Does Environment Matter?

Tired of wasting money on wading pools that crack and fall apart, I recently put in two sturdy “ponds” for my ducks.

Waterfowl are happier when they have water to play in.  I am happier with this setup, because it’s much easier to drain and clean than the little wading pools I’d used for the past six years.  The addition of a few plants that the ducks won’t destroy (they normally eat everything green) added to the appearance.  Environment matters.

This got me to thinking.  If stress can make RA worse, can a more pleasing environment reduce stress and lessen RA symptoms?  I believe so.

Everyone is unique; we all have environmental preferences.  What is pleasing to me might not be pleasing to you.  What works to make ducks happy is not the same thing that works to make rabbits happy.  Everyone needs to discover their own optimal environment and then work to create it.

If I could again refer to my duck ponds:  I’m glad that I didn’t try to figure out how to do these on my own.  We have a neighbor who made a similar water feature for his ducks a few years ago.  I consulted him to learn what he’d do differently if he could do it all over again and got some great tips.  I then ran these ideas past my husband, who had some excellent ideas that I would never have thought about.  My son added another perspective.  We all worked together (well… much of the time I stood there while everyone else said, “Don’t hurt yourself” and insisted on doing the heavy work for me) and the end result turned out well.

People-environments can be handled the same way.  We can learn from others what works for them and what might be better if approached differently.  It’s good to pick the brain of others while we’re deciding what to do.  It’s okay to get help with the work.  The goal is less stress, not more!

Create an environment in which you can thrive!

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Sorry for the long silence.  The prednisone taper has been an interesting experience – one I’d prefer not to repeat.  I’ve been off-line, and when I finally logged back onto my computer, had 463 email messages.  I’m not going to stress about it; I scanned the list and tried to identify those that needed a response, but if you sent me something and I didn’t reply, please re-send.  I can’t possibly read 463 old messages.