Naturally

I've always been fond of alternative, Eastern medicines, as well as the power of yoga and prayer to heal, both mentally and physically. In recent years I've become a strong proponent of the notion that all remedies, all joy, all epiphanies, and all solutions to all problems lie in Nature. To see or to feel the validation of this sentiment gives me such a high in the most spiritual sense. Whether to alleviate a mental or emotional affliction (such as going outside for a stroll to cure the blues) or to treat a physical ailment with a whole foods, plant based diet, every day I become more sure that the Natural world, in all its splendor, harbors everything for which we could ever ask.

I've touched upon this in some of my earlier postings pertaining to Thoreau and Walden, but it's no surprise that depression is becoming more rampant, and presenting itself earlier and earlier, as people become more insular and technology more pervasive. Modern amenities certainly have their time and place, and I am no advocate of total resignation from these 21st century fixtures, but to strike a balance between being the global citizen of our contemporary age and harnessing that primal animal who craves fresh air and tacitly longs to connect with nature would be an ideal pursuit.

I recently read that not only do apples lower cholesterol and benefit our lungs and colon, but they assist us neurologically, too, by preventing dementia. The earliest mentions of pickled cucumber appear in the legend of Gilgamesh! If you think about it, eating more natural foods is not only away to healthily nurture your body - your vessel - but it is a wholesome way to connect with our history as a species.

"Without health life is not life; it is only a state of langour and suffering - an image of death. To keep the body in good health is a duty... otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear." -Buddha