As the proverb goes, health is wealth. And in this instance we are talking about the wealth of the human spirit. Good food is necessary for our health because our body is able to absorb its full nutrients - it is exactly so with our life. When we accept life in its sum total, relishing all its phenomena and sensations, our soul will be able to imbibe its entire range of 'nutrients', comprehending the full meaning of our existence, and letting us live our life to the utmost. Masami Sato shares the secret of living a full life in this excerpt from her latest book, ONE.
Why is it that many of us, (actually, most of us) now and then feel some sort of a barren sensation in our lives? It is like being ravenous. When we eat, we are satiated and become slightly indifferent to food. But after some time, we once again feel like having food. Then suddenly we are drawn again to the aroma and picture of food. We can also feel strange pangs of hunger when we are not actually craving for food - just after having eaten something. Some of us have a craving all the time.
Persistent emotional thirst is not the happiest feeling to have. Then how can we live our lives to the brim? How can we be more contented enduringly?
Maybe the answer is straightforward: just live our lives fully. The word 'full' holds the meaning of entirety. Then the secret to live a life in entirety is only to live it fully.
Let us commence by looking at a sample of this 'fullness' with something very close to our heart - our stomach.
Whole Food VS Part Food
We are used to the usage 'whole food.' People say that taking whole food is the secret to the vigour and wellbeing that we require. How is whole food better than 'semi food?'
A full grain throbs with a life of its own. If you put the full grain in water, drain the next day and keep for a few days, it shoots. It has its own life. When we dine on such food, our body takes in the entire live nutrients. It has all the qualities required to purify, remedy and foster different body cells.
And just like the example of a grain, most traditional eating includes eating whole animals as well. Eating whole fresh fish used to be more common than taking a part of fish and throwing the rest away. It was the same for meat and the same for vegetables.
'Part food' sometimes tastes better and smells better but does not have much nutrition. We may enjoy its taste, but we could have some lasting illness if we only ate 'part food' all days of our life.
So, to make up for the missing half, we began to take nutritional supplements. We have been trying and researching for pretty long to find the perfect equilibrium. It gets more and more difficult as we slice the food up, add preservatives and transport, and even try to supplement with other parts coming from various sources, places and seasons. Some of the nutrients are not even from natural resources. They are synthetically generated. After it is tested and analysed, it is approved for man's consumption. But however hard we try, we cannot merge the 'bits' from different sources to make it alive.
Part Life-'Sweetness' of Life
So, if we looked at our life now, part of what we are doing can be like eating the 'half food'. Just savouring the sweetness of life but throwing away the real nourishing part. And if we soaked our 'half life' in water with other bits and left it in the sunlight, could it shoot and grow into a beautiful whole life?
Whole food is not (as some people perceive it) poor in taste. It is actually tastier when we prepare it properly. But while the demand is low, it is more expensive. It is actually more economical in the long run though, as we have less medical expenses later on. When more people start eating it, it will naturally become cheaper because it is a simpler food with less processing and waste.
Our life is the same. When we only appreciate the 'sweetness', and throw away the rest in rubbish bins because we don't see its value, we may be wasting the most important part. And the part we throw away could have the greatest power for the sustainability of our life and our economy. It also takes more energy and resources to discard it. Better yet, the part we throw away is free.
So, what is it that we do not perceive?
Picture a life where we didn't in fact believe that we were lacking anything there.
The secret is right here. The secret of a full life.
Whole Life-The Complete Life
When it is 'full', it does not matter how big the full is. It can spread out all at once. It can still have within it all the components to uphold itself as a complete living thing. Once it develops to a given size, it can continue to live without some portions of it. Like plants can remain alive after birds feed on a little of it or trees survive even after losing their leaves. But if we ignore the equilibrium for a pretty long time, finally it can lead to a deadly disproportion. Then it might become too difficult to revert to normalcy.
We don't have to go back to the Stone Age to find the wholeness. Wholeness exists right now. All we need do is look closely; look closely enough to really see.
When we begin seeing our life in its fullness and stop casting out what nurtures our life the most, we start experiencing more and more satisfaction without looking for 'things' to fill the gaps and hollows of our life. Things finally fit into place. We now grasp the intricacies of our world in a completely different manner.
Yes, it is now time to find out how we can create (and see) this balance, continuously and sustainably.
The real nourishing part of our life is what makes us feel good deep down. It is like the part of food that makes our body become healthy in the long-term. Feelings we experience in our everyday life are the real key to our long-term happiness. And there are feelings that make us feel more complete.
The smiling visages we see when we acknowledge the merit of others. The happiness we feel when we give others gifts. The tenderness we feel when we see our children being happy. The motivation we get when we sense that our life is full of substance ..
