You won a car! It’s a beautiful, top of the line, dream car. You would NEVER be able to afford this on your salary. It is such a gift, free and clear, all you have to do is keep it up. You can’t remember being this excited since Christmas Day when you were 5 years old. You jump in the driver’s seat and take it for a spin. It is the most amazing feeling. How in the world could you ever have gotten this lucky?
The next thing you know, you take this beautiful machine and you pour soda all over the fresh leather seats. You take a black pen and draw all over the dash. You put such junk in the gas tank that it barely runs. This beautiful creation can no longer perform as it once did. It becomes haggard and old before it’s time. You blame the car for not lasting or holding up. You no longer love it the way you once did.
You would never treat your car this way, would you? It is sad, tragic even. Why are we treating our bodies the exact same way? We would be irate with our kids if they treated their toys the way we treat our bodies. Why are we so self-loathing? We are given this amazing machine as the house for our soul. It has the ability to heal itself, the ability to convert good food into energy. It replenishes its own cells. For many of us, it even has the ability to create new life. It is 5 million times more amazing than any man-made car or house or toy. It is cooler than the brand new Iphone or the latest Xbox.
And yet, we trash it. We put sugar in the gas tank (literally). We live a sedentary lifestyle that kills us. We don’t listen to our bodies. We basically take caffeine through intravaneous tubes to keep our body going when all it wants to do is rest because we chose to watch television all night instead of relaxing in silence and giving our brains a break. We abuse our temples. When our bodies or minds show symptoms of abuse, we go to the doctor and get a quick fix instead of a long term solution. The “cure” is often worse than the disease. It creates stress in our bodies and results in side effects that perpetuate the vicious cycle. Abusing our bodies has become the social norm and it needs to stop – right now with you and me.
But, how?
We make little changes. We recognize when we’re lying to ourselves and we reprogram ourselves with truth. We rebel against the societal norm that landed a generation of kids unhealthy and overweight. We join in community. We share ideas, thoughts and alternatives. We lift each other up and with live happily. We find joy in our journey, not just in the number on the scale today. Know that there are just as many unhealthy “skinny” people as unhealthy overweight people. A number cannot be our focus. Know that the diet industry makes money on perpetuating the problem. If they have you yo-yo dieting your whole life, their bottom line swells. We shall never diet again. We journey to our optimal physical health. It is the journey of a lifetime. It starts today and everyday – living with joy. Won’t you join us?
Photo Credit: bikracer