I am going to attempt to write what is on my heart and mind without sounding super esoteric and “woo woo” as I hear people say. First of all I am neither of those things and secondly, I really don’t take myself so seriously.

I am sure I’m not the only person bouncing through life who feels that the messages out there regarding health and fitness are just OVERWHELMING. I mean how is anyone supposed to figure ANYTHING out and stick to anything long enough to solve a problem for themselves? And, the impression I get from some schools of thought is that I just am not safe ANYWHERE eating ANYTHING. In truth, our environment is CRAZY compared to how it was during our grandparent’s generation. The water was better, the soil was richer and cleaner, we weren’t inundated by chemicals, relationships were better, technology was far less distracting and all consuming, people were less busy (understatement), our movies and music polluted our hearts and minds with WAY less CRAP. This is just the surface of what I could go on and on about. But what the heck are we supposed to do about the stress on our bodies, our relationships and mental and spiritual health short of packing up and moving to some remote island where we can live a sustainable lifestyle with a small tribe of people (sound like a cult yet?).

What I see more and more with folks trying to figure out why their body doesn’t cooperate with them anymore, why they have weird ailments, can’t lose weight, have zero energy, etc. is that they get swept up in a whirlwind of mixed messages. Anyone relate to this?? Yes, all of this stuff is tied together. Yes, we are complex creatures with complex bodies and complex lives. Yes, we need to fix things at a fundamental level. However, we don’t have to stress ourselves out MORE and add to the problem on the way to figuring it all out. Right? Right.

Let me just take a minute to look you in the eye (figuratively of course) and give you permission to just shut that junk down. Quiet all the chatter for a bit. Listen to what the heck is going on in YOUR body, your spirit, your mind. What is going on in your life, with your relationships, with your home, with your surroundings? NONE of the other stuff matters if you aren’t in touch with this stuff.

Now, please hear me out. My faith is most important to me and I am not saying you need to go meditate in the desert until your inner child emerges. What I am saying is that we are so confused with messages being shouted at us in so many different forms of media daily, and we are so DISTRACTED from how our lives were divinely designed to be that… DUH… of course we’re sick! Of course our hormones are revolting against us. Of course we are gaining weight, stressed out, have all sorts of health issues and are taking 9 different pills. That is the perfect image of a modern day American right there. But, it doesn’t have to be YOU.

Okay, so you agree to turn off the noise for a bit, stop being quite so busy and turn things OFF (cell phone, TV, computer…) long enough to think and be real with yourself. Now what?

On the journey to better health and vitality it is important to try things out and figure out what works for YOU. There just is no one size fits all with any of it. What is pretty universal is all the stuff I already mentioned that we need LESS of. Now what do YOU need MORE of? More prayer? More time outside? More uninterrupted time with your family? More time away? More real, whole foods? More sleep? More movement? More water? I mean it can be pretty basic. However, we tend to ignore all these things and it just piles up until the mountain of neglect is so huge we just don’t know where to start. That’s when the messages around us really become tempting and we forget that we are our own experts.

I hope that you feel even a little inspired to turn down the noise of our modern life and get in touch with your reality. From there, I hope you make some small changes toward a healthier, more balanced you. Don’t for a minute think this is selfish. Your kids will thank you. Your spouse will thank you. Your coworkers and friends… people will thank you because you will be more present and happier and I can guarantee that you will inspire someone along the way.