A week of thanksgiving-Day 1

Did anyone else think it was strange that stores put out their Christmas decorations before Halloween had even arrived? We’re so anxious to get to the next big celebration that we forget each season has its own special meaning. We get 12 days of Christmas, so I’m proposing we get at LEAST a week of Thanksgiving. After all, thankfulness has many health benefits. Studies have shown people who focus on gratitude show greater levels of optimism, positive mood, feelings of belongingness, report fewer physical illness symptoms and more time exercising, sleep more and have better quality sleep. As health-minded wisdom seekers, shouldn’t we all take advantage of every bit of health and well-being we can attain, and a happy attitude to boot?

Today I am thankful for second chances. Specifically, of the resilience of the human body to recover from the terrible decisions we make. Thanks to corrupt food agencies, bad “scientific” food experiments and disastrous government regulations guided by special interest groups, we are a society that is sick, misinformed, and addicted to foods that are slowly killing us. What’s worse is that these toxic foods have such a hold on us that even once we know the truth about how damaging they are, even after we have felt the benefits of removing the poison and replacing it with whole, nourishing food, many times we’re driven back to those old vices.

Earlier this year, I watched my father struggle on life support for two months. He fought like hell to breath without a machine while he had a tube shoved down his throat in a drug-induced haze he cannot remember. We fought like hell to have his medications reduced (instead of accepting that his mind was gone and the drugs were needed for his protection and the medical staff’s convenience), and he fought like hell through months of painful physical therapy after all of his muscle had atrophied away. He just celebrated his 80th birthday on Saturday, and not only is his mind fully intact, he can walk without needing even so much as a cane. Talk about second chances. He was given a second chance at life, his body gave him a second chance for mobility and recovery, and we were given a second chance with our father. I share this with you not only to celebrate my family’s victory which I will toasting to repeatedly next Thursday, but to illustrate the awesome resilience of the human body. Never give up on your health, and never stop trying to give it the best nutrition, healthy stressors and rest. So let’s all give thanks for our bodies’ amazing ability to give us a second chance.