I heard someone speak yesterday about Health Literacy. Much like becoming Culturally literate this pertains to educating oneself on the benefits of health. Let's face it, we walk around every second of everyday in our bodies but do we truly know them?
Our society is bombarded with one diet after another...is it 8 glasses of water a day? Or is it 10? Should I eat veggies? What if I can't spend the $20 on an organic baggie of apples? What then? Do I just toss it aside, grab a pizza, damage and inflame myself more????
Much like my determination to live an intentional sustainable life, I'm going with the one step at a time approach. My brother became a vegan not long after our mother died. At the end she was a chemical, pharmaceutical concoction and it deeply frightened us both. Something shifted and when he attended a talk regarding the book "The China Study" that quantum leap occurred. I will never forget his determination; the vidalia onions, the chick peas, the one meal building on one meal. He got it. He began to view his body as a whole system - A microcosm of the macrocosm. A leaf on the mighty oak. A star in a galaxy.
Fast forward....65 or so pounds lighter (and he Never really looked fat to me!) He is a beautiful, graceful, human BEing. A lighter spirit. His body has become an exquisite vessel with which to move that soul from A to B. If you talk with him now as to the 'why' his view has changed. In the beginning it was to 'feel better' 'drop some fat' 'attain longevity'. Today he will tell you somewhere in the last few years that all got woven into some new beliefs 'not taking more than my fair share' 'treading lightly' 'harming non' and my favorite; 'Was I so obtuse as not to see how my consuming was damaging things I hold sacred?' Now he is humble, eats simply, enjoys good health, and tries to encourage gifts of sustainability and wellness at the holidays. This boy, this man, never ceases to amaze and enlighten me. BUT here is the key that our modern medical world has finally caught up with, that he understood in a moment - He is a whole system an entire universe in the flesh, and now treats himself and those around him accordingly. Nothing is separate, his mind, emotions, physical health etc. And somewhere deep down, don't we all know this to be true?
Once we compartmentalize we are begging for a mess. I can tend toward being a complete workaholic. After a few weeks of crying, not sleeping, depleting all my stores of vitamins and minerals my body just stopped. STOPPED. I went to get out of bed and spent the next 4 days there...bewildered...afraid.
The journey of a thousand miles truly begins with ONE STEP.
Start now, in this moment, on your 'health literacy'. Start with one glass of water. Start with one short walk, one deep full breath, one article on the mind/body connection, one class, one seminar, one thought of gratitude for the vessel you've been given and build from there. Remember it took every moment from the beginning of time to make THIS moment - to make YOU. Keep carrying the good, the bad will become to heavy and you will have no choice but to lay it down.
The only way around is through - Good Energy and Health to you!
