Two different thoughts. Two different actions. But are they really deeply connected?
In several books of Religions, in several places, each book says something like this (and remember that right now I’m NOT quoting any of them, only paraphrasing), take care of the temple which holds your soul. In other words, take care of your body, it seems that the way to feed and take care of your soul is to study your Creator, Pray, Listen, and Do for yourself and others. The way to take care of your body is to be healthy – eat correctly (which I’ll talk more about in a later post), exercise (walk, ride your bicycle, weight lift, play a sport or two – get your heart rate up for at least 20 minutes per day and play a sport or two. Taking care of yourself in Spirit AND in Body can be both enjoyabale and quite tasty (have you tried any of Callie’s recipes yet? I have, and I’m telling you right now that eating a healthy diet is delicious, and you don’t even have to miss out on great deserts).
The reason for these things being so important is simple, you never want to come down with any awful disease (or if you already have, you’ll want to have the stregnth to fight it). In the Christian Bible, for example, there are many rules about what foods that a person should and should not eat. During this time, the people didn’t know how to cook certain foods correctly, so as not to get sick, so many animals with cloven hooves were forbidden to eat. It was God’s way of taking care of the health of His people. Exercise wasn’t necessary until later, when people began to learn how to not have to work in the fields so hard, and other ways had to be found to keep your body in shape and your heart healthy. And, as time went by, we found that things such as lead in paint, and drinking out of tin containers were also killers to your body.
Human kind has always had a facsination with their relationship with their Maker. Inter reflection, prayer, meditation and a certain amount of kindness to your fellow man (if you weren’t at war with them), always seemed to be a very important part of your life.
In today’s world, we’ve seemed to start to move away from these things. Come on, we’ve got to be honest with ourselves. Yes we have gyms, but we go to the gyms to work out for 45 minutes, then we spene 3 hours eating junk food, sitting on the sofa watching sports programs. We keep looking for things that make things simpler for us in our everyday lives. I’d be willing to bet that at least half of the people who live in the U.S. have forgotten how to put up and preserve foods for ourselves, and would do a fairly poor job if we were asked to put in a garden.
The point that I am trying to make is simple…we as a people have become lazy in many important ways. Yes, its very impressive that I can type on this computer and reach so many readers, and I am so greatful that you are reading what I feel is important and have to write. But, I would love to see all of us use this growth of information at our fingertips to look at some of the old ways of doing things, you never know when we may need that information, and try to find a great workout program (that you get approved by your doctor), get some good information on nutrition and how to keep your body balanced by the way you eat, get some good recipes, find some friends and get them all together to enjoy these things with you.
If you simply do these things, I guarantee that you will start having more energy, enjoying yourself more often, laughing a lot more, and generally have a better overall life. I even bet you’ll start wanting to get closer to your Maker as your life grows in a more healthy and happier way.
My Blessings to All of You! Duncan