Physical and mental pain is our body’s wake up call, alerting us that something is out of alignment. Whether it is hunger pains from not nourishing our bodies properly and timely, to muscle pains from not giving our bodies the notice that we are about to push it to the limit.
Those pain signals are there as a sometimes loud and in your face reminder that you are out of sync with what your body and mind really need. It’s trying to tell you something. Many of us look at it as an annoying reminder that we aren’t doing something quite right and you know how much we all like to be right. So, who does this body think it is to tell us differently?
Instead of turning within, asking our bodies what it needs and patiently awaiting the answers, we medicate it. We drown out the noise with over the counter and prescription drugs. There is a reason your body is screaming. It needs you to hear it. There is a reason after the drugs wear off that the pain is still ever present. It is begging for you to hear it, show it love and nurture it.
If we came across a small child that was screaming out in pain we wouldn’t put a muzzle on the poor thing and leave them to fend for themselves. We may be a little hesitant to act and reach out but eventually we’d comfort the ailing child. Asking it “What’s wrong?” “Where does it hurt?” “What made it hurt?” “How can we make it feel better?” We’d stick around long enough to at least see a little relief and maybe a quick smile from the child after they began to feel some sort of peace.
Well that loving, nurturing devotion is what our body needs as well. That same attention we show for the concern of others, our bodies crave. When we are not being selfless and giving it what it needs it has every right to let us know. Sometimes pain is the only way we’ll learn.
We are inhaling toxic chemicals like cigarettes and polluted air, abusing our bodies with preservative laded junk foods and washing it all down with artificial, corn syrup spiked flavored water. And we wonder why our bodies can get so out of whack! Reducing and removing any and all of these foods and substances from our body’s eco-system causes us to feel more energized, focused and full of vitality.
We don’t feel good when we are consuming the wrong things and eating foods that our bodies can’t digest well. When we do this we open our bodies and life to a whole host of preventable complications.
One place that I thoroughly support and admire is Healthy Bites Café. Their deliverable meals are healthy, organic and made from local farm fresh ingredients. Their service is fantastic for busy professionals who don’t have time to cook a nutritious meal for themselves and their families. It’s also great for those just breaking into eating healthfully at an affordable price. We have to give ourselves and those we care about a loving chance to stay and remain as pain and disease free as possible.
The fact that we have family, friends, career aspirations and a future to show up and be present for should be enough of a motivation for us to turn inward and start listening to our bodies signals and acting accordingly.
So I challenge you to do that for yourself. The question is…will you?
