Healthy, whole, and heavenly minded

"And there are just a few "ingredients" needed to make a healthy human: real, whole, fresh food, nutrients (vitamins and minerals), light, water, air, sleep, movement, rhythm, love, connection, meaning, and purpose."      

- Mark Hyman, The Blood Sugar Solution

After my hike on Wednesday, I saw tents and parked cars near the entrance of the Nature Preserve and remembered that the Farmer’s Market was happening that afternoon. As I got closer, I could smell the food trucks offering Mediterranean stuffed grape leaves, artisanal pizza, and homemade ice cream.

Visually, it was delightful! Rows of tables staffed by friendly farmers displayed an abundance of greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, peaches, mushrooms, squash… so many colors, textures, shapes, and sizes of vegetables, fruits, and herbs. I loved everything about it and happily filled my shopping bag with fresh produce and some locally sourced skirt steaks for stir-fry later this week.

The next morning, I washed and chopped my farmer’s market cucumbers, greens, and celery, along with some lemons, an apple, and lots of ginger. A few years ago, Cynthia and I attended a Juicing Wellness Retreat in Carefree, Arizona, where I learned about the incredible healing properties of God-created, whole, unprocessed foods, especially vegetables. Since then, I’ve turned to juicing (as well as salads, smoothies, and anything else I can add vegetables to) to improve gut digestion, boost my immunity and energy levels, lower my risk for chronic disease, and promote healthy aging. More plants mean more fuel for fully engaging with and elevating each day.  

Glory to Thee, bringing from the depth of the earth an endless variety of colours, tastes and scents
Glory to Thee for the warmth and tenderness of the world of nature.

- From the Akathist of Thanksgiving

There are profound spiritual insights to glean from intentionally nourishing our bodies. It requires effort to wean ourselves off foods that are intentionally loaded with salt, sugar, fat, and preservatives, all designed to be addictive and easy. When the resulting sluggishness and health issues become our normal state of being, we might not realize that another way exists, but detoxifying our bodies can uncover vibrancy and energy we hadn’t thought possible! Developing a palate for real, unprocessed food pleases the senses and brings joy, creativity, and gratitude to eating, instead of shame and confusion.  

This works similarly with my mind and heart. When I consistently consume depleting and agitating content intentionally designed to be addictive and easy, the resulting angst and inner turmoil can become my default state of being, and I forget momentarily that another way exists. Detoxifying my mind and heart through quiet, prayer, beauty, boundaries, thanksgiving, and light-filled thoughts, words, and endeavors reveals peace and hope I’d forgotten were actually possible, regardless of outside circumstances. 

Developing a taste for what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy (Phil. 4:8) calms my spirit. It heightens my awareness of God’s mercy and goodness in and all around me. The more I feast on love and light, the more fuel I have to bear edifying spiritual fruit and cultivate an eternal perspective. 

 

“We can keep guard over the whole world by keeping guard over the atmosphere of heaven within us, for if we lose the Kingdom of Heaven, we will save neither ourselves nor others. He who has the Kingdom of God in himself will imperceptibly pass it on to others. People will be attracted by the peace and warmth in us; they will want to be near us, and the atmosphere of heaven will gradually pass on to them. It is not even necessary to speak to people about this. The atmosphere of heaven will radiate from us even when we keep silence or talk about ordinary things. It will radiate from us even though we may not be aware of it.”                      

- Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica