Earlier this week I posted a bit of a rant. It’s so funny, because it was written out of total frustration and I don’t usually do that! I try to write happy, encouraging, light posts about nutrition and food, faith and family. In general, I’m an optimist and I don’t like to complain…or rant. That said, I am tickled pink that you guys loved that post. It has been one of my most popular posts EVER.
Anyway, it got me wondering why that post was so popular. I think it’s because everyone is looking for a shortcut. 
Right? Let’s be honest. It’s just you and me, after all. If we could just eat bon-bons and drink some frosty tropical cocktail all day stretched out beside a pool with our shades on and our bestie by our side and Jack Johnson crooning on the radio, would we not? (Just me?) And if we could find a pill that we could take to make up for all of our neglect of good habits, wouldn’t we take it and just continue on our lazy, sugar induced way? Um, yes.
Sorry to be a downer, but it does not exist (no matter what or who tells you that it does “if you just take this pill/shake/drink…and pay me a bunch of $$”. The truth is that there are no shortcuts to good health. Have you heard about the theory of reaping and sowing? If you know anything about farming or gardening (which, I suppose, many people don’t), you know this idea. There was also this childhood story about an ant and a grasshopper, but I don’t really remember it…just that it was the same idea. Anyway, the idea is that what we plant and tend becomes our harvest. Said another way, when we fail to plant and tend our garden, we grow nothing. Nada. Zilch.
It’s that way with our health (and our relationships and our money and our emotional and spiritual well-being too). What we plant (sow), we reap (harvest). When we invest in our health a little at a time 
with consistently good habits, we can count on better health down the road. It doesn’t take becoming a triathlete, although you certainly can. It doesn’t mean forgoing all of your favorite foods forever. It means that most of the time, you make deposits into the healthy category when you choose to eat well and make time for exercise, stress management, and connecting with God and other human beings.
This doesn’t mean you will never get sick. It doesn’t mean you’ll always avoid every potential disease – many factors influence the development of diseases like cancer, heart disease, and stroke. Although you are more likely to avoid these conditions if you take care of your body. It also does mean that if/when you get sick, you will have a greater, stronger reserve to help you recover faster and more completely.
Here’s the question…What can you do more of today to help you live more of the life you want tomorrow? Now go eat some broccoli. 😉
