RebuiltU #52: Aging Gracefully... part 2: The 2nd enemy of aging... your decay Rebuilt U: A show about unlearning

Aging. We all do it, but some do it better than others. We are going to explore this topic and give you some insights about healthy aging.  
 
The great thing about this job, is that I get to meet a wide variety of people. I think every one has something to teach me.  The super healthy and the super sick both offer lessons.
 
A couple of months ago I had someone come in that was "too late", much too late. Advanced neurological destruction and severe liver problems. Those are hard ones, because there is a point of no return for the body.
 
One of my pet projects over the last 20 years has been to find as many ways to prevent problems as I can. I think it's important because it can keep you from jumping the rails and going off course. 
 
Health is a nebulous concept, like wisdom. There is no end point to arrive to. But, we definitely know what unhealthy is. That's pretty easy. 
 
 
You have pain.
You are over weight.
You are chronically tired.
You have diabetes.
You have XYZ disease.
 
 
There are more than 10,000 labels of problems I can give a person in the insurance code book. To my knowledge there isn't a code for "healthy."
 
Being healthy is when your Mind, Body, and Soul are at peace with one another.
 
You know veggies are good for you and cupcakes aren't.  The basics aren't hard to understand. It gets tricky in the modern world with the temptations from advertising everywhere. Your friends will tempt you at work and the sirens song of sugar is always playing. 
 
When I was reading yesterday I came across this from C.S. Lewis. I thought it was a good way of looking at temptations. 
 
 
"No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. 
 
 
Only those who try and resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German army by fighting against it, not by giving in. 
 
 
You find out the strength of the wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later."
 
 
You might be thinking, "that's all well and good, but I don't know how to exercise, I don't know how to cook, and my spouse isn't on board."
 
 
In modern society, you'll always encounter roadblocks...always. I have them too. You'll also constantly have temptations.  You will fall off the wagon, every one does. The difference will be if you get back on. 
 
It's actually good for you to fall off every once in a while. It makes you appreciate the wagon more.
 
Ultimately, you are responsible for you. You are a priority. You are "the" priority. If you are ill, everyone around you suffers. If your spouse refuses to get on board with doing healthy things, then let it be and focus on you. Maybe, slip an extra life insurance policy in there :)
 
You can't force someone to believe something. It won't work no matter how hard you try.  Have you ever tried to force some one to believe anything? What happens, they dig their heels in against you. Just like trying to push a dog forward, they resist.  Try pushing a string. 
 
You can't force people to believe in chiropractic, in organic food, or even God, for that matter. I get the "I don't believe in chiropractic" all the time. That's nice. Can I change that person's mind? Probably not. I actually can, but they have to crash and burn first, then try all other options. 
 
Then we run into the problem of "it might be too late."
 
So how can you help yourself?
 
The first step is to just be aware that learning is a life-long process that never ends. 
 
Look within...If you are unhealthy, realize you need to learn more. Remember the naive person is the intelligent person. They recognize they need to change something. I'm learning more about toxic metals every day.  W