For better or for worse, stories change our lives. They move us to action, whether those actions are mostly reflective or not. In the days since the horrific attack in Newtown, Conn., I can't help but think, like most other people, just how fleeting life really is. How even the "biggest" things that captivate our daily lives seem so trivial in the face of such devastating tragedy.
We aren't granted an unlimited amount of time on this sacred planet. It's up to each of us to decide how we choose to live each precious day we are given. Do you want to live your life with a series of "what ifs" hanging over your head? Or do you want to live it to its fullest? Every day you awake hating the way you look or feel is a day you are wasting. It's a day that you are chucking out of the window and allowing to float by. There is a lot we are powerless against in this world, but our health and well-being is something we can and should take control over.
You don't have to wait for the calendar year to change in order to change your life.
Each new day you are granted provides you with a clean slate -- to act better, love more, and give gratitude for the life and body you have been given. The question remains: Are you motivated enough to capitalize on this gift?
I began the Let's Move Monday series on threeLOL.com because I needed to record my healthy story. I knew that writing each week would help me stay on track and focus on what was important to me, which is healthy living. What I've come to realize is that "healthy living" isn't my biggest motivation; my family is. The members of my family inspire me with their dedication and ferocious appetite for living.
All of them have been dealt a series of cards that would set most people back, from strokes to Parkinson's to cancer scares and depression. Yet, with each obstacle they all examined what it was they could and couldn't control and moved from there. The fragility of their health has been the bugle that continues to march them forward to more thoughtful and holistic living.
Healthy eating and living isn't about sacrifice; it's about recognizing the gift of life you've been granted and honoring yourself. Filling our bodies with processed foods weighs us down both physically and emotionally, limiting our ability to shine. How can your brilliance show through when your spirit and organs are filled with junk? Simply put, it can't.
We may not be able to control how and when we die, but what we can control is how we live.
Be visible, be fabulous -- let your life be a lesson!
Originally posted at www.threeLOL.com
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