Most Important Aspect of Health

We all know that your health is important. There is a bit of Chinese wisdom that I was reading about this week, and I wanted to share it with you.

1) It says to take all of your blessings in life - material possessions, friends, family, job, all of it - and for each one, write a zero down on the page.

2) Once you have written all of these zeros down, the next thing to do is to think of your health, assign it the value of 1 or 0, and place it at the beginning of the chain of numbers you already wrote down.

3) If your health is a zero, than everything else in your life has no value, because no matter how many zeros you line up, they mean nothing unless there is something to give it value at the beginning.

4) However, if your health has a value of 1, just a simple little 1, than your entire life has value, and has meaning! Just imagine if you could increase it that much more, and give it a value of 2, or 3...?

So what do you want your life's overall value to be? Your health is critical to the value of the rest of your life. Make sure you are taking care of yourself!

We all know that eating correctly is important, and most medical professionals agree that vitamin and mineral supplementation is extremely important with todays food supply. But the quality of food we eat is not the only source of good health.

Stress in our lives is a big factor that determines our physical health. There are many medical research studies that have shown that mental and emotional stress can very often arise in the physical body as illness. Studies have shown that people who are physically in perfect health, but have extreme stress in their lives from jobs, relationships or other crises, have developed ulcers, colds, flu symptoms, migraines, and even heart attacks. These people have no viral or bacterial infections, no disease infecting the body of any kind: simply the mental and emotional strain that causes the physical body to break down!

So how do we combat these stressors? There are many possibilites. You need to choose the best option, or options, for you! I have a few items listed here.

1. Pets - pets can be a great source of stress relief! I know that sometimes we are able to laugh at home with our Chihuahua Noel. She does silly things, or sometimes when we've had a bad day she just sits with us and snuggles. Either way, she brings us joy!
2. A good movie - sometimes a favorite you have watched a dozen times and love; sometimes a new movie that you have always wanted to see! It is always a good idea to make sure that you watch a funny movie that makes you laugh - laughter truly is the best medicine!
3. Exercise - physical exercise is a great way to relieve stress. The endorphins that are released when exercising can counteract bad emotions, increase alertness and allow your mind to focus on something other than the problems causing your stress! (And if you are lucky enough to have a punching bag in your gym, imagine a picture of whatever it is causing your stress on the bag, and pound away.)
4. This one is for the ladies - Chocolate! If you have a favorite food, indulge once a week and have some! (Not too much chocolate, though, otherwise the exercising we just did doesn't count any more!)
5. Friends - hang out with your best friends, and allow the good company to rid you of the negative thoughts from the day! Good friends are critical to keeping a healthy lifestyle (and sometimes your sanity).
6. The Hair Dryer Trick - I heard of this one from an email passed around a long time ago, and thought it was hilarious. Take a hair dryer and drive out to a busy street. Pull over to a spot were you have a clear view of traffic, and they can see you. Point your hair dryer at the oncoming cars, and watch them slam on their brakes as they get near. Shake your finger at those who are still speeding. =-)

There are many other possibilites. Hiking, sleeping, taking in sporting events or live theatre - whatever it is that you enjoy, brings you joy, and makes you feel better! Let's make sure your rating of your health is a 1 or greater, and give your life value!

Andreas (& Tracy) Z.