January 1st
Health, like money, should not be a goal in life, but a means to reach our goal, our purpose. An important means, because you can’t enjoy anything you get in life if you’re sick and broke. But if we primarily want to recover from an illness and make money by any means, having no other goal, we will be poor in spirit.
“But I want to get well!” Why do you want this? So you can drink like before you got cirrhosis? So you can lose the nights like before you got diabetes? That you can work like before you fell into burnout? So you can go back to the meaningless life you had before you got an autoimmune disease?
“But I want to have money!” Why do you want this? To build a 2 floors house, for the neighbors to die of spite? To get the most expensive car, to conquer all the hot girls? Or maybe because your parents didn’t have money, and you want to spoil your children with everything you didn’t have?
**
“If I get well and have a lot of money, I will be happy!” The world is full of healthy, rich and unhappy people. Why do you think you will be different? What are those people missing? A meaning, a purpose in life to dedicate that money and that health.
That purpose is for your soul. That goal makes you happy. Think about what your soul desires most, something you can do, what comes easily to you, something that would contribute to the good of other people. That is your purpose.
To achieve it you will have to learn one or more trades, maybe travel, buy the right tools, have a roof over your head. For this you will need money. You will need to have energy for work, a clear mind and a body free from pain, so that you can do that work useful to your soul and for the good of others. For that you need health.
Don’t ask for money to impress others, to satisfy your whims, or to be lazy.
Don’t mourn your lost health because you lived a life of abusing your body and soul. Start fixing what you broke and be grateful that you have been shown the path to your purpose.
Don’t fight for money and health. If you discipline yourself to achieve your goals, they will come naturally to you. Because they are the means by which you will fulfill your purpose.
Thoughts I woke up with on the first morning of the year.
January 2nd
This morning I moved my desk in bed. I have a cold, sneezing in bursts, and my nose is stuffy. But I’m glad, I usually get a fever, chills and a sore throat. Now I caught a cold like a normal person: snot, coughs and sneezes.
January 2. It’s morning, it’s gloomy, it’s calm. I hear the heater start up. It is quiet. My favorite moment of the day.
I am preparing for an eventful year. I completed a year of vibration 7, a year of state and thought, of integrating teachings, a year of “aha”s. A year of vibration 8, karmic year begins. What is meant to be will happen. It’s a year to get out into the world and do it. Last year we learned, we got smart, now we put the bone to work and move on to the practical test. Money and material things become important again. Work. Money. Karma. Nicely planned on points and put into practice.
January 3rd
Someone commented on a reel, asking me if coffee is allowed in autoimmune diseases, because she read that it is pro-inflammatory. I answered: “coffee is controversial, some raise it to glory, others knock it to the ground. So let’s take all the “information” and “science” surrounding coffee with a grain of salt and go about our business. I, after many attempts, ended up drinking 2 cups of not too strong coffee, with half a teaspoon of sugar each, the first after breakfast, at 7 o’clock, the second after the second meal, at 2 o’clock. This is how I feel it is good for me. Everyone should seek this personal balance.”
I just did a little research, and found this:
Arguments for coffee:
Numerous studies have shown that it can have a positive effect on health. Coffee contains powerful antioxidants that may reduce the risk of developing chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. Also, the caffeine content of coffee can stimulate the central nervous system and temporarily improve cognitive performance and alertness. Certain studies have even indicated that moderate coffee consumption may be associated with a reduced risk of developing Parkinson’s disease or other neurodegenerative disorders.
What are those antioxidants in coffee?
1.Chlorogenic acids: These antioxidants are present in high amounts in coffee and have been associated with benefits such as reducing inflammation and the risk of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
- Ferulic acid: Another powerful antioxidant in coffee that can help protect cells from oxidative damage and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer.
- Caffeic acid: This phenolic acid is responsible for some of the antioxidant properties of coffee, being involved in preventing cellular damage and protecting the body against oxidative stress.
- Quercetin: It is an antioxidant present in coffee, which is known for its anti-inflammatory and antiviral properties and its ability to protect the body against free radicals.
These antioxidants in coffee can help neutralize free radicals in the body and protect cells from oxidative stress, thus contributing to overall health and reducing the risk of chronic disease.
Arguments against coffee:
Excessive coffee consumption can lead to dependence and withdrawal symptoms such as headaches or fatigue. This is the strongest argument against coffee consumption: excessive consumption is harmful. Like any excessive consumption of anything (sugar, bread, sweets, etc.), coffee is addictive and harmful. Then there would be some categories of people who should be careful with coffee consumption.
