If you're anything like most people in the 21st century,
You have at least one vice,
One guilty pleasure.
It might be chocolate.
It might be booze.
It might be other drugs.
It might be Netflix.
It might be video games.
It might be some weird internet kink you wouldn't dare tell anyone about.
Whatever it is for you,
You probably know exactly what it is,
And you've probably experienced at least a little guilt over it.
Why?
Well,
You're likely aware on some level that this vice of yours is a mixed bag.
On the one hand,
It gives you pleasure.
That is,
It gets you high.
Maybe it helps you to relax or to forget about your lows for a while.
On the other hand,
You probably find yourself wanting more of it.
Perhaps this distracts you from other things that you deem to be important.
Perhaps there are consequences to your vice,
Like gaining weight or hangovers.
So what if you could find a different high?
One that has no downside?
Well,
There are plenty out there,
And you've probably heard about a few of them,
Like running,
Yoga,
Meditation,
Dance,
Singing,
Gardening,
Climbing,
Cycling,
Hiking.
Pretty obvious stuff,
Really.
Anything that chills you out and or gets you in the sun and or gets you moving is basically a golden ticket to good energy.
I just moved back to my hometown,
Which is on the coast.
I've dabbled in running over the years because I see the benefits.
It's quick,
Simple and unanimously praised as a top-tier health hack.
So this morning I got down on the beach barefoot,
Took my shirt off and did a modestly paced 20 minutes in the sun with a cold breeze blowing across.
When I was done I felt high as a kite.
Now granted,
If you're a long-time meditator like me,
Then you won't get one of the biggest benefits from exercise,
Which is stress relief.
That's already taken care of.
And for me,
Meditation comes first.
But physiology is still a thing,
And it's true that the body can influence the mind.
My recommendation is to find what works for you.
It's been easier and easier for me to get into physical exercise,
Something which has always been on the bottom of my list,
As I've developed my mindfulness skills.
You might come from the other end,
Perhaps you love physical activity but struggle to sit still.
Well,
I bet it will be easier for you to do a sitting meditation immediately after exercise.
Key to this,
And pretty much everything else in life,
Is an attitude of experimentation.
It's so easy to operate on shoulds,
Ought and musts.
I was trained to do that by school,
And have little doubt that you were too.
You should get X minutes of exercise X times a week.
You ought to get a gym membership or you're wasting your time.
You must go to Asia if you want real yoga training.
I strongly recommend that you ignore all that talk and experiment to find a natural high that you enjoy.
Because when you enjoy something,
You want to do it.
When you want to do something,
You do it a lot.
And when you do something a lot,
You get the real benefit.
And how are you going to know what you enjoy unless you try it for yourself?
The shoulds,
Ought and musts are only good for obligation and expectation.
And those aren't fun at all.
Let your curiosity lead you.
Follow your nose.
Try stuff out and see how it goes.
Find your natural high,
And watch the guilty pleasures fade into the past without the need for even a shade of discipline.
May you be happy,
Healthy and high.
