People are basically the same the world over. Everybody wants the same things - to be happy, to be healthy, to be at least reasonably prosperous, and to be secure. They want friends, peace of mind, good family relationships, and hope that tomorrow is going to be even better than today.
- Zig Ziglar -
For most of my life I've worked towards eating well, meaning eating in a healthy fashion including what I eat and the quantities I consume...but I'm less than perfect in every way and there's certainly been times I've eaten far too much of the wrong things and just too much in general. I survived the, the year of the donut, in 1997 though, (I ate way too many donuts that year), and other such times and overall feel I've maintained a good diet and that, together with an active lifestyle, has kept me looking and feeling good.
I have an incurable health issue, one that will end my life (probably prematurely) eventually and lately I've needed to ramp up the level of care I take with what and how much I consume, and other things like physical activity (hard to increase because I'm already so active), and reducing stress levels which directly affect the condition. The net result is I've lost ten kilograms (22 pounds) from my body weight and yeah...I feel great and think I look better too...but some the weight lost was muscle and while I don't feel inclined to have muscles to impress anyone, I feel stronger when I'm at a certain level in that regard...a situation some really heavy weights are rectifying slowly. Overall, I'm feeling and looking pretty good.
The owner of the café I ate at yesterday, the quinoa and roasted chicken salad above, a person I know well said, G-dog, you look so skinny. Yeah right girlie, not something I want to hear. I've not seen her for a while hence her reaction and she clarified with, I mean you look so different now, trim, terrific and you're glowing. I think she laid it on a little thick with the, "you're glowing" comment, I'm not fucken pregnant, but we laughed about it all the same.
How does one measure healthy and wholesome in respect of one's life though? It is purely physical? Hint, the answer in my opinion is no. It comes from the inside out and is as much a spiritual, mental and emotional thing as it is general appearance and physical health, and so I work on that too.
Knowing I'll die eventually, of natural causes or otherwise, is a huge motivator to me.
I don't shy away from talking about it and I actively work towards it - having my affairs in order and living my best life - and don't feel there's any reason to avoid the situation. You'll die too you know, it's just what happens to humans, and acknowledging it motivates me to live a better life right now, to experience more, listen to myself more intently, improve where I can, build and nurture better relationships, seek understanding and not be afraid of change, failing or making mistakes. It seems like the right thing to do.
I guess, for me it's just as important to exercise and eat well as it is to find self-understanding, uphold my morals, ethics, honour and integrity (as I see it) and to be true to myself; down that path lies a better life I think. I work on my emotional state, my thoughts and attitudes and many other aspect of me. Will people agree with me on this or with the things I do? Fuck no, they won't always agree, but they have their own path and must walk it in the ways they feel value-adds their own life.
I'm not sure I can totally answer the what's healthy and wholesome question generally or for myself personally, not with any real certainty anyway - I'm not a smart man - but I know what's important to me, what personal traits and values I want to uphold and why. I may not know where they lead, others may not agree or like them, but I know, when I get to where I'm going I'll be able to look back on my time and say that I stood for something, held true, stayed the course, adapted and overcame where needed and learned a lot along the way. I'll fuck it up a lot though, always have and always will.
Life is carved with many facets, as am I (or anyone else), and I believe it's wise to take each one and understand them; applying reflection, self-honesty, acknowledgement and understanding will assist in combining them all but one must be prepared to pivot, to change, and to try and fail then try again...although there's limits I guess...I'll certainly not be trying, the year of the donut, again like I did in 1997...I learned from that.
What do you think about this topic? Have you ever contemplated your eventual demise, do you acknowledge it or push the thought aside as uncomfortable? What about your life? Do you actively pursue it or prefer a more passive approach, allow it to push and pull you as you float along without direction? What are the personal traits and values that mean the most to you, which have you deployed well and badly and how has that affected your life?
If you've got any thoughts and feel like sharing please go ahead, I'd be pleased to hear from you and to engage back.
Design and create your ideal life, tomorrow isn't promised - galenkp
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The image in this post is my own.