FALL
2023
Good News for North Queens
The Good News for North Queens community newsletter is published quarterly by the North Queens Medical Centre Association - Since 1998 Public submissions are welcome and should be sent to submissionsnqmc@gmail.com The deadline for next issue's submissions is November 15, 2023
Routine, A Survival Tool for the Masses Having a routine and movement are good for one’s mental health. I’m an early riser and have a pattern I like to follow. I take the dog out for her morning relief, we come in and I like to do my morning meditations, text my family (wishing them a good day), compete with my siblings in the NYT Wordle challenge we have each day, and make the morning coffee. This regular rhythm helps me to start the day in a relaxed way. It keeps me from focusing on yesterday’s bumps or imagining tomorrow’s possible disasters. A good friend of mine once said, “what comes about today is enough for any person to work on.” I believe this to be a good truth to follow. Back to the routine. Yes, it can be mundane and to others looks boring. But it is a very individual thing, and as long as it does not take away or hurt others it is basically a good thing for a person. I do not live alone. So, my routine for a good part of the day is a combined routine for my wife and I. The more people that live in the household the more combining of routines need to be considered. However, I would not change my experience for anything. We had a young family and worked as do many others. We moved into the grown children and many grandchildren running under our feet on their many visits routine. (Now how blessed were we?) Now our grandchildren are grown and we are for the most part back into the she-and-he routine. I think that for myself, not having a routine of sorts would be chaos. Perhaps getting older makes a person more sedimentary and routine loving. (I don’t mind shifting, especially when it is for something that I enjoy.) I understand that events in our lives can shift the normal cycle of personal practice and can lead to change. Think of this as an opportunity to make a new routine regiment. For most people, I dare say that routine is not a thought about event. I only realize it when it is broken for one reason or another. So, I ask you to think about your personal routine and life style. What does it achieve for the most part? Does it help you to live in the crazy times we are experiencing? Are you able to live one day at a time? A breach in our routines, for any reason, does not mean that the end is near at hand. When life hands you a bag of lemons, make the choice to turn it into something useful like lemonade. Resilience is about getting on and developing routine into your life as quickly as you are able to. So, what’s my point? I believe that routine builds stability. Stability gives us a sense of who we are. This in turns helps us to be useful to others and to follow the golden rule. (Google that one!) This is my advice to you. For the most part stick to routine. It gives stability and adds normalcy to your day. This in turn gives you better mental health. Anxiety and stress cause many physical problems. We do have a choice despite the many things that may come our way. Use that to your advantage. And now, I’ll get going on my ‘old man jog’, a very normal and crucial part of this person’s routine. It provides me with time to veg out and spend time with my personal beliefs. Oh, the happiness of routine!!!! Peter Worden on behalf of the NQMCA