- People with sleep problems or insomnia – caffeine, contained in coffee, is a stimulant that can affect the quality of sleep and lead to difficulty falling asleep or frequent awakenings during the night.
- People with heart conditions – coffee can increase the heart rate and cause palpitations in people with heart problems, such as arrhythmias or tachycardia.
- People with digestive problems – coffee can trigger or worsen digestive problems such as heartburn, gastroesophageal reflux or irritable bowel syndrome.
- Pregnant women – excessive caffeine consumption can affect fetal development and increase the risk of miscarriage or premature birth.
- People with high blood pressure – the caffeine in coffee can increase blood pressure and may be contraindicated for people with high blood pressure.
- People with anxiety or panic disorders – caffeine can amplify anxiety symptoms and cause panic attacks.
So, coffee is not considered pro-inflammatory. In fact, studies have shown that it can even be anti-inflammatory due to its content of antioxidants and bioactive compounds.
January 5th
When I go in nature, I go as a guest. You know how it is, when you visit, you follow the rules of that house. If you are asked to take off your shoes at the entrance or not to smoke in the house, you comply. You don’t climb with your boots on the host’s sofa. Whether you like how he decorated or not is none of your business. You don’t start moving his furniture around the house, because that’s how you like it. You do this at your home.
On the Romanian Black Sea coast, we humans are that senseless guest who came with the speaker from home to listen to music at the maximum in grandma’s house. Or the one who pours some wine into the host cat’s water bowl, just to have fun watching the cat get dizzy.
As you cross the border through Vama Veche, you find wild landscapes on the seashore that take your breath away. Same sea, only 20-30 km lower. The same shore, only without the beach villas and hip clubs. The same castle of Queen Maria, only that in Balcic it is restored and cared for, with the gardens intact, while in Mamaia it is abandoned and degraded, and the gardens have been occupied by luxury hotels.
Bulgarians know how to be guests in the house of nature.
January 6th
I was walking around Balcic last night with my friend, talking about the moon and the stars. We were surrounded by cats, this is the land of soft and friendly cats😊. It was warm, windless, Queen Maria’s castle loomed large in the sky. We were admiring the sunset with some dizzying colors.
A perfect night. And this painted wall got in our way. My Bulgarian is badly rusty, but I immediately translated: “good is everywhere”. We both enjoyed the message, but neither marveled nor doubted. Because we know that good is everywhere if you choose to believe it. And providence only confirms it.
January 9th
Beyond the ingredients, how healthy, fresh and properly combined they are, beyond the nutrients in it, food is sacred. Food is NOURISHMENT. The food ingested, chewed, decomposed, will end up nourishing every cell in our body, whether that cell is part of the kidneys, bones, brain, skin or nails. Food not only fills our stomachs, but ensures our growth, our life. It is energy provided by calories and nutrients, but also another, higher kind of energy.
When I go to the supermarket or the farmer’s market, I notice how the sellers handle the goods, the food that will soon end up in our body. Sometimes they indifferently toss the cucumbers in the bag. They sit among the cucumbers all day and they don’t care anymore. Other times they are nervous, angry and take revenge on the piece of meat by throwing it in the case. And sometimes they handle food with hate. They hate their life, they hate being there, they hate that job, they hate that they always have to put that food on the stall or on the rack. They hate our food, and thus charge it with not exactly beneficial energy.
**
We can’t always choose to buy our food from loving people. That’s life. But when we get home, let’s treat the food we bought with respect and love. Let’s place it in the fridge or in the pantry as if it were a being. Let’s not slam it on the table, but place it carefully, like a child. And let’s soak it up with our energy. Let’s even pet her, like a kitten. And let’s cook it with love. No matter how tired, upset or grieving we are, let us treat and cook food like a mother who cares for her young. Because food is part of OUR DAILY NOURISHMENT, along with thoughts, words and emotions.
January 10th
What does it mean to be selfish?
“Concern, exaggerated attention towards one’s own person and personal interests, to the detriment of the interests of the collective.”
As described, selfishness is seen as a negative character trait, isn’t it? Being selfish means putting yourself first in your life. Is it bad to put yourself first in your life? If your answer to this question is “yes”, analyze better, because you don’t know what is good and what is bad FOR YOU.
