This month I’d like to share some thoughts on better physical and psychological health. Toward the end of my senior year of college a classmate half-dared me, half-teased me, to smoke a cigarette. I had never smoked anything in my life and didn’t even know how to inhale, but I was up to the challenge. That one cigarette soon led to a pack-and-a-half-a-day habit.
In the late ’60s and early ’70s all Americans were learning more and more about the dangers of tobacco smoke. I wanted to quit but kept right on smoking anyway. Then one morning I lit a cigarette as usual, inhaled once, felt perfectly satisfied, looked at the remainder of the cigarette between my fingers, and realized that it would burn down to ash while I had already enjoyed as much of it as I wanted. What a waste of money, for I might as well have rolled up a dollar bill and set it on fire! That awareness—economic, not medical—helped me bring a thirteen-year habit to an end.
That morning I started to take control of my own health. I soon began to undertake enjoyable physical exercise on a regular basis—how fortunate we are at Saint Leonard to have stairs to climb and paths to walk! I became attentive to my diet and learned how to prepare healthful, tasty, and affordable meals. Several years later I discovered Al-Anon, an anonymous fellowship of families and friends of alcoholics. I no longer live with an alcoholic, but I still live with me, . . . and I have developed a lot of sick behaviors over the years. Al-Anon gives me the tools to identify those behaviors of mine, find healthy alternatives, and change my approach to life’s small and major challenges.
Today I am in a good place, both physically and psychologically, . . . and when I am not, I know what I have to do to change it. My story is not yours, but you and I both have a responsibility to take care of ourselves. Whether we are beginners or veterans, what are some practical ways by which we can continue to meet that responsibility?
In the words of Saint Francis, Peace and every Blessing!
Loren Connell, OFM,
sacramental minister
July 31, 2012
No comments:
Post a Comment