Health is the best kind of wealth.
Kindness heals.
Friendships mend the heart.
I want to grow up great and strong. Sometimes I hold myself back from all of the opportunities I could take though, and it really stresses me out. I think about all of the 'what ifs', and how things could have been. I worry about not living in the moment because the now is all the while too much to think about. I'm constantly worried.
Am I frigid? I hope not.
Am I boundless? Yes, in my freest moments.
I am constantly thinking too much or too little of something and it drives me nutso. I am a free spirit, I am. Which is why this post is dedicated to mental health and wellness because it is either overrated or not talked about enough.
Mental health and wellness means finding security and safety in your own body [to me]. It involves freeing your mind and healing your soul. It means feeling strong and capable of whatever. I love being healthy. Honestly, sometimes I still do struggle, but I know that those feelings pass. Everybody has those low days. And I remember that those low days will never outnumber the good ones, no matter how exhilarating and exhausting they become.
Let me tell you a secret: I used to lie awake at night and imagine myself totally recovered and free from anxiety. I would imagine myself laying down in a grassy field; the air still and then breezy again; my sundress white and gold and scented with honey spread out around my legs; my hair long, loose, and really beautiful.
I'd imagine a grassy blank canvas: miles and acres of grass, and just grass. I've always loved grass. Ever since I was little I'd hiss and complain about the itch it tingled my toes with. Anyway, I'd imagine running and hopping like a bird; flinging myself onto the dewy earth, like a bird taking flight.
That's how I imagined recovery: like a bird taking flight out into a new world of possibilities and hope that one day, I'd return to the nest confident, like I'd conquered something really good.
And somehow I managed to take flight. I don't know how I did it, but I flew. I became a bird in the metaphorical sense that I can now fly and redeem myself. I can create new hopes and passions because I'm healthy and I honestly never thought I'd get to this point of humility and altruism.
Because now the sky is blue. The sky is really blue even when it's gray sometimes. Because now my hair is thick and my smile is real. Because now the stars in the sky shine bright with victories and memories. Because my world is real and I believe in myself. Because mental health is so important to me.
This is what it means to me to be mentally well.
Now I'm not just mentally healthy, but healthy inside as well! I originally adapted this Blueberry Muffin Pancake recipe from the lovely Minimalist Baker
This pancake stack is bursting with explosions of honey. This whole stack reminds me of a field of wildflowers. The taste is like a real blueberry muffin I kid you not!
I topped the cinnamony pancakes with frozen [black and blue] berries because I didn't have fresh on hand and they were so yummy! Banana coins compliment the bursts of blueberries that weave through the cakes. It's a sweet stack which I also adorned with pumpkin butter. Yumm….
BLUEBERRY FIELDS FOREVER MUFFIN PANCAKES
*1 flax egg [or regular egg]
*3/4 T coconut oil
*1/3 mashed spotty-dotty banana
*1 tsp. baking powder and 1/2 tsp. baking soda
*pinch of sea salt or whatever kind of salt
*1/2 C coconut milk + 1 tsp. lemon juice
*1/4-1/2 tsp. vanilla bean paste*
*1/2 C spelt flour
*1/2 C fresh blackberries and frozen blueberries
DIRECTIONS
1. Make your flax egg and let it sit for about 7 minutes
2.To a medium sized bowl, add all of the liquid ingredients together
3. Next, slowly add the flour and mix until well combined
4. Flip onto a preheated griddle until fluffy and soft
5. Top with berries, coconut shreds, nuts and seeds, other fruits [bananas, sliced oranges], dairy free chocolate chips, granola, etc.
6. Drizzle with sauces like peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, white chocolate melted, pumpkin butter, create a berry sauce using frozen berries, or even top with nanaicecream
Thanks for reading!
Love, Alli
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