Notice how often you use the word “no” when talking about yourself. You say “I can’t”? “I’m not allowed to eat this”? “I would do this, but I don’t have time, money, strength…”? “I’m not so… that I can…”?
Notice how many times you do things you don’t want to do, you don’t do them from your heart, with joy. Got a job you don’t like? Do you do a lot of things at home that you don’t like? Are you surrounded by people who don’t appreciate you, around whom you feel like you can’t let your guard down and be yourself?
Notice how often you do things for others first, and only after that you do things for yourself, if you still have time and energy.
Notice how much your attention is focused on others, and not on you. Do you care what your sister-in-law says about you? What plastic surgery has star x done? What are the latest conspiracy theories on the 5 o’clock news? What else did Juan Alfonso do in that endless soap opera?
**
Notice what you think about yourself. Are you crying for pity? Do you think you are misunderstood, unloved, “stupidly good”, “the others don’t deserve me”? Or, my favorite, “who likes me, likes me as I am”? Do you not look in the mirror, or do you rarely look and don’t like what you see?
The antonym of the word “selfish” is “altruistic”.
What does it mean to be altruistic?
“Moral attitude or disposition of the soul of the one who acts disinterestedly in favor of others”.
Do you think you are altruistic when you do things for others, even though you don’t want to, you don’t enjoy it? Although you clearly know that you want something in return, that you are not disinterested? How about this: “I did everything for my child, and he doesn’t listen to me”? “I loved him, but the bastard left me for another”? “I helped him and look how he repays me”? “I gave him everything and thought he appreciated me”?
Do you think this is altruism? No, it is the purest selfishness. It’s barter. I give to you if you give to me. Because I can’t or don’t know how to give myself, I expect it from others. Because I don’t respect myself enough, I want to buy respect with “good deeds”. Because I have a bad opinion of myself, I want others to think I’m “good as fresh bread”.
Let’s be selfish. Let’s be nice to ourselves. And when our soul is full of joy, we will know how to be altruistic. That is, to give to others selflessly, without expecting anything in return. Let’s stop bartering with our soul, it’s our most valuable asset! The collectivity is made up of individuals, and a sum of healthy individuals in mind and body forms a healthy and united collectivity.
January 11th
Yesterday a neighbor stopped me: “Oh, dear, how thin you are! Are you sick?” I smiled at her, “I’m fine. This is the weight I feel best at.” I’m used to such questions. And I’m used to the look of surprise on people’s faces when I tell them I’m 53.
I’m not making this post to brag. But to make people aware of how wrong body weight is perceived nowadays. I saw a photo from 1936 of a beach in Bucharest. Absolutely all people looked like me. Supple, no belly. Normal people, like you and me. People who ate the food of those times and had the lifestyle of that time. I was curious and looked for another old photos. Only some women past their second youth had a few extra kilos, the rest of the people were slender.
In less than a hundred years, women have gone from an average BMI of 23 to 27.5. That was in the 2000s, I couldn’t find an estimate for the last 20 years, but we can imagine it increased, especially after the pandemic.
The obesity “pandemic” is not taken seriously. And it all starts from the general perception: “It’s normal to have a belly. It’s normal to eat fast food. It’s normal to drive all the time, take the elevator, and in general, do everything you can to don’t walk. It’s normal to have no idea what you’re putting in your mouth. It’s normal to put on 20 kg when you enter menopause.”
**
The boiled frog syndrome is damn current when it comes to the distance between a normal weight and obesity. We no longer know how to eat normally, walk and take care of ourselves.
We don’t know how normal people looks like anymore. On the street there are either overweight or obese people, or people “working” carefully at the gym.
What should a normal person look like today?
January 12th
I don’t like complicated things. The more complicated something is, the more difficult and time-consuming it is to implement. And time is our most valuable asset. Nothing is more important than time. Not the material goods, not the health, not the relationships, not the job. We can recover all of them if we lose them, but time once lost, cannot be returned.
I apply this philosophy in the kitchen too: I don’t like complicated recipes. Why would I waste my time with multiple layers of ingredients, chopping them up as thin as possible, multiple prep times and other frills when there is so much to do in life? Cooking should be as simple and uncomplicated as possible, so that it can be accessible to everyone. That way all people would cook at home and stop buying all the supermarket crap.
