A Healthy Hope

"Take care of your body with steadfast fidelity. The soul must see through these eyes alone, and if they are dim, the whole world is clouded." ~ Goethe

Many of us believe because the head and the body are separated by the neck that these two things... mind and body... are somehow separate in how they function. The body has its own chores while the mind spends the day on its own daily dealings. Yet there is no separation. “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” (World Health Organization) The mind and body must work together in order to bring harmony and peace of mind. When the mind is sick, the body will manifest this emotional distress somewhere in its physical attributes and when the body is sick, the mind is unable to complete its many tasks with any amount of clearness. All of us know this true and have felt this imbalance in one way or another. When pain commands the body, the mind responds. When the mind is emotionally charged, the body responds. Cicero said it this way, “In a disordered mind, as in a disordered body, soundness of health is impossible.”

Sadly, like many things in this modern age, everything seems to be upside down. As Charles Caleb Colton said, "Money is the most envied, but the least enjoyed. Health is the most enjoyed, but the least envied." Many of us have gotten so caught up in the ‘rat race’, that we have lost a once very valuable pole position; OUR HEALTH. Why is it that our health only seems more valuable AFTER we begin to lose it?  There is a saying that goes as follows: We lose our health while chasing after wealth and then we lose our wealth after chasing after our health. Today, many of us are battling sickness in our bodies. It impacts every aspect our lives. Our ability to think properly is curtailed and it leaves us with a spirit to do, but lame in our physical attempts to step toward healing. The spirit is indeed willing but the flesh is too weak to step up to do anything about it. “The higher your energy level, the more efficient your body. The more efficient your body, the better you feel and the more you will use your talent to produce outstanding results." (Anthony Robbins)  Over the years, I have had people come to me and say, 'They are sick and tired of being sick and tired' and I return a smile and say...GOOD! You may say, that is a mean response, but to me, I am happy to hear they are tired of being sick, because what they are actually saying is they are tired of coping with sickness in their body and now ready to do something about it! So many times we 'learn' how to cope with sickness in our bodies. We learn how to bear with the pain or cover it up with some kind of drug, but in the end, the harvest comes and the fruit of coping always brings a pay day.

"He who has health, has hope. And he, who has hope, has everything." (Arabian Proverb) If you are in this place of imbalance today, I want to offer you some hope. YOU do not have to cope with sickness of mind or body! Everyone of us has one hundred trillion LIVING cells in our bodies. Each cell goes through a process of dying off and then be renewed in newness of life. Every three months you have a new blood stream. Every eleven months you have brand new organs. Within a year you have new bone cells and new bones. Basically, within a year to a year and a half, all of us have a brand new body. The miracle lies within this fact of renewal. IF you change what you feed your body, your body will respond in renewal and life. Continue to feed your body dead processed foods, life will slowly fade from your body. But feed your body with the vital energy that is contained within living foods, then life will come back into balance. Obviously the cliche fits... Garbage IN... Garbage OUT! Good things IN, then Good things will come out! It is the same with the mind. If you are mentally zapped and emotionally charged, maybe you need to change what you 'eat' with your eyes! “The body is like a piano, and happiness is like music. It is needful to have the instrument in good order.” ~  Henry Ward Beecher You must change what you consume with your senses. If all you do is consume violence, murders, adultery, and hate over the established airways, then the mind suffers. But if you change your environment from hate to life, how much more would you feel a 'peace of mind'?

No matter how we try to get around this fact or ignore it, the mind and body work hand in hand. Today, we must stop making excuses concerning our health. There is a Spanish Proverb that says, “A man too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of his tools.” Only YOU can take charge and take care of your own mind and body. Yes, it will take effort. Yes, it will be mentally and physically challenging, but are you not worth it? As you move to take care of your body, let’s try to remember one thing...neither I, nor your neighbor lives there...YOU DO!