Keep Your Temple Litter Free!

YOUR HEALTH IS YOUR FIRST WEALTH!

Many people have heard about my affinity towards Ralph Waldo Emerson and his essays. I find that he was ahead of his time and offered timeless wisdom on how we can live meaningful lives. This great quote on health is no different.

This week, we’re dealing with the wealth of your health. How is your health? Do you believe that health is your first wealth? If you’ve ever been sick for any significant length of time, you probably realized that without your health, most other things become irrelevant. After all, if you can not walk, the nicest shoes won’t matter. If you don’t have eyes to see, the most beautiful home won’t matter. If you are unable to move about, the most fabulous vacations won’t matter. We need our health to be able to enjoy other aspects of our lives and to express ourselves at the highest level.

Your body is not your own; it has been given to you by God as a gift of temporary housing. When we abuse our bodies, we move further from our authentic selves and from God. He wants to see us prosper; we can not serve others and live well if we are not in optimal health. It’s easy to do the right thing, but it’s also easy to not do the right thing. The cumulative effect of our choices results in great health or poor health. Remember that every choice counts.

I’m playing on Earth month this week using litter as a metaphor for junk food and destruction to our bodies. In honor of keeping your temple litter-free, I want to offer 4 important aspects of honoring your temple.

Water, water everywhere, and you really need to drink! Water is essential to a healthy body. You may be thinking, “I already know this.” Well, are you consistently drinking half your weight in ounces of water? For instance, if you weight 200 lbs, you should consume approximately 100 oz of water. Our bodies are about 60% water so it’s easy to understand why dehydration causes so many problems. Cutting back on soda and sugary fruit juices while increasing our water intake can make a dramatic difference in our internal and external health. Oftentimes, we don’t need another pill or miracle juice to gain health – we just need more water!

By your fruit, people will know you! Are you eating fruits and vegetables every day? The enzymes, minerals, and vitamins contained in fruits and vegetables outshine those of any multivitamin. If you have a tough time getting 5-9 servings in, consider blending your own smoothies and then supplementing with fruit as a snack. And remember, there are plenty of great fruits and veggies to choose from so get creative with what you eat and how you prepare it. Avoid potato chips, candy bars, and fattening snacks and reach for healthier alternatives like banana chips, organic fruit snacks, and vegetable trays.

Deep sleep! Your body repairs itself during rest so you need sleep! As busy as we all are, it’s easy for sleep to be the first thing we cut when our schedules get hectic. However, a lack of sleep is a culprit of so many ailments: headaches, poor digestion, weight retained in the midsection, slow recovery from sports injuries and more. Your body and mind need time to rejuvenate and repair in order to serve you every day.

Work that body! We need exercise to keep our energy levels high and to enhance mental clarity and hormonal balance. In addition to keep our bodies toned and fit, exercise is responsible for the release of endorphins, the feel good neurotransmitters in the brain that reduce pain and induce euphoria. Many people have been able to successfully address depression and other emotional issues with regular exercise. As a successful, spiritual person, you want a temple that reflects the health of your heart, mind, and spirit.