This buckwheat flatbread recipe falls into the “quick and simple” category. Who knows, maybe a few of you will be won over by these flatbreads and quit running to the store to buy that spongy, expensive bread.
January 13th
A few days ago, a butterfly appeared in my house. A beautiful butterfly, pearly white, with black dots, of those that fly in summer on the plains, among the flowers. It appeared in January, in my house. At first it was small, it could be seen that it had just emerged from its cocoon, now its wings have grown and straightened. The cat ran after it once, I was afraid that she would catch it. Since then, the butterfly has taken refuge in the kitchen, close to the ceiling. It seems to know that the cat is not allowed in the kitchen and cannot reach the ceiling.
I googled it. It is the cabbage white butterfly, Pieris Brassicae, a “pest” that feeds on cruciferous plants: cabbage, cauliflower, mustard, Brussels sprouts. I told you that I always have cabbage and cauliflower in the house, right? 😊.
These butterflies do not winter in our region, but migrate south. “There is no such thing!” exclaimed Marin Preda’s peasant when he saw a giraffe. But this butterfly exists. It is in my kitchen, on the wall, a symbol of the change to come. It has been so warm in recent winters that nature, plants, insects have changed their known course. A few days ago I saw mosquitoes and ladybugs.
**
If nature can change, why can’t we? If we don’t change willingly, we will be forced to change. Change is natural, it is enough to look at older pictures of us and we will see that we have changed. Why be nostalgic, always looking at how we were? It’s like walking down a road looking back instead of looking at where we’re going and at the landscape unfolding in front of us.
“There is no such thing!” the peasant insisted, after spending hours staring at the giraffe. The present exists whether we like it or not, accept it or not, fear it or not. If you can see and touch the giraffe, then it exists. Changes of all kinds exist, we should better follow them and adapt to them. Only in this way we can create a good future. The past… is gone, is gone and will not return.
January 15th
There are many problems that women face when they enter menopause. In my mind it was: Ok, what could be so bad? What could be so unsettling? I’m an adult, nothing can surprise me anymore. To explain to those who haven’t gone through menopause yet, it’s like puberty. Today you were a child, and tomorrow you start growing hair in unexpected places and stuff on your chest. It’s kind of like that. Only the other way around. Today you were young and vigorous, and tomorrow your wrinkles appear, and the muscles begin to melt away. Plus 70 other symptoms, most of them unknown in young adult life.
Wrinkles are “ditches” on the skin. Unpleasant, but not dangerous. But muscles are vital, especially in the stage of life you have entered, menopause. I did some serious research and was dumbfounded. Muscles are much more important in the economy of the body than we imagine. They have multiple roles, not just to support our body and help us open the lid of the jam jar.
I wanted to write an article on this topic, but I came out with two. The subject was too important not to elaborate. Read the first article in the series today.
January 15th
Learn how a healthy lifestyle can reduce your autoimmune disease symptoms!
Have you decided to make a change in your life, do you want to exclude gluten from your diet and does it seem complicated?
Do you have an autoimmune disease and want to reduce your symptoms?
My name is Oana, you know me as Oana gluten-free for almost 10 years. I have an autoimmune disease, ankylosing spondylitis, and since following a healthy lifestyle, the symptoms of the disease have faded to remission.
The first step I took was to give up gluten. After taking this major step, the other changes came naturally, and I now have an anti-inflammatory diet and healthy lifestyle. I even took a nutrition course to better explain to readers what anti-inflammatory nutrition is all about.
For 10 years, during which I have gradually implemented a healthy lifestyle, I feel good, I no longer have the excruciating pain caused by ankylosing spondylitis. Now I’m focused on the positive, on what I have to do to be well in the future.
An anti-inflammatory diet and a healthy lifestyle:
– can help the medication work better.
– will help you reduce inflammation in the body, and thus get rid of pain and other unpleasant symptoms
– can relieve your digestive symptoms caused by leaky gut. People with autoimmune diseases often have a leaky gut, and experts believe there may be a link between inflammation and gut permeability.
– can increase your energy level and vitality.
– can help you lose weight.
– can help you sleep better.
Would you like to know how I went from a life full of pain caused by an autoimmune disease to a normal, pain-free life?
P.S: this is part of a project I’m working on. Would this text convince you to read me?
January 16th
My favorite time of the day is the morning. I go to bed early and wake up early to enjoy the sunrise. I take a deep breath, drink my cup of water, take my pills, make my breakfast and coffee and go back in bed. My brain fills with endorphins and processes faster.
