Are you confused by the title? That’s okay – it’s been a confusing few months for me too.
“Couldn’t see the forest for the trees”
“The devil is in the details”
I’m a planner who likes to focus on the details while balancing a true view of the big picture. It’s a balance I take in most areas of my life – writing, traveling, training, etc. However, I found out this year that I don’t always apply that same focus on me personally.
Yep, this is a self-care post and a bit more personal than my usual book reviews. However, I hope you’ll keep reading and even comment to share your experiences.
The trees in my life: headaches.
I’ve had them throughout my life for a variety of reasons. Stress, reading/ vision changes, low blood sugar, allergy/ sinus, etc. I pop over-the-counter pills, drink a little caffeine, wear a cooling band, and generally keep moving.
The forest I was missing: migraines.
Some of the things I was doing to treat these individual headaches were making things worse. Caffeine can trigger migraines. The quick, processed foods I was eating because I was sick to my stomach? Also bad for migraines. Taking too many OTC pills can actually cause rebound headaches.
One turning point was when I realized how often I had to say ‘well, I have a bit of a headache’. Oddly enough, I thought of a character while saying that…or actually multiple characters from my Rahki Chronicles.
For the Eagle Tribe, seeing patterns is a necessity. For all Rahkis, there is a mantra of train, learn, and adapt. Again, that’s when my real world infiltrates my writing as I use those same strategies to view the world. Somehow though, I still treated many headaches as individual events and missed the pattern.
I won’t bore you with further medical issues, but I am under a doctor’s care and can now see the forest.
What about that devil still lurking out there though?
I stuck to the advice well at first. The pain was gone and life was good. I had basically stopped reading and writing in order to handle ‘real world’ obligations (this is why my Books & Cats chat hasn’t been updated for months). Now that I saw the forest though, I was able to be more productive and add things back into my daily routine. Again, I’ll say it: life was good.
Ahhhh, there’s the devil again.
It wasn’t long before I got sloppy and didn’t watch my caffeine intake, didn’t avoid process foods, etc. And yes, the pain returned. Again, we’ll skip the personal rambling…
3 Tips for Balancing Forests and Devils:
- Journaling – Take a few minutes at the beginning and end of the day to review those details. You can use an actual notebook or a notes app on your phone and, as this is just for you, you can share as much or as little as you like. I find reviewing the details helps me see big picture.
- Get outside/ walk – I would often let work keep in indoors but I’ve shifted my boundaries a bit. Taking even 15 minutes outdoors for myself does wonders for how I feel and think.
- Use that fit band – I had started ignoring my Amazfit band information, but now I pay more attention to it for details and big picture trends. You may have heard that ignoring a problem doesn’t make it go away so we might as well use the tools we have.
Life really is a balance of big turning points/ events and smaller daily choices. That balance is also fluid which is good and bad. We can’t just set up a routine and expect that sticking to it will be the best choice forever and always. As much of a planner as I am, I’ve had to learn (and re-learn) the lesson that life keeps moving and I have to keep moving too. That’s also the good part – we get many chances to make changes. As much as I love New Years Resolutions, we don’t have to wait until January to live our lives differently.
My characters face these same issues though they handle them better than I do at time. Which brings me to the last tip: Be the Main Character in Your Life. More specifically for me, that means be a Rahki – the warrior guardians in my first series. While I do think it’s important to protect others, we also have to remember to protect ourselves. This is a self-care post, right?!
BTW, you’ll find many memes about ‘main character energy’ but it’s not always a bad thing. Balance the forest and devil your way…and allow others the same rights.
Holiday forests and devils
The holiday seasons is full of opportunities to help others and I hope you welcome those changes with open arms. This is also a season of grief, depression, and loneliness. Be sure to take care of yourself too. As I do love traveling, I often hear the airplane safety spiel, but that doesn’t make it less important. Put your own oxygen mask on before helping others. Please do take care of your loved ones and community, but please also take the time to take care of yourself during this busy season.
How about we end with a little catty laugh??
As always, I’d love to hear from you so please feel free to comment or contact me via my website.
Now, grab a drink of water, take a deep breath, and enjoy the holiday season as warriors, my friends.
-RSJ
If you’d like to read similar blog posts from me, I have some recs:
Rennie St. James 