It’s your Choice – Healthy Living (II)

This is the second part of an earlier post on how our simple every day choices can propel us to live healthier lives.  In our earlier article, we talked about the benefits of physical exercise and healthy eating. In this article, we are going to explore the benefits of drinking lots of water, solitude, cheerfulness and forgiveness.

 “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in good health, just as your soul prospers” 3 John 2 NKJV

Drinking lots of water – About 60% of our body is made up of water (see usgs.gov/special-topic). According to H. H. Mitchell, Journal of Biological Chemistry, the brain and heart are composed of 73% water and the lungs are about 83% water. The skin contains about 64% water, muscles & kidneys are 79% and the bones 31%. Generally an adult male needs about 3 litres of water a day while a female needs 2.2 litres. However we do get some water from the food and juices we consume and our bodies would naturally signal us when we are thirsty. Research has proven that the average adult does not need 8 glasses of water a day.   (see Aaron E. Carroll’s article No, you do not have to drink 8 Glasses of Water a Day www.nytimes.com)

Solitude (coming apart) – this refers to the state or situation of being alone usually deliberately. This helps you to think,  re-energise, re-strategise and also to pray and seek God’s face. The Bible is filled with numerous admonitions to Christians to find strength in being quiet in the presence of the Lord ( see Psalms 46:10 and Lamentations 3: 25 – 26).  Jesus did this often while he was on earth (see Luke 5:16, Mark 1:35, Matthew 14:13, Luke 6: 12 -13)

A cheerful heart – Proverbs 17:22 says a cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength. No matter how bad things get in your life, it is good to focus on the positive and good things happening to you. What can you be grateful for – family, friends, a job, good health, food on your table, a roof over your head? Nobody likes to be around someone who is always complaining. In fact we sometimes avoid these persons like the plague while we may rather choose to be around someone with a sunny and bubbly personality so a bit of it can rub off on us. We are encouraged to fix our thoughts on what is true and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely and admirable (Philippians 4:6).

Forgiving and receiving forgiveness– There are times we must receive forgiveness from others. This comes from admitting our mistakes to the people we have wronged. There is a healing that comes when we confess our sins one to another;James 3:16). Our pride and our egos may keep us from doing this, but when we muster the courage we would be all the better for it.

Just as important as receiving forgiveness is forgiving others. In the Lord’s prayer we say ‘forgive us our trespasses even as we forgive those who trespass against us’. Ken Blanchard, author of ‘Lead like Jesus’ and ‘The One Minute Manager’ explained forgiveness as letting go of the right to an apology. Sometimes we would find that we need to forgive people even when they have not asked for our forgiveness. We do so in our best interests. There are times when people who have hurt us our totally unaware of how we feel about their actions. Some of the time, we may want to bring this to their attention. On other occasions however, we may just have to let go and move on. People who refuse to forgive, only live in the prison of their unforgiveness.

Like we said earlier it is your life, so live it well and take those daily choices that push you towards a happier and brighter future. Cheers and blessings.