What do you turn to on a daily basis for your mental and spiritual health? Do you find that you end up decompressing or disassociating from the daily stresses in beneficial ways, or do you find yourself disengaging from people or going down a rabbit hole and doom scrolling? I have to admit, I have noticed when I spend too much time on my phone or computer, or even watching shows or movies to disassociate from the day, I rarely feel better afterwards. Most times I even feel more drained and emotionally muddled. Why is that? I am enjoying it while I am doing it and I typically choose light-hearted material to laugh or get some creative juices flowing. I should feel happy and inspired; right? Well, it comes down to choosing beneficial practices and habits.
Most times we gravitate towards a quick dopamine fix and don’t always think about the long-term effects. We choose foods that we are “craving”, instead of the foods we should eat to fulfill a nutritional need or deficiency. We spend time with people who make us feel good but put off relationships that build us and challenge us for the better. It is normal to pick and choose what feels good right now, but how does that impact us over time? Well, I notice that I slowly become more withdrawn from those I love. I notice that I start losing my gratitude and start growing in feelings of desire for the things I don’t have or think I want. Instead of feeling secure emotionally, I begin to feel unsure, as question myself with anxiety starts to build up. Over an extended period of time, I truly start to feel disconnected to the world around me. Then I look around at all the things that I disregarded and it’s a spiral from there. Not good!
Maybe none of this applies to you, or your battles are just different, your dopamine fix is different, your unhealthy habits are different, but you know the feeling, right? I know I wanted to get out of that cycle, and I was done with the ups and downs and not feeling progression emotionally and mentally. I read a lot of research that all supported the idea that having healthy daily habits will give a long-term health benefit of well-being.
So, what is a healthy habit that can benefit pretty much everyone and how can we make it consistent in the routine? Using a devotional! Yes, it seems like just a shameless plug to promote the Cultivating Grace Devotional, and it is however, it is also the reason I chose this project to begin with. I knew I wanted to write something helpful, and I wanted it to be something that could be chunked and simplified. A devotional is set up as a daily message to ponder and reflect on throughout the day. It doesn’t take a lot of time, and it should leave you feeling encouraged, mentally aligned to truth and with a positive outlook. You can make it a sacred, personal time of connection to God and to your inner self, and you can share the message with others and make it an avenue for connection. It should not drain you or make you feel guilty for taking the time to complete it, but instead make you feel equipped to carry out responsibilities effectively and in the best emotional and mental space. In the devotional, I chose to include journal prompts for those who need to spend more time in the process.
If you have not started a devotional before, I want to encourage you to give yourself the health benefits of meditating on an encouraging message and aligning your heart to God’s heart in a time of spiritual introspection. Find your peace and your mental stamina to carry on with grace.
