Behold, my metamorphosis, at the NC Arboretum
After waiting not so patiently in line behind the under-ten crowd at the NC Arboretum last weekend, I stood in the middle of two giant Monarch butterfly wings so The Boyfriend could capture my faux-metamorphosis. When I looked at the photo above, I thought, wow, I look pretty good as a butterfly, and also, this is exactly how I’ve felt since I’ve moved to Asheville: my spirit, cramped for so many years due to the fall-out of a lousy divorce, among other hard things, now soars.
Reader, it feels good to be free. Compared to L.A., there is almost no traffic here. When I wake up in the morning, I no longer gaze at a concrete wall, but at mountains and trees. I feel safe; not once have I heard a police helicopter overhead searching for felons, a daily occurrence at my apartment in a high-end West Hollywood neighborhood.
The view from my deck this morning
Building community has been easy here, in part because it just doesn’t take long to drive across town and visit friends. The simpler lifestyle and access to nature have had such a positive impact on my nervous system that I experienced literally no withdrawal symptoms when I weaned off the antidepressant that I’d been on for 15 years — and I feel happier being off it.
All those years I thought there was something wrong with me — I now wonder if the problem was just the way I was living.
The past few nights I’ve been watching The Blue Zones Netflix docuseries, where journalist Dan Buettner visits places — “blue zones” — around the globe that boast the highest concentration of healthy old people. As he interviews amazingly limber and upbeat nonagenarians and centenarians, he tries to figure out what these folks have done to live so long — and so well. He saw very little dementia or cancer in The Blue Zones elders.
I haven’t watched the whole series but these are the long life nuggets I’ve gleaned so far:
Don’t worry, it doesn’t solve anything
Move your body. Walk a lot, especially up stairs and on steep roads
Eat a mostly plant-based diet
Be part of a close-knit community
Prioritize your romantic partner
Listen to and respect your elders
Cultivate a spiritual practice
And the best news — coffee and wine in moderation are good for you!!
I think I do a pretty good job with everything on this list, except for the first one. I definitely worry less than I did in L.A., but my mind still takes frequent sharp turns down Worst Case Scenario Lane, and I have to harness all my CBT and mindfulness skills to get back to a more pleasant neighborhood. When I can, I take a long walk in nature — by far the best anxiety-busting hack I’ve found.
Taken during a neighborhood stroll
My cat, Kesha, is 72 in cat years. She’s eaten the same thing for each of those “72” years, and is utterly unfazed by anything, although between you and me, I don’t think she’s the sharpest feline out there. But she’s also living her best life in Asheville, and here’s a photo to prove it.
Really? Kesha seems pretty, pretty smart to me. After all, who is getting served breakfast in a luxurious warm bed on a winter's day...with no tipping.
Love all of this! I watched the blue zones in one sitting, my ADHD lets me do that when it’s something I’m interested in and hyper-focus takes over 😉I’m hoping we can create our own blue zones! So happy for you and sweet Kesha!!