I had a busy day yesterday. Out of 3 activities starting at the same time, I had to choose one. It wasn’t hard to choose. I asked myself: what is more important FOR ME now? The first answer was: all of them. I asked again: what is most important to MY SOUL right now? And I chose. My soul wants joy, and I can only get that through evolution, through development.
I chose to develop myself. Development means effort. But a pleasant effort, when you see what wonders come out of your hands and brain. And an even more pleasant effort when you are not alone, but in the select company of people who have the same goal in life and want the same thing as you: joy.
So, this morning I drink my coffee in bed, with the joy of accomplishment. Yesterday was a day full of work, but also full of joy. Will follow.
January 17th
Do you want to be healthy? Cook your own food.
It doesn’t have to be some complicated thing with a lot of ingredients. A single source of protein and a few simple vegetables can make a complete and filling meal. With the abundance of information now, we find all kinds of recipes so that anyone can put something edible on their plate. Eating at a restaurant, takeout or processed products should be exceptions in our diet, something that happens rarely or on special occasions.
If you cook your own food, you will know exactly what is on your plate, how fresh and nutritious it is, how much sugar and salt it contains, what kind of fat, and the food will not contain preservatives or other additives. You will determine yourself the ratio between good taste and healthy ingredients or preparation methods.
We’ve been taught to want more, better, tastier, spicier, more… We don’t need more, we need less. And in the case of food, let this less be made by our hands, with joy and love.
January 18th
My grandmother could not write. She was born in 1920, more than 100 years ago. When the literacy campaign took place in the 60s, she went to the same school as my mother. She was forced, she didn’t want to learn. She only learned the numbers from 0 to 9 and to sign her name.
“How come, grandma, you didn’t want to know what was written in books and newspapers?” I asked her when I was a child. “What is written? Only lies,” she replied. I added: “Don’t you want to know what the stores say? How will you know if it’s Grocery or Bread?” “I enter the store and see what’s inside. I only learned to sign my name, because they forced me, and the numbers, I know that the tram that has a 2 and a 1 takes me to you. Otherwise, what do I need to know to write? I am staying in my yard, cook and look after the chickens.”
Life has done it in such a way that now, after decades of my grandmother’s departure, I live in the same yard, in the same house built with love and effort by her. There are no more chickens, because the laws have changed, and the only animals tolerated in the cities are puppies and cats. Tram 21 is still the only means of public transport that connects the neighborhood to the center. The Bread and Grocery stores are now together at the Supermarket. And writing for me is air.
**
Grandma, books don’t lie. Books take me out of the yard and into extraordinary places! I cook too, grandma, but I learned to cook from books and other forms of writing found in that wonderful place called the Internet. I know how to make more than soup, stew and oil cake that you knew how to make. I’ve learned to cook food that heals me, grandma, and I’m teaching others how to do it too.
Writing is so important to me, grandma, that not a day goes by without me writing. The first thing I do in the morning after drinking my coffee is write a post on Facebook. People read me, maybe learn something useful and feel joy. Grandma, writing is not a lie, it is the greatest truth!
January 19th
I will not stop campaigning for the importance of meal times.
You don’t eat everything you can get your hands on when you’re fainting from hunger, because you can’t control what and how much you eat, and you can’t enjoy the food if you swallow it when you are famished.
Nor is it good to nibble all day like a mouse, convinced that you “didn’t eat anything and weren’t hungry” that day.
You set the times and number of meals, according to your schedule and following the principles of nutrition, and stick to them. Sometimes that’s all it takes to lose weight and then keep it off.
January 21st
A group of frogs organized a contest: Whoever reaches the top of a high and steep mountain first wins the grand prize.
A few brave frogs lined up at the start line and began the climb. The curious crowd had gathered on the edge and were shouting: It’s too hard, you won’t make it! It’s too dangerous, you’ll die!
One by one, the frogs abandoned the race, discouraged by the words of the crowd. Only one of them continued on its way and, despite the difficulty of the course (because that climb was indeed difficult and dangerous) reached the top.
They were all amazed by the frog’s performance, and after it came down from the mountain they said: Didn’t you hear when we told you it was too dangerous? You could hurt yourself!
No, it hadn’t heard, the frog was deaf.
The lesson behind this tale: Don’t listen to people who tell you you can’t. Be deaf to their words, do not be discouraged. No one knows what you can do better than you do.
