Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Being healthy is a revolutionary act...

"Being strong and healthy in an unhealthy culture makes you part of an empowered minority. It gives you freedoms and opportunities that poor health and fitness prohibit. It endows you with the energy, clarity and resiliency to fully enjoy your life, and to make bigger, more meaningful contributions in anything you do.  Choosing a healthy way of life involves making some revolutionary choices, and it also has revolutionary results.  Because when you change your health for the better, you change the lives of everyone around you for the better, too.  In a very real way, you change your world."

I recently stumbled on this fantastic article and this one too.  I am very taken with the idea that being healthy is a revolutionary act.  With deep roots in activism, the idea that my healthy choices are revolutionary makes them have even more gravity to me.  When all our social systems are set up in a way that actively create dis-ease and illness, then indeed being healthy is revolutionary.  I've talked a lot about how my choices often alienate me in social situations.  But I'm not sorry that I won't eat fried or processed or pesticide laden food, and if that means I turn down your invitation or bring my own food, then that's fine by me.  I'm actually happy to bring my own food and show people that healthy food is absolutely delicious!  I'm not going to compromise my health and wellness just to go to a party or dinner, and I hate to stand in witness while other people eat crappy food (and stuff that barely qualifies as food!).  These decisions often put me on the outside, but I'm perfectly comfortable there.  And after reading that article, I feel even more convicted in my choices.

I have recently noticed how many more people have been seeking me out and asking me about raw foods.  I think this is part of me being so vocal and convicted about my choices.  More people are realizing they could feel better, look better, BE better, and they are seeking out information on how to facilitate their own revolution to a healthier life.  I think I am going to start hosting regular gatherings to show people how to incorporate more raw vegan food into their lives.  It's really not difficult, in fact, is way easier than most people think.

It seems clear there is a major shift happening in the general awareness of how the food we eat affects every part of our lives.  With obesity and type 2 diabetes at an all time high, people are seeing how the food they eat can literally kill them.  It's time to make different choices and to not just settle for not being sick, but to create optimum levels of health and wellness so they THRIVE.  I know what healthy feels like, and it's full of joy and empowerment and excitement for every part of life.  This is possible, and every single person is capable of achieving this when they make the choice to be healthy.  And that choice is, indeed, revolutionary.