Every human being is the author of his own health or disease.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
It is our duty to the rest of mankind to be perfectly healthy, because we are ripples in the ocean of consciousness, and when we are sick, even a little, we disrupt cosmic harmony. ~Vedic Verse
“If you really cared about me, you would_______________.” How often have we heard it said, said it ourselves, or wanted to say it but refrained? The question here is: If you said that to yourself, how would you fill in the blank? Eat better? Not do so much? Take time to exercise? Travel more? The list of possibilities is endless and only you know the real answer.
I often see people in their early fifties who complain that their health and body went downhill in very unpleasing ways when they turned fifty. What I say to them is this, “It is not turning fifty that caused a decline in your health and body; it is what you did for the first fifty years. Now, how would you like the next fifty years to go?” The truth is that there are so many variables in our lives and everybody is running around doing pretty much the same thing that we rarely attribute our choices and lifestyle to our ultimate health outcomes. And our choices and lifestyle ultimately have more to do with our health than any other set of variables, including genetics. People say, I got diabetes or I had a heart attack, removing us from any connection to the development of the condition. It would often be more accurate to say, I created diabetes or I prompted a heart attack. Every choice we make is a choice for or against our own health and well-being. Lifestyle choices include diet, exercise, sleep, and stress-management among others. A medical doctor once told me that 80% of the people she saw in her very busy practice were there for conditions and diseases related to their lifestyle choices. Meaning, in reverse, if they changed their lifestyle choices soon enough, they could change the condition themselves without medical intervention.
As a character in the novel Shantaram muses, “I smoked in those days because, like everyone else in the world who smokes, I wanted to die at least as much as I wanted to live.” Our health and lifestyle choices reflect our self respect, our care for ourselves, our desire to live vibrant, lengthy lives. Consciously completing the statement, “If I really cared about me, I would ___________________,” can guide us in being more self-respectful.
©2009 Carrie A. Mayes All Rights Reserved. Feel free to use this article if full attribution is given to Carrie A. Mayes with the following description: Carrie Mayes D.C. is a chiropractor working with people to attain higher levels of health, feel better and enjoy life more. You can find out more about Carrie at www.mayeschiropractic.com.