And, deeper than the lesson above: Don’t listen to the voices in your head that tell you you can’t. Those voices are the real saboteurs, because they make you listen to the “well-wishers”. If you were sure that you would succeed, would you still listen to those who tell you that you can’t? You’d give it to them and go about your business.
And the extra-lesson of this story is this: Get rid of those around you who tell you you can’t and criticize you at every step. No matter how strong you are, there comes a time when you let your guard down and their words influence you. Surround yourself with people who encourage you, even when you doubt yourself. These people are gold!
January 22nd
Muscle mass is much more important than we might think. I’m leaving the article on the importance of muscle mass in the comments in case you missed it. And in menopause, muscle mass is vital (also in that article I detailed why and how).
In today’s article, I explain how we can recover and maintain muscle mass in menopause. Really, it’s worth taking a look at the article. If you’re approaching or already in menopause, you’ve probably noticed that your muscles are starting to shrink, even though you haven’t changed your habits. During this period of life we tend to lose 1-2% muscle mass per year. So…we’d better take action. What can be done?
January 23rd
“Do you go for a walk?” asks me a neighbor with envy masked under a layer of kind interest. The headphones and loose clothes betray me. I have time. She does not have. Or thinks she doesn’t have it, it’s easier to envy another than to examine your own life.
“Walking makes the leg beautiful!”
I would rather say: walking keeps the leg healthy. And not only the leg, or legs, as we usually have two, but the whole body. In fact, every cell in the body is nourished or protected by walking. It is the number 1 medicine that should be given in any disease.
Studies prove (oh, how I love that expression!) that 8000 steps a day, in a brisk walk, if possible unfragmented, i.e. made in one piece, is the minimum necessary to keep us healthy. That is 4 km. An hour, an hour and a half. Daily.
It ended up seeming like an aberration to walk an hour and a half. We do not have time. And if we still have an hour and a half free a day, we prefer to go to the gym. To “work” for our health in a room, together with other sweaty people, with the windows closed because it is “drafty”, but with the air conditioning on. And to pay good money for it.
I’m not saying going to the gym is bad. I went too, and I decided to go again. But you go to the gym 2-3 times a week. And the rest of the days you don’t get out of the car or the elevator.
**
I am writing this text on the bus, and a young boy in front of me is talking on the phone: yes, yes, I have 20 minutes of walk to get there, but I don’t walk, I took the bus. What was I saying an hour and a half? People don’t even walk 20 minutes.
What would people need to be motivated to walk? What prize should they be promised for walking for example an hour every day for a month? To be told that at the end of this month they will have more clarity, more energy, that they will feel less anxious, less depressed? That they will lose weight? That they will no longer feel the urgent need for sweets? That their joints won’t hurt so much anymore? That the blood tests will normalize? That they will sleep better? That they wouldn’t end up like the old man in front of me, ankylosed and looking lost?
What would be the thing that would make them walk?
What memory of the past, vision of the future, or awareness of the present would cause people to choose what is good for them and reject what is bad?
What would motivate you to walk every day?
January 25th
Have you heard of the first second rule?
Before I started my journey to a healthy lifestyle, I was angry from the first moments of the day. As I opened my eyes in the morning, I remembered all the shortcomings of my life. I was finding something to get angry about: a noise outside, a pain in my joints, it was too hot or too cold, I was thinking about some nasty things that had happened or would happen to me that day… I was looking for the trouble, how one would say.
When I started to educate myself for a normal and beautiful life, I discovered the “rule of the first second”. This rule says that the first second of the day, that second when you wake up, when you haven’t opened your eyes yet, that second sets the mood for the whole day. In that second it is good to have a positive thought of action. That is, something like “I’m going to make my hot and good coffee” or “today I will wear my new shoes”. Something of action, not something abstract, “the world is wonderful” or “it’s good that there is peace on earth”. That thought of action prompts you to get out of bed to do something you love.
**
It takes some time and discipline to be able to implement the first second rule, but once you succeed your life will change radically for the better.
You will see changes not only in your well-being but also in your health. Blood pressure will normalize, gastritis or stomach ulcers will improve, joint pain will fade, even the skin will heal. How so?! Well, if you stop getting angry, annoyed or depressed from the first second of the day, the stomach no longer secretes excess acid, the muscles no longer tense and the pulse no longer increases. Since applying this rule all these improvements have happened to me (minus the blood pressure, I never had high blood pressure). In the morning I am happy as a beetle in the sun 😊.
