Your Health Is Not Free!

Your Health Is Not Free!We all want a bargain. When I would ask for something unreasonable, my parents would always make the statement, “You want your cake and eat it too”. Well, of course! Who doesn’t? My parents also would say, “If it’s something worth having, it’s usually never free and it cost in some way.” I’m sure we all have heard the old phrase, “You get what you pay for.”

I’ve been in the medical field all my life, and one thing I have come to realize is that my parents were correct with their outrageous statements. I have learned that to be healthy and stay healthy, you have to pay the price.

Money is not everything so when I talk about the “price”, its not just about spending money. We live in a world that when we hear the word “price”, we automatically think about money. Well, let me give you ideas of what I am talking about for other than money ideas.

There are a few things we absolutely need in order to stay healthy. No, I’m not talking about the oxygen we need to breathe, or the food we need to eat, water, or the shelter we need to keep us warm, or the clothes we wear. All of those items, other than the air we need to breathe, usually cost most of us money.

I’m talking about other simple things that for the most part are free but still have a “price” on them. Let me see if I can explain…

ENERGY- We need to give our body energy. Food gives our body’s cells energy to function but food can cost money. Walking and movement create energy and is free. It doesn’t cost us anything except our time. It is very detrimental to our body if we do not create movement. Sometimes people who are bed-ridden or just couch potatoes can get broken down areas on their skin. Non-movement can cause one to have pneumonia especially if they are already sick with no movement or not deep breathing. Not getting enough exercising or movement can create muscle wasting. Movement doesn’t cost money unless you join a gym, however it is not really free. The cost is your time, but what is 20 minutes or more mean to you if it can add years to your life?

LOVE- Love is free. We all need to feel that we are loved or can love. If you do not have someone to love you or you love, try an experiment. Start smiling at complete strangers and ask them how they are doing. You may be surprised at how many friends you acquire. Love comes in many ways and many forms. If you are against trying that, a puppy will give you unconditional love. Love does not cost money but it is not completely free. It cost you time, and consideration for someone else. The most important thing to remember about this is that feeling a sense of love, affection, satisfaction is wonderful for the immune system. When the immune system is happy, the body is happy and can stay healthy. It is very important to find love for one’s self.

FORGIVENESS- Forgiveness does not cost money but it does sometimes take work. Forgiveness is one of the most beneficial medicines that one can give themselves, It lightens your heart which in turn lifts your spirits, gets the monkeys off your back, and helps the immune system to flow as it should. You might say that the cost of forgiveness comes in two ways, the true cost and the pay-off. The true cost is stopping the merry-go-round and figuring out what good is it doing you to stay sad, hurt, angry, or any of the other toxic emotions. Sometimes we even need to not just forgive others, but forgive ourselves. The pay-off can be great!.

BREAKING OLD MENTAL HABITS- We need to make an effort every day to try to see the good in everything, even the bad. Did you know that being negative all the time or worry is a habit? We need to try to break the habits of mental sabotaging ourselves. This dose not cost money but it dose cost us the effort. Forgetting to try to find the “better” side of things always leads to depression and sadness. Depression and sadness leads to breaking down the immune system. We have to make the effort.

Everything I have spoken of, energy, breaking old habits, forgiveness, and love, is free. It is free from costing money but NOT free from effort. All of the above takes effort. Sometimes its not easy to smile at the stranger. Sometimes its not easy to see the good in the bad event or bad day you are having. Sometimes it is not easy to forgive but I promise you, if you put the effort into it, you will see a little difference day by day.

Effort does not cost dollars or money. Effort is a verb that needs to be moved deep within our soul. We have to make the effort happen. When we put forth effort into motion, it helps our body to become healthier on many levels. We keep our cars gassed up and oiled or they do not run. We make the effort of driving to the gas station to get gas without even thinking about it. It takes the effort to get out and pump the gas. We need to put the effort into motion to care more about our body than our cars.

Hope can not survive by itself. It takes effort to find the hope. It takes effort sometimes to keep the hope.

After Superman, Christopher Reeves, had his accident, he clearly explained to everyone that you have to put the effort into what you want. Being paralyzed, and all the medical problems he encountered, he pushed beyond and put the effort into motion. Yes, he was Superman, but that was the movies. He became a Superman in real life.

“Once you choose hope, anything is possible.”

– Christopher Reeves (Superman)

-Dr Fredda Branyon