Thank you, Malaysia!

Joy here...Life has gotten rather interesting lately.

Not only have The Man and I developed a super duper interesting product for our future (which is sooooo exciting, I can't even say), but I've reached a level of fitness that I don't think I've ever had before.

Feeling fit, happy, and healthy!

Even though I've not been blogging regularly, I've been keeping up with my running, my cycling, and my strength training.  Since January, I've turned over that new leaf and been consistent with my workouts, and it's paid off.

A village road (with Genting Highlands in the
distance) where we ride our bikes.

But the pay off isn't just in looking or feeling fit, but rather in feeling spiritually fit.  And it's this spiritual side of things that has come as a bit of a surprise.  I mean, I have figured out a while ago that when I'm in good shape physically, my brain works best, but I hadn't really given much thought to my spirit.  To be honest, I find a lot of "spiritual" stuff out there to be a bunch of mumbo jumbo, and with all due respect to people whose religions are near and dear to them, I've often found myself feeling rather suspect of organized belief systems.  So imagine my surprise when it started to dawn on me that being fit and healthy started to bring some knock-on spiritual effects.

Usually the spring is a really hard time for me, as I struggle with the sticky tendrils of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), as I try to get rid of the icky feelings winter brings and keep myself together until the arrival of summer (I first blogged about these feelings back in 2010).  But this year, being based in Malaysia, has allowed me to escape all those nasty SAD feelings.

The world painted green.

Instead of looking out the window at a snow-covered world with a milkwater sky and a chill in the air - which is enough to make me crawl under the blankets and forgo any workout plans - I've been able to recharge myself in the lush greenery of the tropics year round.

I've taken advantage of it by allowing the greenery to become my church.  Out into nature I head - either on my bike or running - and as the leaves of the trees have made me realize that the one word "green" is so radically in adequate to capture the myriad shades it encompasses, I've felt my batteries being recharged.  I feel like I'm living the life that I'm supposed to be living, and with that sense of "rightness" comes a sense of purpose and peace.

And I can't help but think that that sense of peace is the hallmark of spiritual health.

While fellow Canadian Alanis Morissette thanks India, if I could sing, I'd be thanking Malaysia!

Over and out,
Joy