I Work for My Health

My health is a priority.  If I don't do everything I can to remain healthy, I feel miserable.

Let me explain, I avoid gluten.  It causes my stomach to tie up in knots that make me curl in a fetal position in pain.  I eat balanced meals.  I can't skip meals or my energy wanes like the tide preparing for a tsunami.  If I eat the wrong things, I act like a car with the wrong type of gas.

I must get enough sleep.  When allowed, my body wants to sleep 9 hours.  It didn't used to need that much sleep, I used to sleep 7 hours easily and naturally.  If I consistently get less than 7 hours, I start to feel parts of my body giving out on me.  Not only can lack of sleep cause me to get sick, but it keeps me from functioning fully.

I must exercise.  I don't want to exercise.  I never wake up and get excited about pushing my body to the limits.  I never get excited about any sort of work out, but I obediently go to the gym (we call it a box).  If I go, I do the work.  If I go, I will do things that make my body stronger and more capable.  If I go, I will do things I never imagined I would do, but if I stay home, I will sit.  I will rest, I will become unhealthy.

My health is like a kitten sitting on a teeter totter over an active volcano.  The slightest error or imbalance and nothing works and everything hurts.

I'm still learning how to make decisions for my health and ignore the people that think I'm silly for putting my health above what they think I should do.

Imagine a world where everyone put their health first.  Imagine a world where we put each other's health first.  We wouldn't force people to work crazy hours or to have such a long list of things to do that it can't be accomplished in a reasonable amount of time.  We wouldn't expect people to check emails or phones every few minutes.  We would encourage people to take care of themselves and to take care of their families.

Until we encourage each other to do these things, we should remember to do what we can to take care of ourselves.  We should put our own health, our own sanity above the distractions that try to suck us into their craziness.

It's ok to take care of you.