Reasons
I have a lot of reasons for doing what I do. And I do a lot of things. Most recently, I've been focusing on my health, and trying to make myself healthy. Yesterday was Thanksgiving. I have a lot to be Thankful for. Here are some reasons I do what I do.
When I was entering kindergarten, my mother took me to the doctor to be vaccinated, as is law. I was given the vaccine cocktail. Shortly thereafter, I developed a severe case of eczema all over my body. My mother, who is a homeopath (a kind of holistic medicine), to this day believes that the vaccine is the cause. I'm not so sure, but I'm not going to insult her by doubting her beliefs. The point here is that I still have eczema. It never went away fully. Perhaps another day I will give my full rundown on what I know helps me keep a firm hold of my skin condition. Eating healthily and exercising enough are two major components however.
Here comes the more intense part of my story.
A little while ago, a family friend, Ivan Fox, passed away from stomach cancer. The last time I saw him was at my brother's wedding. He was sitting at a table up against one wall, watching the festivities. He looked kind of ill, but he didn't look like he was at death's door. I was the only one of my siblings that made it to his funeral. I carried his casket. I lowered him into the ground. I covered him with earth. And it was the first funeral - at a grave - that I had ever been to. Understand, I've lost all four of my grandparents in my lifetime, and I've never been to a burial. I've heard a eulogy, but never for someone I knew. And I knew Ivan a lot better than I ever knew any of my grandparents.
It was being forced to witness this ultimate resolution of life that originally moved me to improve my health. To make sure I would not be buried by my friends, but by my family. Seeing Ivan Fox, a healthy man, be buried by his friends, was just about the saddest thing I have ever seen. He was not an old man. He was barely past 60.
A little later I asked my parents if we had any family history of cancer. "Not much," said my mother, "very little." I trust her knowledge of the family as she's also the genealogist of the clan. My father interjected, "But we do have some diabetes and heart disease." They went on, giving me details, but that was all the information I needed. My biggest threats at that moment were heart disease and diabetes.
I have a real sweet tooth. I love chocolate (the dark kind), I love candy, cake, ice cream... If it's rich and really bad for you, you can bet I'd eat it. Keeping kosher laws my whole life probably is the only thing that kept my thin and healthy up to this point. That's a discussion for another time.
I'm trying my best to be healthy for many reasons, the biggest and most relevant of which are:
When I was entering kindergarten, my mother took me to the doctor to be vaccinated, as is law. I was given the vaccine cocktail. Shortly thereafter, I developed a severe case of eczema all over my body. My mother, who is a homeopath (a kind of holistic medicine), to this day believes that the vaccine is the cause. I'm not so sure, but I'm not going to insult her by doubting her beliefs. The point here is that I still have eczema. It never went away fully. Perhaps another day I will give my full rundown on what I know helps me keep a firm hold of my skin condition. Eating healthily and exercising enough are two major components however.
Here comes the more intense part of my story.
A little while ago, a family friend, Ivan Fox, passed away from stomach cancer. The last time I saw him was at my brother's wedding. He was sitting at a table up against one wall, watching the festivities. He looked kind of ill, but he didn't look like he was at death's door. I was the only one of my siblings that made it to his funeral. I carried his casket. I lowered him into the ground. I covered him with earth. And it was the first funeral - at a grave - that I had ever been to. Understand, I've lost all four of my grandparents in my lifetime, and I've never been to a burial. I've heard a eulogy, but never for someone I knew. And I knew Ivan a lot better than I ever knew any of my grandparents.
It was being forced to witness this ultimate resolution of life that originally moved me to improve my health. To make sure I would not be buried by my friends, but by my family. Seeing Ivan Fox, a healthy man, be buried by his friends, was just about the saddest thing I have ever seen. He was not an old man. He was barely past 60.
A little later I asked my parents if we had any family history of cancer. "Not much," said my mother, "very little." I trust her knowledge of the family as she's also the genealogist of the clan. My father interjected, "But we do have some diabetes and heart disease." They went on, giving me details, but that was all the information I needed. My biggest threats at that moment were heart disease and diabetes.
I have a real sweet tooth. I love chocolate (the dark kind), I love candy, cake, ice cream... If it's rich and really bad for you, you can bet I'd eat it. Keeping kosher laws my whole life probably is the only thing that kept my thin and healthy up to this point. That's a discussion for another time.
I'm trying my best to be healthy for many reasons, the biggest and most relevant of which are:
- I have image issues
- I'm afraid of getting sick and dying
- I want to be active.
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