Happy, Healthy, Holy Habits
One of my sharing goals for 2024 is to share more about habits and routines. I just haven’t started yet because I keep trying to write a post about my thought process behind it, and I can’t seem to trim it down enough to fit in an Instagram caption while still making sense.
So I finally decided to just share the thought process here in a longer post. If you want to actually see which habits and routines I’ve found helpful, go follow my social media!
This started sometime in September, when I watched a documentary series about “Life in the Blue Zones.” “Blue zones” are areas that researchers have identified where the average life expectancy is much higher than average.
I’m fascinated by the fascination with longevity research, because even if you check all the boxes to live to 100 there are still a million ways to die that have nothing to do with your health. Which is why trusting in Jesus for eternal life always takes priority over trying to extend your life on this earth.
I’m not terribly concerned with how old I live to be, I just want to be fully alive for all the time I’m on this earth. I don’t want to be 65 and starting to slowly decay for the next 20 years, and even at 26 I hate feeling like I can’t do what I want to do because I don’t have enough energy.
Really, though, I can’t say I learned anything new from the Blue Zones documentary. It was more of a reminder of how simple good health really is. Move your body. Eat a balanced diet. Get enough sleep. Have purpose and community and an outlet for stress.
Holy, Healthy, and Happy Habits
As I was thinking and journaling about this, I came up with this framework of being holy, healthy, and happy. But those three words can have lots of meanings, so let’s define them:
Holy: what you might think of is some pious, angelic religious person. What it actually means, at it’s core, is being like Jesus. And last I checked, that is the end game of being a Christian. If you believe in Jesus, holiness is a part of your identity whether you are fully living it or not - so if the word “holy” makes you turn up your nose it’s worth thinking about what the word really means.
Healthy: For some reason this one has a negative connotation, too: “oh, she’s trying to be all healthy,” or “this tastes healthy.” We’re offered a false dichotomy between being healthy and enjoying life. We glorify unhealthy habits in the name of freedom, but are you really enjoying your life by being sedentary and stuffing your face? Or is it actually just making you more foggy and tired and anxious?
Happy: and this is the one that a lot of Christians get uppity about, and I’m tired of that mindset because I think God made us to be happy. I’m certain he didn’t want us to be unhappy. Where we go wrong is chasing happiness for happiness sake, but if your happiness is based in enjoying God and the good gifts he gave us, there is nothing to be ashamed of with wanting to be happy.
(if you disagree with this, just try substituting the word “joy” and it probably sounds a lot better. I’m just not convinced there’s as much difference between the two words as I used to think. This is a big opinion in a small paragraph, so I’d be happy to share more of my thoughts if you’re not so sure about this.)
Let’s be honest: I’m mainly using these three words because I like alliteration. Probably a more accurate way to describe it is a focus on spiritual, physical, and mental health, and the way those three things are intertwined. The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that the best way to live a vibrant, abundant life is to focus on habits that will help our souls to be holy and Christlike, our bodies to be strong and healthy, and our minds and emotions clear and regulated.
Why this matters to me (and should matter to you)
This is especially important to me as a rancher. You’ve probably seen the statistics on the suicide rate among farmers versus the general populace. (I don’t know any stats about physical health, but we’ve all heard the jokes about how sick a rancher has to be to go to the doctor.)
At the same time, the ag community is one of the most overtly Christian demographics in the US, if not the world. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have any other issues, but it does mean we could probably do a better job of connecting the faith we proclaim with the type of lives we live.
There are a lot of great conversations happening about mental health among farmers. And I know some people who are doing a good job of also encouraging us to take better care of our physical health. But I think our spiritual health is sometimes taken for granted.
Just because you go to church or have a cross on your tailgate doesn’t mean you have a healthy relationship with Jesus. And if you’re not spiritually healthy, you’re probably going to struggle with your mental and physical health, too. On the flip side, if you think you can start a new diet and read your Bible while continuing to ignore your mental health, you may end up just getting even more tangled up.
And the best way to stay focused on our mental, physical AND spiritual health is through small habits and routines that keep us connected to what’s most important to us. This, too, can be difficult for ranchers, with long days and schedules that change wildly throughout the year. But I’ve found ways to make these habits work into my life as a rancher, and I’m excited to share them.
So if you’re ready to get inspired with new habits you can start this year, go check out my social media! And let me know in the comments if there are any habits you’ve found helpful in your life!