By Michelle Wilson, wellness program manager
The wellness wheel and you: environmental well-being
As we enter fall, we focus on environmental wellness. Environmental well-being includes our home, neighborhood, work, and community environments. We support environmental health when we get out in nature, create beauty and order in the spaces where we live and work, and make choices that support environmental health for our planet.
We all have the power to positively impact our environments.
Choose at least one small act each week to support environmental health for yourself and those around you.
- Clean, organize, beautify: Look around your home and notice what brings you a sense of peace or happiness. Notice if there are areas that need to be cleaned or organized. Choose one area each week to organize and beautify. Donate items you no longer need or use. Add plants or flowers to your living space. Place items that bring you joy in areas where you will see them often.
- Turn off electronics and tune into nature: Our internal environments – our thoughts and feelings – are impacted by what we do and where we focus our attention. Spend time each day without any type of technology and enjoy the outside world. Take a walk alone or with a friend and enjoy the changing colors of the leaves. Sip a cup of tea, look outside a window, and watch the birds play in a tree. Plant bulbs to grow into flowers in the spring. Even small amounts of time in nature each day can help balance our moods and support our well-being.
- Support your community’s environmental well-being: Reduce your use of plastic, re-use items when you can, and recycle as much as possible. Start a community garden. Volunteer to help clean up an area in your community that is in need of care. Invite friends or family members to join you and enjoy the benefits of social connection while you work together to make your community a better place for everyone.
Watch for more blogs this month with tips on staying healthy, and visit our wellness page for videos, audios, and other resources: www.laclinicahealth.org/wellness.
Tip: Use colorful bins or small containers to store items that you need to use often and want to keep out of sight. Do an internet search for more simple ideas on ways to clean and organize your environment.