I would love to believe that when I think about the 'we' in this question, that it actually represents most of the people on the planet. But we are far from a healthy species. Of course there are some of us, that strive to live a healthy life, but in order to do that we first have to take responsibility for ourselves and for the environment. How can we be healthy, if the earth isn't.

So many people today have placed their health and well being into the hands of others. Living a life of excess, ignoring their bodies signs of dis ease and only doing something about it when it gets so bad, that they can no longer function at a level that they are comfortable at. From there, it is a quick trip to the local medical centre, where they can receive medication or treatment that masks the symptoms, allowing them to carry on as before. In effect changing very little about their lifestyle and about the way they treat their body.

When we no longer have to take responsibility for our health, then we are more able to ignore the needs of our body and as such ignore the fact that we are mortal. We do not have to face up to any hard truths, to face up to the fact that we are what we eat and that how we think and live has a huge effect on our overall well being.

We lose the ability to see the connection between our physical, spiritual, emotional and mental self and become more accustom to the idea that our bodies are machines, that it is a combination of separate parts that all work individually from one another. Of course our bodies are made up of different systems , but all those systems are interconnected. Only treating one part, is not the solution and in the end we become more and more disconnected from ourselves. We may treat the symptom, but we never get to the root cause.

Today we all have different ideas about what healthy really is, for some it is all about diet, about the food that we put into our bodies. I am a big believer in the fact that we are what we eat, that if we want to be healthy, then we eat healthy, natural food. Food that is in it's purest form. For others it may be all about exercise, about being physically fit and keeping active. Once again I think that this is really important too, but unfortunately both exercise and diet can also cause problems if they are taken to the extreme, as with everything we need them to be in balance. Both the food we eat and the amount of exercise we do affects our whole self.

In order to live healthy lives we need to observe what is happening both within and with out. We need to take the time to reconnect with ourselves, to become intimate with our own bodies. To become intimate with the way we think and feel and to observe the world around us. It is easier to control what we put into our bodies, it is different when we look at those things that we have no control over like pollutants in the air and ground. But luckily there are some medicinal herbs that we can use to help us expel pollutants and also some fungi as well. What is important is to know which ones work best for you.

I am a big believer in self healing, in giving our bodies the time to deal with certain ailments that we may encounter. We all contain life, it is within all of our cells. Everyday our bodies heal, protect and regulates itself, creating a balance within. Sometimes external factors affect that balance, be it the food we eat, stress that enters our lives, pollutants in the air and yet our bodies usually adapt and self heal. But we have to be listening to our bodies, we have to recognize the signs that arise and respect our bodies need for rest and rejuvenation, when we don't then our bodies ability to self heal can become compromised. Then we will begin to see signs of disharmony within our body, our whole body, because what effects one part, affects all parts.

I try my hardest to live a healthy life, not because I want to avoid or postpone death but instead because I want to experience life.

How can we ever know our true potential if we do not look after our whole self. If we do not respect and honour our bodies, our whole being. In order for me to be empowered, to have a strong sense of self and be connected to my core, I need to be able to think clearly, I need my body to function properly. I achieve this by eating wholesome, organic food, by listening to my body and my mind and allowing them to guide me so that their needs are being met. I would love to say that I am always able to achieve this, but nothing in life is ever consistent, so I try my best to adapt, to nurture myself. But it is not easy, not easy at all.

But it is what is most important, because when we are taking responsibility for our lives, for our well being, we become more empowered. We allow our bodies to do what they intuitively want to do, to live. Instead of becoming overwhelmed and unbalanced because we ignore the signs and treat only the symptoms. I live how I do because I want to live, that is my focus. I know that death is inevitable, it is a natural part of life and something that I have very little control over, so why would I try to control it.

My life is all about living naturally, so to try and avoid death does not fit in with my way of life. I am who I am, because of what has happened to me throughout my life , because of what I have put into my body and because of those things that I have used to help aid my body to self heal. I also think, how I think for those exact same reasons. I am living true to myself, and my true self likes to live in the moment, yes I do have fleeting thoughts of what the future may hold, but mostly I exist in this moment right now. I am alive right now, death has entered my life of late in a lot of ways and truth be told a little piece of me dies each day, only for a new part to be reborn the next.

So death, death is just another part of life, of my life, of your life. It is all one and the same, a cycle that will happen no matter what we choose to think or believe. And once we embrace this cycle, then we can truly live.

This is my response to the NaturalMedicine Wisdom Challenge, , please get involved and share your wisdom with us all.

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