Healthful Living

You don’t normally recognize the value of something until it is broken, or you’ve lost it. That is how it is with our health. Not until it is lost, and we are unable to function normally do we recognize its value and desire to have it back.

Once we lose our health, we immediately go to work to restore it by restricting our diets and changing our bad habits. This is a good plan to have, but it does not always work. The reason why most people fail to keep their New Years resolutions for very long is due to a spontaneous and superficial decision (without a clear understanding of health.) The plan of beginning outside and trying to work inward has always failed, and always will fail. Change must begin from within if you want it to be lasting. True reform is heart reform. When you embrace something with your mind and your heart, there usually is no going back.

It is not easy to change our habits. It takes more than just gritting your teeth, getting on a treadmill, and eating carrots. It takes a new mindset and that comes by thoroughly educating yourself on the topic of wellness and the specific needs of your body.  Studying nutrition along with anatomy and physiology is a good place to start. It is imperative that you have an intimate knowledge of your body; how it functions, what it needs, how it feels, and how it responds to both internal and external influences.

It is said that knowledge is power. And healthful living is dependent upon knowledge and observance of natural laws that govern the body, mind, and spirit. Therefore, it is of great importance that you have an intelligent understanding of what you should eat and drink, and how you should live to preserve and prolong your health. Discarding certain unhealthful foods and drinks alone does not guarantee health. What you put in matters the most.

Once you understand the principles of natural health, it makes the observance of your new health habits easier. You become motivated to get the physical, mental, and spiritual results you’ve learned about, and each day becomes a steppingstone to reaching your new goals.

Health of body, mind and spirit is your natural estate and is your heritage. You should be able to pursue your experience in this life without the necessity of fighting off diseases continually to keep from losing your health. The fountain-head of perfect health and freedom lies only in one direction, and that direction is straight back to the arms of “Mother Nature.”

Nature’s laws are the foundation of health. Because we have lived so many years under unnatural conditions and strayed far from the paths of nature, it is the last thing we think about. Lifestyle habits that incorporate natural laws into your daily practices enhance the immune system and keep the body, mind and spirit in proper functioning order. Proper lifestyle habits exert a healthy influence on the blood. And both life and health are dependent upon good blood. All organs, cells, and tissues are cleansed, fed and maintained by the blood. Blood is the requisite to life, and it follows logically that it must be the requisite to health. The Bible teaches that “the life of the flesh is in the blood” (Lev. 17:11). If your blood is clean through clean living, your physical and mental health will be top notch.
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When we learn the laws of nature, we find that disease is caused by
(1) Ignorance of the laws of life.
(2) Negligence of the rules of healthful living.
(3) Willfulness in living for pleasure and passion rather than for a clean life which will give us a body through which to correctly experience life.

• By ignorance, we fail to give the body the vital elements necessary for the maintenance of perfect health.
  
• By negligence, we fail to realize that it is not so much the quantity of food we eat (although it does cause obesity and ill health) but the quality of food we eat and the incorrect combinations of those foods, which causes ill health; we also disregard the laws of personal hygiene.
  
• By willfulness, we know that certain practices and habits are vicious, including wrong food and drink and yet we persist in their indulgence for the so-called pleasures it gives us.

Ignorance, negligence and willfulness should be replaced with education, diligence, and obedience to the natural laws of health.

Investing in your health is a worthy investment into you!