Mental health, simplicity, and cleaning out the cobwebs

Cleaning out the clutter. Every so often, you’ve got to do it, especially in times of outer chaos, because if they’re messed up out there, they’re going to get out of sorts inside as well. And if you’re going to do a little spring cleaning, you will need the proper tools and cleaning liquids for the job. But don’t fret — Medicine Box’s got you covered.

You may have grown up with or around a hoarder — in my house, that would have been my mom. The basement was pretty much where all of my childhood relics have been preserved, from Star Wars action figures to random books stretching back to my preschool days. While it annoys the hell out of my Dad, it’s hardly as bad as it can get, when it fills entire rooms and the person simply can’t bear to throw any of it out, no matter how much pain it causes them or others. Just like any sort of addiction, there’s a comfort that sets in with having things just so, even if it keeps you from budging an inch.

That’s where the Seven Pillars come in. Properly applied to one’s life, these pillars can make this project a lot more enjoyable than it would otherwise be. Because like my mother, it’s gonna be a little difficult throwing away what only serves you so much. But you only need so much to really thrive in life — and it’s probably time you did. Following are some excellent places to start.

Dropping into the seven pillars

Going into this adventure, at Medicine Box, we attempted to scale things down to their base elements. Just as we do it with our products, we did it in our daily lives by breaking it down to Seven Pillars that we integrated into our daily lives. This is how we use each one to maintain simplicity in our daily lives.

Mindfulness: Dedicate at least 20 minutes a day to a meditation practice, and do nothing. That’s right, nothing. Can’t get much simpler than that, right? Over time, that dedication will ultimately turn into devotion.

Nature: Get out into nature for 30 minutes. If you can’t do that, surround oneself with plants or serve her by striving for her preservation. Mother Nature doesn’t stop working for us, so why should we? 

Music: If you don’t play an instrument, use music to amplify the activities you are already doing. Make it the background canvas to your day.

Food: Drink plenty of water and eat less sugar. Eat as many plants as possible.  Find foods that compliment your life that give you energy and boost your brain health. A moderate Mediterranean Diet also complements 1CaB products well.  

Community: As I mentioned in my last blog, communities help with delegation. Community means you never have to do it alone. It DOESN’T mean that it won’t be work, but it DOES mean that the work is worth it, and much more achievable than if done on one’s own.

Collaboration: “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”  Of course it’s important to find people within your community that align with your collaborative ideas to achieve healthy collaboration. Be discerning. 

Recovery: As I have often said on this blog, WE are ALL recovering from something. Relating to simplicity, this means continually reassessing oneself to remove what does not serve you, like weeding one’s garden of unneeded complications. Continue to face the parts of your life that need healing. Push through resistance. Simplify the people, places and things in it to enhance clarity in your journey.

The cabinets of Medicine Box

Of course, simplicity does not mean you should only have so many choices. To be fair, my main main Steve Jobs really had the right idea IMO with keeping his own work clothes simple, taking out a lot of mental work involved in determining what to wear. But when it comes to health, everyone’s different, so they will need different options.

So expect us to add a few more cabinets alongside 1CaB as time goes by. Some will be for more generalized needs, others will tackle specific mental and spiritual issues as new tools come online within the coming years. The goal is to serve more people as we expand into the wider market.

While the world may be complex, your way through it should not be, and taking care of yourself should not have to layer undue burdens and suffering upon you — something public health communicators need reminding of. I and the rest of the team here at Medicine Box take our role as mental and spiritual health advocates pretty seriously, so expect us to practice this daily, sharing whatever we can along the way. Without even knowing it, we’ve been trained to cling onto habits and behaviors that only bring us pain. Sometimes all it takes is a shift to bring us back into equilibrium. The Seven Pillars and 1CaB is how we return to source, if they are used with intention and purpose. Simple as that.