Everywhere I turn I hear about new workouts, awesome supplements and wondrous super foods. Somebody has even worked out how to classify chocolate as a super food. Yee Ha!
But alas, I sit in dismay. And I am reminded of the many fine physical specimens who left the planet early. The list goes on and on. Many people we can all freely name had bodies to die for. It seemed that they were in excellent physical specimens but they died young.
Some will make accusations of misdemeanour, like with Florence Griffith-Joyner, who died suddenly from an epileptic seizure brought on by a congenital vascular brain abnormality. I have heard many blame her death on drug abuse.
I used to verbally spa with a fellow fitness industry identity. We both spoke at conferences, but we were almost polar opposites. He was not very tall and a fanatical body builder. I am very tall and an avid runner and swimmer. He ate meat in large volumes three meals a day. I have not eaten animal flesh for nearly 35 years. He used to tease me that my body would fall apart one day due to lack of muscle (mind you I am over 100kg), and I used to tease him that he would die young. In 2001, that is what happened. He died suddenly from heart disease at 42, leaving many of his fans bewildered and confused.
But this article is not meant to be about diet. There is so much else going on. Again, as a reader, you could name several people who smoked and drank their way to their 90's. They seemingly abused their bodies but still lived a long productive life.
Good health is so much more than how your physical body looks. Sure, it is vitally important to take care of your body. Treat it well, keep it strong and functional and keep it challenged by things that help it improve.
But humans have a mind, emotions and we are a being, a formless spirit. At least, this is what I believe for me. All of these too need to be healthy. Now, I believe our spirit, that true essence, is beyond having health parameters, but the body, mind and consciousness it lives a life through all have health parameters.
Consider what happens with a single stressful thought. It can trigger all sorts of neural responses and activity leading to the stimulation of powerful emotions and further reactive mental activity. One negative though can ruin a person's entire day or week. This can lead to all sorts of health degrading events like anxiety and worry, drug and alcohol abuse and even the consumption of harmful foods.
A single thought can lead to a break down in a relationship. And that single thought can arise purely through our own viewpoint and have nothing to do with any actual event or reality.
It is my long held belief that we cannot hope to be healthy unless we are striving for peace of mind, happiness and a deep inner calm. These things are not really possible when we are bored or overcome by unhealthy thinking and destructive emotions.
One of the best ways I know to really start moving in this direction is to find out what it is you really want to do in your life. What is your deepest most enduring passion? Now, you may not know the answer to that. But, I feel that pursuing and finding your passion is as crucial as your morning workout and probably even more important than your green smoothie and super food supplements.
I feel that it is not really possible to have a healthy heart if that heart is not truly filled with peace.
If you genuinely wish to move beyond all of the mental and emotional drama of life and restore your sense of peace, start getting interested in what you are truly in this life for. Each of us has a unique gift, and somewhere in the world, perhaps many places, there is a need that can be filled by your unique gift. When you find it, your spirit will soar, your cares will drop away and you will really begin to live.
There are wonderful possibilities out there.