I wrote an article, “Tell me how you start your day so I can tell you who you are”, in which I talk about the first second rule and what else I do to start my day well.
January 26th
Many of you tell me that you are fighting the illness. And they use harsh and nasty words when referring to the illness they have.
Let’s think for a moment: where does a fight usually take place? In a war. To whom do we use dishonorable words and against whom are we fighting? An enemy. I don’t know about you, but I got goosebumps and felt a shock to my plexus just writing the words “war” and “enemy”.
If we live all the time at war with the illness, which we consider an enemy, we do not have inner harmony, because we are always on the offensive (fighting) and at the same time on the defensive (defending ourselves from the “attack” of the illness). In times of war, growth is stopped, survival is a priority. If we fight, we survive, we don’t grow.
Immediately after diagnosis or during periods of exacerbation of the illness we can be in survival mode, but we cannot be like this for the rest of our lives. We were born to grow, to develop, not just to survive.
How can we grow with an autoimmune disease, with pain, physical and dietary limitations, insecurity, mental fog? Let’s stop fighting. Let’s accept what happens and make the illness an ally, not an enemy. Fighting uses up what little energy we have.
**
Let’s stop fighting wars. In war we can be wounded, and even if we win, the victory will be bitter, because aggression begets aggression, and soon other enemies will appear. Let’s not be aggressive, let’s be firm. Be compassionate, to others and to ourselves. Let’s be strong not through fighting, but through acceptance and openness. Let us see around us and in our heart normality and joy, not enmity and strife. That way we will grow, not just survive.
January 27th
If you looked for things to appreciate and enjoy every day, instead of things to make you angry or sad, you would have a spectacular and fulfilling life.
There are also days when you don’t feel well, days when everything seems to hurt. It’s normal, you’re only human. On those days bring your attention to yourself. Don’t spread out looking for culprits. No one can touch you if you don’t let them. Everything happens with your permission.
So don’t get angry and sad because of what other people do, but look for something within yourself to appreciate and enjoy. You will see that the outside will change and you will begin to notice things and actions full of beauty and hope.
January 30th
Superfoods for everyone, please!
When I talk about avocado here (quite rarely, admittedly) I avoid using the word “superfood”, as it is presented everywhere in the media. This word gives the poor fruit a mystical, savior aura. But he is just a fruit, like all the others. If we stuff ourselves with avocado, pineapple, goji or who knows what other exotic “superfoods”, we don’t become healthier if we put a pretzel on top of them.
Did you know that onions, garlic and nettles are also “superfoods”? Or eggs, bone broth and meat organs? Why not glorify them too?
All natural, unprocessed and uncombined with chemical additives foods are superfoods. It’s ok to eat avocados, but no onion should be thrown away just because it’s cheap and available everywhere. Let’s look at it and eat it with the same pleasure and confidence in its healing and nourishing capabilities as we would an avocado.
Look at the “superfoods” I ate for breakfast: scrambled eggs, onions, spinach, bacon, homemade ham (I leave the recipe in the comments), radishes, olives.
January 31st
As I said before, breakfast is a personal choice.
So many brains have been heated on this subject, pros and cons, that there is no need for me to add straw to the fire. With breakfast or without? Dense in protein and fat, or full of carbohydrates? Or maybe fruit? Or fruit juice? A soup? A salad? Just a black coffee? Everyone has their own opinion about breakfast and that’s ok, as long as they feel good about their choice.
I don’t feel good with something sweet in the morning, paradoxically it leaves me with a bitter taste. No fruit, because in half an hour I’m hungry again, so I leave the fruit for a snack before the main meal. Coffee on an empty stomach? Never. Croissants, soft bread and other floury “softnesses”? I’m bloating in a minute.
What the Americans call “savory breakfast” works best for me. For example, in the plate below I have a slice of millet seed bread, toasted well, smeared with sesame paste (tahini), 2 slices of homemade ham, and on top sits an egg fried in a non-stick pan with a sprinkle of duck lard. A few spinach leaves, 2 radishes and a carrot complete the landscape. And a cup of coffee with half a teaspoon of sugar, which I forgot to put in the picture. That keeps me full for about 6 hours without nibbling until the main meal. A feast worth 20 minutes to prepare.
Do you eat breakfast? If not, why not? If you do, what exactly?
