The dictionary definition of holistic refers to emphasizing the whole and the connectedness of the parts. However, we each may have our own personal definition of holistic. For some of us, being holistic might mean planting a garden. For others, it might mean sleeping with their baby in the family bed. It can also be heard simultaneously with buzz words like "going green." It may relate to bringing one's mind, body and soul closer to what is real, pure and simple.
In our family, holistic living relates to cooking, cleaning, media (or lack thereof), education, health, the organization of our home and our daily routine or rhythm. Here are a couple concrete examples:
In order to keep our food source simple and pure, we have a garden. While some might find this to be a lot of work, it may be easier than reading labels and comparing prices in the produce aisle. You can also make your own cleaning products with the most basic ingredients out there...castile soap and baking soda. It may be cheaper and less work to make your cleaning products rather than research each product to see if the ingredients are safe.
Being "holistic" isn't about perfection or about being better than others. It's about finding out what is important to you, and putting your mind, body and soul into it. It's about making decisions that are healthy for you and give you peace of mind. Living holistically should create simplicity in your life, and ultimately could affect your community in a positive way. We are bombarded daily by messages from the media, our community, our friends and our family. These messages sometimes put extra pressure on us to do things that we aren't necessarily sure we want to do. Being holistic requires us to question those messages and see how they affect our "whole" life and all of the pieces that work together to make our life productive, happy and healthy.
Decide what you believe, regardless of what you hear others telling you - sometimes you may find that you go against the grain. Recently the Denver Post had a great article titled "Dial down kids' summer activity," which highlighted the work of Kim John Payne, author of Simplicity Parenting. Whether you have children or not, a message that Kim John Payne relays is important to all of us. He discusses boredom as the precursor to creativity. When was the last time you had nothing to do? Typically, in those moments, we rush to fill the empty space. Holistic living, as simple living, can lead to greater things, that may embrace your passions in a way you hadn't imagined.
When you consider your definition of holistic, consider what is important to you and your family, and then go from there-and enjoy the bumps and learning curves along the way. Happy travels.
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