What is Wellness?

March 13, 2019

What is Wellness?

I like being alone.

It’s not that I don’t appreciate other people. I love my team, my family, my circle of friends. I appreciate getting to talk to neighbors when they pick up Snuck Shares or attend workshops. But part of who I am is a person who likes, well, being alone.

Having myself to myself lets me process and plan. It creates the silence I need to hear important thoughts. It restores me, so that I can be more present for the people I’m with in the other parts of my life.

What is it that restores you?

There’s been a lot of talk, in the past few years, about self-care. Newspapers and magazines and radio hosts and Facebook posts all urge us to slow down, take a bath, put down the phone, go for a hike.

I’ve always suspected, though, that it’s not enough to just go down a relaxing, lavender-scented to-do list. Self-care isn’t a thing you do. It’s the way you know yourself, and the way you honor what you need. So while for me it’s time alone, for you it might be time with friends, or time to paint, or time to run.

I’m trying to take the time that I need. And you can consider this an invitation to explore what you need, too. Wellness comes from finding who we are, and allowing ourselves to be ourselves. It comes from learning, exploring, and being honest. Let’s do more of that this year.

-Page
Farmer and cultivator