Most of us have probably flown by now, but if not, as the pilots are getting ready with their last-minute preparations for takeoff, the flight attendants walk us through some safety procedures in case, Heaven forbid, there should be an accident. One of the things they instruct us to do is if the cabin were to lose oxygen pressure, masks would come down from above. They even show us how to put it on. In addition, they are very specific and intentional, every single time, to tell us to be sure to put our own face mask on first, before assisting others – our children, the handicap, or perhaps the elderly. Why is that? Because we would be no earthly good to anyone else if we were passed out and they needed our help, that’s why.light attenden
I had a patient one time in my wholistic health practice, I will call her Agnes, who was struggling with getting to the root cause of her health challenges. Quite often, or at least it seemed to me, that her objections to following through with some of my recommendations was that she was too busy taking care of her husband and grown sons. And then, one day, it happened – she retired from work! I don’t know who was more overjoyed with this good news – she, or I! I encouraged her “it’s now time to put your own face mask on first” for a change. Now was her opportunity to take care of herself. And that she did. I still get a thrill in my heart when I see her social media posts and how she is thriving wholistically – mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually.
There needs to be more Agnes’ in the world. But we shouldn’t have to wait until we are retired to start taking care of our health – to value ourselves enough to do so.
Some of the barriers I hear to people not taking care of their health wholistically are:
- I don’t have enough time to take care of myself
- I don’t have enough money
- The kids, or even the husband comes first
- Work comes first
- And I’m sure there are many others.
Let’s just step back and imagine “as if” for a moment:
What happens if the police officer doesn’t take care of his health like he is supposed to (and sadly, there are far too many who don’t) – is it possible he would not be able to defend himself, his colleagues or even his community like he needs to? We are depending on them.
Or what happens if the mom who is always sick, can’t get out of bed, can’t play with the kids, or even more importantly take care of them properly? Have you ever met someone whose childhood was basically robbed from them because they had to grow up too quickly by having to be the “adult in the room” and take care of the parent? Perhaps it happened to you?
Maybe you are now the adult caregiver to your aging parent. What would happen if you couldn’t take care of them because you weren’t healthy enough yourself? How sad would that be – for both parties? And it happens – all the time.
I love the saying “you will either pay for your health now, or you will really pay for your disease later.” Which will it be?
But why does this even matter if you actually put yourself first?
The fact of the matter is, we, yes, all of us, even though you might not even know me, we all need you, and you, whether you want to admit it or not, need all of us. Every single one of us has a unique, divine purpose and calling on our lives. We each have been uniquely blessed with our very own gifts, talents and skills, that only you can do, as you can do. No one else can do it like you can.
Reclaim your wholistic health
Once you realize this, accept this, and start walking out that you matter and we need you to put your face mask on first, then the next steps will fall into place. Because now you have a purpose and a reason, you have your “why” answered.
Now it’s time to start doing the following:
- Assess your health wholistically – mental, emotional physical and spiritual
- Set some goals in each of those areas
- In the physical health arena make sure your foundation is solid:
- Rest
- Water
- Exercise
- Good nutrition in, food-like substances out
- Good nerve supply
This is a good place to start – for YOU. Remember, this is about you and putting yourself first, so you can lead others to do the same. This is where you put your face mask on first, and then help those you love do the same – your children, your parents, your community.
To go into greater depth with how to take charge of your health, pick up a copy of my book “Are You Being Deceived About True Wellness” https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C8RFBX87/