything? When was the last time you said : hang it all, I’ve earned a break; and just left it all and went out for a walk, or took time to sit and chat with a friend, and just hung out? Simplify: time, possessions, yes; but also attitude. Laugh more, and work and worry less. When was the last time you relaxed and laughed with others? Or by yourself – watching or reading that one thing that makes you (and no-one else!) roar with laughter?

What makes you laugh? Or relax? What feeds your soul?

A cheerful disposition is good for your health; gloom and doom leave you bone-tired. Proverbs 17:22 (The Message)

How Spice-y are you?