Creating Your Health Blog
Articles, Musings, & Resources for Creating Your Health
from a Mental Health and Creative Arts Therapy Perspective.
-Christine Matteson LCAT, LMHC
It’s Yule!
Yule: It's actually a plural Germanic word and means "parties". It originated from an old Norse word, jol, meaning wheel that symbolizes time, which has come full circle and now starts again, as in a never-ending cycle. The Yule festival is a pagan holiday that begins...
Valentine’s Day: Bring on the Love!
Photo by Micheile Henderson on Unsplash Valentine's Day Where on earth did this holiday come from? Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, I'm just curious. Curious about human behavior and why Wegmans was packed this morning with people buying 35...
Advent: A Time to Rejoice.
This Sunday marks the third week of Advent, the season of preparation and anticipation. Christians have traditionally celebrated advent (4 Sundays before December 25) in preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. However, the word, Advent, simply...
Advent: Anticipation and Preparation
Rituals and traditions are important this time of year, no matter what holiday you observe, or what you are looking forward to...the solstice the return of the light), the New Year, a covid vaccine, new president, etc.. Rituals connect us to our past, to our families,...
The Best Season of your Life.
Ten thousand flowers in spring, the moon in autumn, a cool breeze in summer, snow in winter. If your mind isn’t clouded by unnecessary things, this is the best season of your life. ~ Wu-men ~ Photo by Chris Galbraith I love this poem by Wu-men. For this to be the best...
Kon Mari – 3 years later.
It's been three years since I "Kon-Maried" my home. Lately, there has been a big resurgence of the Kon Mari method (The life changing method of tidying up), due in large part to Marie Kondo's new Netflix binge-watchable show. I thought it was time to take stock as...
Meditation Monday: My Favorite Apps!
Feeling harried? Overwhelmed? Too many responsibilities? One tool to help reduce stress is to download a meditation app. and even more importantly (lol), ...BEGIN to practice! Stress management helps you create your health on every level. You feel better, more at...
Our Lives are Lived in Rhythm and Movement.
Last week, while walking the Erie Canal path, a friend and I came upon a beautiful pileated woodpecker. He was looking for food in the roots of a tree that had just been removed. I wondered if he had been evacuated from his home in that tree. He was stunning. It's...
Putting up with it…(frustration tolerance)
Putting up with it...Frustration Tolerance In January, we got out quite a bit for winter hikes and I found myself having a fairly congenial relationship with winter...(fist bump). Until one day...I took a tumble while walking on a icy trail. Using my hand to break...
Enchanting Midsummer
An Enchanting Visit There's nothing like a morning swim in the lake in summer. Not a single soul was out on the lake this morning. Except me. And a Dragonfly. This guy hovered along side me, keeping me company, for most of the swim. ...