“Health.”
Say it to yourself out loud.
What do you think of when you say that word?
Does it infer boring waits to see a doctor, or even a series
of doctors? Does it bring images of hospital beds, drug prescriptions, and
painful recovery from surgery?
Or do you look at it more holistically than that?
Does it signify bland-tasting foods that are like chewing a
mouthful of sawdust? Does it bring to your mind the stink of a gym, or
boring hours of working out that leave you sore and achy?
Or do you imagine peak energy levels, a clear mind, and
vigor to engage whatever task presents itself? Do you see your life’s journey
clearly, from beginning to end? Can you clearly identify your purpose in
less than five words? Does your purpose excite you? Does it get you
to bed early, so you can get up early the next day to pursue your purpose
again? How much of your day do you spend on the realization of your
purpose? Is it your top priority?
Life-Style:
Purpose verses Desire
I have found that people can only be healthy—truly
healthy—if they understand their purpose in life.
What is yours? Can you come up with a purpose
statement, and then compress it to powerfully express your purpose in less than
five words? When you can do that, you will have the beginning of a healthy walk
in life.
The identification of your purpose must be created from deep
soul-stirring questions like: What am I? Who am I? How did I come into
being? Why am I? Why am I here? What is my highest potential? If I fulfill
my highest possible potential, what will I become? How do I fulfill that
potential? Who am I to God? Who is God? Who is God to me? How can I come to
know these things?
I took a class on nutrition a short while ago. The
teacher of the class has been a life-long teacher of nutrition, a vegetarian
and a macrobiotic practitioner. He stated that he had learned the hard way that
until you help a person change their desires in life, you cannot help
them change their nutritional habits. The same would be true of exercise,
the willingness to take herbs, engaging in an adventurous spiritual journey,
and stretching their mindset to include health-promoting practices like regular
chiropractic and acupuncture care.
So, what is your purpose in life? Are you willing to
seek it out? Are you willing to ask difficult questions and challenge your
current life view, to stretch yourself into something that is even
better?
“We
Shall See”
One day in late summer, an old farmer was working in his
field with his old, sick horse. The farmer felt compassion for the horse, and
desired to lift its burden. So he let his horse loose so it could go to the
mountains and live out the rest of its life.
Soon after, neighbors from the nearby village visited,
offering their condolences and saying, "What a shame. Now your only
horse is gone. How unfortunate you are! You must be very sad. How will you
live, work the land, and prosper?" The farmer replied: "We shall
see."
Just two days later, the old horse came back, rejuvenated
from meandering in the mountainsides while eating the wild grasses. And
following him into the corral were twelve new, young, healthy, wild horses.
Word got out in the village of the old farmer's good fortune
and it wasn't long before people stopped by to congratulate the farmer on his
good luck. "How fortunate you are!" they exclaimed. “You must be
very happy!" Again, the farmer softly said, "We shall see."
At daybreak on the next morning, the farmer's only son set
off to attempt to train the wild horses, but the farmer's son was thrown to the
ground and his leg was broken. One by one, the villagers came to bemoan
the farmer's latest misfortune.
"Oh, what a tragedy! Your son won't be able to
help you farm with a broken leg. You'll have to do all the work yourself. How
will you survive? You must be very sad," they said. Calmly going
about his usual business, the farmer answered, "We shall see."
Several days later, a war broke out. The Emperor's men
arrived in the village, demanding that the young men come with them to be
conscripted into the Emperor's army. As it happened, the farmer's son was
deemed unfit because of his broken leg.
"What very good fortune you have!" the villagers
exclaimed as their own young sons were marched away. "You must be very
happy."
"We shall see," replied the old farmer as he
headed off alone to work his field.
As time went on, the broken leg healed, but the son was left
with a slight limp. Again the neighbors came to pay their condolences. "Oh
what bad luck. Too bad for you!" But the old farmer simply replied,
“We shall see."
As it turned out, the other young boys from the village died
in the war and the old farmer and his son were the only able-bodied men capable
of working the village lands. The old farmer became wealthy, and was very
generous to the villagers. They said: "Oh how fortunate we are, you must
be very happy." To which the old farmer replied, "We shall see!"
Coming
to Health Via a Higher Life View
To improve your health beyond your current level, you need
to take your view of life and its incredible possibilities to a new—a
radically new—place. Are you willing? Do you dare to ask the kind
of questions that can spawn that kind of change in you?
Try some simple questions like:
·
How
do I show true love?
·
How
can I show more love?
·
Do
I express love plainly and frequently to my family and friends?
·
What
are my strengths?
·
What
are my weaknesses?
You have the ability to improve your well-being. You shall see.
Blessings,
Dr. O.
