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I'm laughing when I say that because my husband always says, "Well it's better than the alternative." (as he grins impishly). Well it is true that a "GOOD" life is better than the alternative, but it is not always true that "Life" is better than the alternative. |
OK so now, back to life. Sometimes we say things flippantly without really stopping to think about what we just said and what it means. Is life really better than the alternative. The answer to that is… "IT DEPENDS".
Imagine being 75, having had a stroke, so you can't walk or talk, heart disease, diabetes, …. imagine living in constant chronic fatique, imagine having endless migraines, shortness of breath, excruciating back pain, muscle spasm, fibromyalgia, lupus or gout. Many of us already have one or more of these illnesses.
Did you know that almost EVERYTHING that ails us as we age can be healed with proper exercise, diet, and ridding ourselves of unhealthy habits like smoking, and clearing our bodies of toxins, and then limiting exposure as much as possible.
It is very noble to want to lose weight. Many of us on this journey want weight loss. I want you to think of all of the wonderful benefits that are going to come from each and every choice you make right now. It's hard to think in those terms. We can not foresee the future, so it is difficult to imagine what our life choices today will bring into our lives tomorrow.
Not even I have a crystal ball, but what I do have is proof that my choices YESTERDAY have had consequences on my health today. Some of those things that you read above are already manifesting them in my body. High cholesterol, evidence of sugar crashing (pre-diabetic signal), shortness of breath during mild exercise, chronic low back pain… these are all indications that my body is reacting to my poor lifestyle decisions.
So as much as losing weight is a priority for me, this journey is more about how I am going to feel tomorrow.
Imagine that your body is an MP3 recorder. Every decision you make is diligently copied down. Every bite you put in your mouth makes a sound, every step on your walk is a note, every thought drums a beat. 10 years from now when you play it back what WILL the music of your life sound like?
On that note, I want you to think about this… there are no mistakes in this world…. only miracles! You started out perfect, and worthwhile and loved. You were created for a reason. That reason has nothing to do with how you LOOK. But if you do not care for yourself with the nourishment that this earth can provide you, and the motion you can provide yourself, and the love that comes from knowing you have a mission… how can you carry out your purpose here. How will you be able to live life later if you don't care for yourself now. Weight loss and fitness and eating well… those aren't chores to be done grudgingly… they are an expression of how you feel towards yourself and others. :-)
I want to leave you with a video put to the music and words of my favorite artist. Before you press play, I want you to go somewhere quiet, and as you watch the pictures, I want you to really hear each word spoken to you and remember that we are a part of something special.
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Tags: chronic disease, forum, love yourself, miracles, sara mclachlan
I got a big chuckle when I read this because it reminds me of what my 76 year old father says when people ask him how he’s doing. “Well,” he says, “considering the alternative I’m doing pretty good!” Th
Reading this post, especially the part where you talk about how the dietary and exercise choices we made yesterday create the physical body we have today, made me think about a book I read recently that I thought was really excellent. Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes… it really sets a lot of our modern day notions of a ‘healthy’ diet on its ear, including what we’ve been taught about cholesterol and weight. Definitely makes me feel great about being gluten free.