Live Your Best Life
It’s Spring and oh am I loving it! The flowers are blooming everywhere and it’s FINALLY getting warm in New York City. It’s been a rough winter: lots of temps below zero, lots of snow, lots of sleet, lots of layered clothing — you name it, we got it. I’m excited for Spring because I just got back from Hawaii, which is full of lush everything. I came home to flowers blooming everywhere. If there is something we always have in this city, it’s an abundance of flowers. We are known for our bodegas on street corners that have beautiful flowers pouring out onto the sidewalks. I would think my new apartment would be my focus these days since I’m still getting settled, but that’s not the case. Fun, celebration, and health are in the air for me and I hope they are for you too. If you are not getting that Spring kick yet, actively seek it. Ask the universe to show you something to celebrate, or jump start it by planting a new flower in your backyard or potting a new one on your windowsill –clean out that closet and those drawers, and give away what you haven’t worn in over a year to keep that energy moving! Then, go for a walk outside and email, text, or call that friend who always gives you more good energy. It will be an energetic reboot in every way and hopefully kick start your Spring. Most importantly, Spring reminds us of where we get our most essential source of energy: plant-based food.
Recently, I’ve been drawn to books about health, aging, and nutrition, and how basing diet primarily off of vegetables is the way to feel your best. The books I’m reading aren’t telling anyone to completely remove anything (except to limit your red meat intake), but to eliminate processed foods. Eating foods that grow free of pesticides and hormones is the way to live your best life. It makes complete sense to me. I try my best to put this into action by asking myself before I eat: “Is this derived from a plant, free from hormones and pesticides?“ If the answer is no, I shouldn’t eat it, because it has no energy to give me. Why eat something that isn’t derived from life/grown on this planet and free of chemicals to produce energy in my body?
Food either adds to our energy or takes it away. We all know when something takes it away. It’s the food that spikes our blood sugar or makes us feel jittery, overly full, sleepy, or just not great. There are so many choices of what to eat in order to be healthy that it can be overwhelming. Whenever I go to visit my Mom in the suburbs, I’m always amazed by the size of the grocery stores compared to those in the city. Those suburban stores have so many aisles filled with so many packaged and boxed items that it makes me dizzy. I don’t know how people walk out of these places without feeling drained. In New York City, because we are limited on space, our grocery stores are extremely small and I find that it limits packaged and boxed items and we have more fresh foods to choose from. I’m also lucky because it is so easy to get completely fresh, delicious food delivered to my door in just 30 minutes! Talk about service. Although we are limited on boxed food, the options are endless in different types of cuisine. I don’t know that you could live in a healthier place, because so much is available.
With the universe continually bringing nutrition to the forefront of my mind, I ‘m working on ways to incorporate the habit of eating more plant and life force foods (foods derived from the earth that create natural energy and energy flow) in my daily life. We have become so busy and have so many demands in our schedules that we forget that one of the most important things we can do is slow down to really think about where and how the food we are about to put in our mouths was created. Society is definitely more aware of the importance of this and is demanding more from those who produce and distribute food, but I think we can do better and I feel we have to do better, if not for ourselves, then for our children. We are smarter than a processed, addictive taste. And don’t be fooled by thinking that if you shop in the organic health food stores that you are “safe from the issue.” It really is everywhere. The top three ingredients need to be the top three best ingredients because they are going inside your every cell so you can be your best, most healthy and beautiful you.
We can heal so much of ourselves if we can start this habit of really looking at the foods we choose to consume. We can only be our best selves if we are conscious of what we are putting inside our bodies- we are ultimately the end source of whatever energy we put into our bodies. Could you imagine how much illness would be cured if boxed, processed items no longer existed in the aisles of our grocery stores? I hope one day society becomes so conscious that we can look back and say: “Oh my goodness, there was a time that people ate all these unnatural processed boxes and packages of items they categorized as food! I can’t believe they didn’t know it wasn’t actually food, and ultimately, the cause of so much disease.” I’m a dreamer — I always have been and always will be. If you can imagine it, you can create it. Let’s clear those packages and boxes off the shelf, people.
Much love for a healthy, fun, and mindful Spring.
- Mo