The Passion of All Passions
There's a lot spoken these days about seeking your passion, developing your passion, living your passion In other words living life with purpose
Passion is like an insatiable furnace that has to be fed "Feed me, feed me", it says
So today I'd like to address this passion from a health perspective
Health as a Passion
What? Health and passion? I believe we're all interested in living a healthy life Right? It's hardwired into us from birth as an aspect of survival of the species So it would be natural if we would be passionate about our own survival
"I eat healthy" What does that mean? Who say's what's healthy? An individual decision, I suppose, but a casual personal observation, but health passion would require of us asking some hard questions about our so called healthy choices
But perhaps there's interference?
Passionate Health Questions
I think that when we are passionate about our health it means that we'll do anything to make it happen We'll go to any lengths to make sure that our health is optimal So ask yourself these questions(no right or wrong answers and you won't be graded!)
Will I spend any amount of money and forego any extraneous expenses(movies, gas, treats, vacations, etc) to further my health?
Do I continue to seek out different informaton to evolve my health?
Am I healthier in my mindbody physiology today than I was yesterday, last month, last year?
Do I regard aging as a fictional event?
Whe I wake up in the morning do I think about the health of my mindbody first and the future events of the day second?
Do I consider exercise a barometer of health? (ie if I'm able to run, swim, bike, or climb Mount Everest then I'm healthy) If so, why and who says?
Misdirecting Our Passionate Efforts for Health
You see it's all about the distractions of life and day to day activities that divert our attention away from our health passion
Today the matter science(molecular study) as typified in nutrition directs our attention away from the salient aspects of personal health We become so focused on the molecules in foods(including vitamins and supplements) that we miss the greater issues of lifestyle
It's as if we are indulging on the small things rather than stepping back and looking at the greater picture
Feeding the Furnace
From my own experience and what I have encountered with patients is that we have to first start the furnace of health passion
Like anything else this expects some form of commitment on our part
Passionate about health implies that there is a willingness to step outside the box, to encounter new information, to try new things on, in order to make health a priority
We don't really speak to this in our culture, perhaps becasue as we've said earlier, this survival thing is hardwired and so we just assume that it's part of our lifestyle But I think not
Passionate About Our Lifestyle Choices
So simple things first Come hell or high water we chose the following choices
Lights out by 10:30pm
Up at 6am
Favor foods that briing about balance
Build a churan to enhance digestive fire
Now you're stoking the furnace!
Ciao with passion To health as a Skill Love DrBill