Humans, a Reflection of Mother Nature

Is it a coincidence that we have similar traits to the very earth we walk on? Is it coincidence that there is a reflective trend in the incidence of human ill health and the degradation and damage of our planet?

It is all too easy to get caught up in the materialist, workaholic human world and forget to stop and look where we have come from and what we are actually part of. As humans, we contain the same amount of water as there is on the surface of planet earth*. We rise and sleep with the sun, females have the same length of menstrual cycle as the moons cycle, we are the same salinity as the sea and growth comes from good nourishment. Just like our planet we are delicate and fragile when we add chemicals and foreign objects to the system. In essence we are a mirror image of the very environment we call home. Yet we forget to look outside our materialistic work and think of the consequences of our behaviours and to varying degrees we are killing of both the human race and the planet that houses us.

So what does this have to do with anything? Well, that depends on you. This can be just passing information or it can help you to see that we are part of something very large and exciting and you can start to make choices that reflect your health and in return the health of your home, the earth.

The less chemicals we consume and spray the healthier we can be, the more we nourish our body and earth the stronger we can grow and the more we have respect for ourselves, others and our planet the more we can get out of life. The steps to achieve this can be as simple as, stepping of the rat race once in a while and see the beauty around you and treat your body, mind and environment as you would treat a small child.

*The exact numbers may vary depending on the book or review you have read.

Why Bother?

Why do we bother working all the hours we do, what is the point of it all? What is the point in making money when there is little to no time to spend it? It is all too easy to lose sight of why we work so hard and spend so much time away from our friends, families and loved ones. Do you ever feel you’re on a treadmill and just want to step off and enjoy life?

When was the last time you went out and did something you really enjoyed that made you happy? It is important to make yourself feel good in this world not just others. If we are happy we can then give more to others, it is not a selfish act to put your feelings first sometimes. Today so many of us have lost sight of what life is about. We simply work 8 till late and then come home eat, telly, bed and then start all over again. What has happened to doing the things that make us happy, laugh or relaxed. Why are we spending all this time working and not choosing to make time to play?

If you had to plan your perfect day would you be able to do it now? Could you list 10 things that you love to do? These can be anything from having a drink at your favourite watering hole with a friend to skiing in the Alpes. What makes all the hard work worthwhile for you?

For most of us, the possibility of not working due to winning the lottery is not that high, some may say lightning chance, so we have to accept that we will need to work to maintain our present lifestyles. However, what can we do so that we are not just following the rat race and loosing life one day at a time?

What are some of the things we can do to get a balance and make time to do the things that make us happy? The starting point has to be knowing what it is that makes you happy, so make a list of your favourite day and all those things you want to do and love to do. Then start to do, begin to schedule in your activities in to your weekend and evenings and make life what you want it to be. Stay off the rat race and make life worth living.

Does a size 12 define us?

Why have we become so obsessed with numbers and what they mean in the weight loss/body shape world? I don’t believe there is a single woman who has not been upset because a certain size top, pair of jeans/trousers or skirt, did not fit her in a particular shop. And men are not exempt from this. And when these outfits don’t fit, we instantly feel it’s a, bad day or I’m fat and no good, this exercise/diet/healthy eating is just a waste of time, why should I bother, pass me the chocolate and crisps!! What is frightening is when the questions lead you to ask, ‘if I’m not a 12, who am I?’ As if a size is defining who you are.

There are many reasons we have ended up with these thoughts and beliefs, unfortunately they are not easy to stop, we can’t just say stop doing it. But if we can at least be come conscious of what is happening and know when it’s happening we are on the way to helping ourselves feel better. So what are some of the influence?

• Media
• Marketing
• Celebrities
• Peers and friends
• Learnt behaviours

Media, marketing and celebrities are constantly bombarding us with what we should look like, what we should wear and how to wear it. A question we should first ask is who said and will that suit me, someone who is not only bone? But this is not what we think or believe due to a life time of instilled beliefs and values and now it is very difficult to break these learnt patterns and behaviours. Instead we discuss it with friends and work colleges and fuel the situation further. Can anybody see the label in your clothing? Do people really look and think oh she is a size… or do they think she has good figure or do they not really care? I believe it is more about your own perception of yourself that you project onto what others might be thinking.

Manufactures also have a major part to play in the size war. How can we say we are, per say, size 12 when every brand of cloths is a different size, every style is a different size and I am sure you have experienced it before, sometimes even the exact same rack of tops/jeans are slightly different in size. If this is the case how can we ever be just one size? Most of us know what style makes us look good and what brands fit so why don’t we go with what will make us feel good and not set ourselves up to experience pain?

It is a sad a distressing time to think that if we don’t fit into a specific size we are not who we thought we were and are not good enough. Why not look outside the label and ask better questions, such as how do I look as me (not as a size), how do I feel and what is important in my world and if like most you’re not totally happy ask yourself ‘am I working towards that I want to be?’ If you’re not, why not start now to be who you what to be, not what a false media driven world tells you, you should be.

Societal expectations are killing us!

Is it not time we started to realise the negative effect we are having on ourselves with the latest diet, exercise regime and you must be….expectations?

What are some of these ‘societal expectations’?

• Be slim and fit into the BMI range (to be discussed in a later blog)
• Keep up with the latest fashion and look (at work and/or social)
• Eat only this… (depends what you have read or latest fad)
• Exercise at least 3 times a week for an hour
• Use the latest gimmick to exercise it will definitely work
• Remember your British, stiff upper lip and tell people everything is good
• Been tanned or white, depending on the latest look
• Work hard and long hours to be successful
• Spend lots of time with your family or you’re not a good parent/husband/wife

These are a selection of societal expectations and they vary across cultures and families.

We are all brought up in a world that is dictated by unwritten expectations, we are never actually given a list about these farcical rules, nor do we consciously sign up to them. But, whether we are aware of them or not they are there and have been for years. Many expectations are instilled in us from an early age and they become part of our reality. We then live by these ‘rules’ and feel guilty or bad if we do not maintain them and believe we have let people down or failed. How can we have failed or been bad if what we have broken are only expectations created over time that hold no more truth or absolute fact than teddy bears talk (which most of us believed at some point!).

In addition to this how many hours do we truly believe we have in a day to achieve and reach all these expectations. We have set ourselves up to fail before we have even started. But hey, let’s get on with them and try and then prove to ourselves we are not good enough.

If only society could step back and look at what it’s creating. We (as we all follow and feed into these nonsense) are creating extremes in many aspect of our lives such as; body size, eating disorders of all types are increasing both gaining and losing weight and working hours are extreme, more unemployed and at the same time, more people working crazy hours. The amount of people that you speak to who are having weight or work challenges is countless. Yes we need to work to live and have a ‘healthy’ lifestyle but at what cost must we have these. It seems only to apt, that depression is at an all time high. There must be a middle ground and not the extreme we find ourselves in today.

What would it take to have values, rather than expectations, that allow people to accept themselves more easily and not be judged in a heartbeat on what we (society) expects of them? What would our values have to be for this to exist?