Several years ago I was discussing wellness practices with a friend.

I shared how running has long been my go-to wellness practice but that I was beginning to lean more on my faith and other practices as well.

“Sounds like you’re putting a few more legs under your stool,” she said.

I’d never heard it put that way before and it made me smile. It’s a great way to look at our overall wellness, I believe, especially for someone such as myself who is getting older.  As my “stool” has gotten a little bigger and more wobbly with age, I definitely can use a few more legs under it.

These additional legs came in especially handy a few weeks ago when I decided to give one of them a rest. I had a bad cold and decided to take a week off of running.

This was a pretty big deal for me because it had been about 15 years since I had taken more than a few days off in a row. I have to admit that I was a bit concerned that my mood level might plummet.

I am happy to report, however, that it did not.

Part of what helped to keep my spirits up during this one-week layoff, I am sure, were my twice-daily walks with my four-legged friend Caleb.

Another big part of it, I am sure, is that I have learned much over the past decade and a half about keeping my spirits up. One of the most important of which is that there are many things that can help us to do so.

Some of the mood-boosters that I have found to be helpful—in addition to aerobic exercise such as running—are sleep, diet, gratitude, and relationships. The most important relationship being one with a Higher Power, who in my case is Jesus Christ.

The great thing about these mood-boosters—especially having a relationship with a Higher Power—is that they are more readily accessible than running. When I am feeling stressed out or down in the dumps, for example, I can’t always go for a run. But I can always pray to my Higher Power. That is far and away the leg under my stool that I am most grateful for.

One of the many reasons that I am so grateful for it is that it is much more than a leg. It is the foundation that supports all of the legs under my stool.