More Than Food

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A wellness lifestyle is just that, a lifestyle. Having a power pantry isn't only about healthy, whole food choices in our pantry and fridge, it's about what happens the other 20-or-so hours a day that we're not eating or thinking about food. What we choose to do in and with our lives will have a significant impact on our wellness, just like our food choices do.

I tend to be fairly disciplined, and I'm big on routine; discipline definitely influences my wellness. I'm also a person of faith, and I've been following Christ for about 19 years, so my routines include time to read scripture, and prayer time as well. As the years turn into decades, I believe there is 'fruit' in our lives from following God. Choices start to yield things like gratitude, and peace, and patience. Self-control, graciousness, faithfulness, kindness and eventually joy, all show up. I don't know how I'm doing on any of these; I don't think we can judge our own growth or fruitfulness very well. What I do know is that I'm on a journey to a state of perfection that I won't experience on this side of eternity... but I'm on the journey, just the same.

I see this kind of growth and commitment as a distinct part of a wellness lifestyle. I'm now compelled to live beyond myself, and I know that 20 years ago, that's not who I was. Some of these changes are bound to be from aging and maybe that turns to wisdom over time, but I know that being a blessing to others usually ends up blessing me.

There was an incredibly rich king, Solomon, who once said, "the liberal soul shall be made fat..." I love that mental picture. No matter how healthy I can get by eating 'clean' and sticking to whole foods and such, I think I'd just a soon have a fat soul. I can even think of times in my life when my soul felt bigger, and maybe even fat. Those were times when I was being self-less... times when I was specifically living for the welfare or benefit of others...when I was being a blessing, and without an expectation of reward or compensation or even acknowledgement.

I think those times, when our soul is fat, are power pantry times, just a much as saying no to the chocolate cheesecake, or sticking with whole grains or drinking plenty of filtered water. Generosity, encouragement, kindness, and the life-on-life interaction that go with them, deserve to be repeated for the benefits they produce. No doubt blessings are generated from these kinds of actions and more than anyone else, we are the beneficiaries.

By the Way

You can read a lot more wise counsel from Solomon in the Old Testament of the bible, specifically the book of Proverbs. There is a unique quality to the book of Proverbs in that it has 31 chapters, the same as the number of days in most months. For a great, daily reading discipline, try reading a chapter of Proverbs every day of the month, on that specific day (ie, read chapter 1 on the 1st of the month, chapter 2 on the 2nd... chapter 28 on the 28th, etc.) I guarantee that you will find significant wisdom and counsel from this routine. I've done this during probably dozens of months over the past 19 years, and I still find valuable nuggets that apply to the day at hand.