The Unfairly Neglected

Like any poor mortal in pursuit of happiness, I sometimes sit and wonder about what gives quality to our lives. And boy, is that list incredibly long! No wonder we're never quite satisfied! :D

The first item in the long list that always comes to my mind is good health for ourselves and our family and friends. That's a good one, and I strongly believe that it's an important factor to all of us. Plus, it's completely out of our hands! Or is it???!!

Well, it turns out it's not as independent from our choices as we'd like to believe. According to a ton of books and articles I've been reading lately, your health is, as they say, in your hands. Surprised?

Here's how it goes: the body is like a machine. Should you take care of it (oil it nicely, feed it good fuel, service it occasionally, treat it according to its own limitations), it will last you a long time without major complaints! Do the opposite, and it will break down. I don't know about you, but it sounds logical enough to me!

So this is how they came to the conclusion that happiness goes through the stomach! Because otherwise, how many of you jolly fellows would have put food on your list of most important things to help you achieve a good quality of life? After all, we live in the day and age of fast food, of skipping meals and of dieting to lose weight. Ahem!

All right, if food is so important, some disbelieving Thomas will ask, which is that food that grants us salvation from the hell of obesity and numerous health problems? "Simple, my dear Watson", I say. Alkaline food, rich in nutrients and a blessing to your body! And since many eyebrows are getting raised already, let me detail it a tiny bit: superbly looking, colorful and cheerful veggies and dark leaf greens tossed together with magnificent oils (olive, flax seed, grape seed, coconut, sesame, safflower, borage and fish oils are best) flavored with naturally harvested and unprocessed salt (sea salt) and complimented with zesty lemon and your favorite spices! Yummmmyyyyy!

Oh yes, you guessed it right, the secret IS in the salad (but not only) as long as salad is made of fresh vegetables without any processed stuff like mayo, processed dressings, any type of fermented stuff (like vinegar) or meat! Moreover, nutritious grains like millet and quinoa make a delicious addition to such a salad - as long as there's 20% grains and 80% raw salad. That my friends is alkaline food. Doesn't sound like your kind of stuff? How do you know? I bet you haven't tried it! If this is your dinner every day, give it one month for the weighing machine to smile a broad smile to you! Hmmmm or was it the other way round?!


Okay, food is third place in the championship of unfairly ignored vital things that make us happy (if you don't believe me, go to a place where you have no access to your favorite food for a while :D)

Number two, my friends, is water. Here the rule is: the more, the better! I drink 4-5 liters per day, but my weight is 50 kilograms. If you weigh more, you might want to drink more. Please note that the amount of water the body needs is not the same thing with the amount of FLUIDS you consume. Soups, juices, tea, coffee are NOT included in the minimum 4 liters per day.

Now if you don't believe me water brings you happiness... well, I won't even bother to tell you "try doing without"! You know you can't, right? So there goes the vicechampion of unfairly neglected sources of happiness!

"What can be more important and under-rated than this?" you might ask yourself. I think the simplicity of the answer comes as no surprise! Ladies and gentlement, our champion is... the breath! Did you know that in this world of constant pressure, hurry and multitasking, we forgot how to breathe properly? Our breath is shallow and hurried - which is why stress became the ailment of the century.

Fear not, my friends, what is done can be undone. The way we work out our body, we can also work out our breath by means of specific types of breathing exercise. These are generically called Pranayama, and they're a part of yoga. With only half an hour of breathing exercises per day, we emerge calmer, with a clearer mind and a healthier body.

I'll get into further details about each of our stars in later posts. In the meantime, I'd appreciate your inputs, additions, or criticism.

Stay happy, healthy and hydrated! Have an amazing day!