We hear it all the time. Expecting parents will be asked, "Do you want a boy or girl?" And most of the time, the response will be, "I just want my child to be happy and healthy." But, then what the f*ck happens as we age? Our health gets put on the back burner and what the hell is happy these days?
We live in a society that is so damn fast paced, overworked, under balanced and over stressed. Our biochemistry has gone to shit. We chug 8 cups of coffee a day to survive the lack of sleep, high stress from not sleeping, then give ourselves comfort food and alcohol to deal with all of this. And in the meantime, we don’t even freaking breathe right. What the hell has happened to us?
Why is it that a good majority/handful of kids (maybe this starts in HS?) are told they have to take all the AP and Honor classes because to do so, that is the only way to get into a “good college.” (What defines a good college anyway?)
Shoot, and by the way, you better start focusing and “specializing” in one sport by 5th grade to have a shot at a college scholarship and make it to the pro’s. (Another topic for another day, but seriously, what the hell are sports becoming these days?!) Do you know how low the % of sports scholarships really is?) FYI–All of the great athletes, continued to play all the sports they loved and didn’t specialize and shoot, they “made it.”
It’s like this crazy high stress, mad dash for the next step always. That’s how we live. Seems pretty freaking miserable to me as I look back on it. So, we get into a great college, learn how to fill out a resume and then we prepare for grad school or finding that awesome job right out of college. What the hell is wrong with us!? We don’t connect anymore with others. We don’t live in the present. It is always that race for the next step. Once we are in that next step, then what? We are back in this constant high stress/unbalanced lifestyle where we need coffee to get us going in the morning (or all day), we use wine or beer to calm our brains down at night, and then the vicious cycle turns over again and again. Got fog brain? Can’t think clearly? What does health and happiness mean anymore? The weekends? We party with friends, flash our constant social life with food, drinks, and fun up on social media and then we scroll constantly to see what everyone else is doing or we sit our asses on our couch and binge watch the newest series on Netflix. Then we start our week back over again.
Also, what is Vitamin D? Sunshine and fresh air? With COVID, many of us were working from home and didn’t leave the computer screen. Seems like health and happiness right there. I know many who didn’t leave the house or get fresh air. Even with some things going back to “normal” are you getting any fresh air or REAL Vitamin D (yes, from that bright yellow thing in the sky, not a damn pill)?
This was all brought to my attention after the shutdown last year from the pandemic and even more recently in the Wim Hof Method book that I am reading. First, if you are lucky enough (like me) to love what you do every day, that’s a good start. Plus, I have so many ideas and dreams on how to make this place better and provide as much education on health and fitness as I possibly can, while making it fun (but not circus - like ;). It keeps me fired up and ready to go every single day. This is my life. Finding the best way to practice being strong, healthy, finding good balance in nutrition, finding time to spend in the woods where I feel the most alive either hiking or on my bike. I do believe COVID did help some of us slow down, but I also think it threw us into this never ending work frenzy where we sit behind a computer for 15 hours and never move.
If anything, I just want each one of you to sit back and think back to what all of our parents wanted for us… to be happy and healthy. If something isn't making you happy or healthy, change it. You have the control and the power to take care of yourself.
Wim Hof said it best.
“...They’re happy. They’re healthy. They’re alive and vibrant and reflecting the soul. So why not you? What else are you looking for? People today are so caught up in their egos, in the chase for material gain or status that they lose sight of who they really are. You’re alive, man! Your soul is alive! Wake up! You can be strong without thoughts, just existing in the stillness of the mind, well-nourished with the life-force, the blood flow, because your thinking brain isn’t dominating those resources. Breathe. Go out into the cold. Feel it. Feel the light. It will take you back into yourself.”
Until next time,
Do ONE thing every single day that puts a smile on your face.
Charlene
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