Let us absorb these moments of our life wholeheartedly and savour the aroma of our full life. Then we will find how it is not obligatory to incessantly fill our heart (and belly!) with earthly satisfactions - those types of things that only add to our yearnings afterwards.
We can actually feel this joy, gratitude and love in order to experience the life as a whole at any moment regardless of the situations. It is not about what we see, what we hear or what we do that complete our life as a whole. It is about what we 'choose to' feel about our life.
Yes, our life in fact is already whole.
When we initiate taking actions based on this knowledge, we can have real control over the balance creation - enduring health, prosperity, enriching connection and delight.
Why is it that many of us, (actually, most of us) now and then feel some sort of a barren sensation in our lives? It is like being ravenous. When we eat, we are satiated and become slightly indifferent to food. But after some time, we once again feel like having food. Then suddenly we are drawn again to the aroma and picture of food. We can also feel strange pangs of hunger when we are not actually craving for food - just after having eaten something. Some of us have a craving all the time.
Persistent emotional thirst is not the happiest feeling to have. Then how can we live our lives to the brim? How can we be more contented enduringly?
Maybe the answer is straightforward: just live our lives fully. The word 'full' holds the meaning of entirety. Then the secret to live a life in entirety is only to live it fully.
Let us commence by looking at a sample of this 'fullness' with something very close to our heart - our stomach.
Whole Food VS Part Food
We are used to the usage 'whole food.' People say that taking whole food is the secret to the vigour and wellbeing that we require. How is whole food better than 'semi food?'
A full grain throbs with a life of its own. If you put the full grain in water, drain the next day and keep for a few days, it shoots. It has its own life. When we dine on such food, our body takes in the entire live nutrients. It has all the qualities required to purify, remedy and foster different body cells.
And just like the example of a grain, most traditional eating includes eating whole animals as well. Eating whole fresh fish used to be more common than taking a part of fish and throwing the rest away. It was the same for meat and the same for vegetables.
'Part food' sometimes tastes better and smells better but does not have much nutrition. We may enjoy its taste, but we could have some lasting illness if we only ate 'part food' all days of our life.
So, to make up for the missing half, we began to take nutritional supplements. We have been trying and researching for pretty long to find the perfect equilibrium. It gets more and more difficult as we slice the food up, add preservatives and transport, and even try to supplement with other parts coming from various sources, places and seasons. Some of the nutrients are not even from natural resources. They are synthetically generated. After it is tested and analysed, it is approved for man's consumption. But however hard we try, we cannot merge the 'bits' from different sources to make it alive.
Part Life-'Sweetness' of Life
So, if we looked at our life now, part of what we are doing can be like eating the 'half food'. Just savouring the sweetness of life but throwing away the real nourishing part. And if we soaked our 'half life' in water with other bits and left it in the sunlight, could it shoot and grow into a beautiful whole life?
Whole food is not (as some people perceive it) poor in taste. It is actually tastier when we prepare it properly. But while the demand is low, it is more expensive. It is actually more economical in the long run though, as we have less medical expenses later on. When more people start eating it, it will naturally become cheaper because it is a simpler food with less processing and waste.
Our life is the same. When we only appreciate the 'sweetness', and throw away the rest in rubbish bins because we don't see its value, we may be wasting the most important part. And the part we throw away could have the greatest power for the sustainability of our life and our economy. It also takes more energy and resources to discard it. Better yet, the part we throw away is free.
So, what is it that we do not perceive?
Picture a life where we didn't in fact believe that we were lacking anything there.
The secret is right here. The secret of a full life.
Whole Life-The Complete Life
When it is 'full', it does not matter how big the full is. It can spread out all at once. It can still have within it all the components to uphold itself as a complete living thing. Once it develops to a given size, it can continue to live without some portions of it. Like plants can remain alive after birds feed on a little of it or trees survive even after losing their leaves. But if we ignore the equilibrium for a pretty long time, finally it can lead to a deadly disproportion. Then it might become too difficult to revert to normalcy.
We don't have to go back to the Stone Age to find the wholeness. Wholeness exists right now. All we need do is look closely; look closely enough to really see.
When we begin seeing our life in its fullness and stop casting out what nurtures our life the most, we start experiencing more and more satisfaction without looking for 'things' to fill the gaps and hollows of our life. Things finally fit into place. We now grasp the intricacies of our world in a completely different manner.
Yes, it is now time to find out how we can create (and see) this balance, continuously and sustainably.
The real nourishing part of our life is what makes us feel good deep down. It is like the part of food that makes our body become healthy in the long-term. Feelings we experience in our everyday life are the real key to our long-term happiness. And there are feelings that make us feel more complete.
The smiling visages we see when we acknowledge the merit of others. The happiness we feel when we give others gifts. The tenderness we feel when we see our children being happy. The motivation we get when we sense that our life is full of substance ..
Let us absorb these moments of our life wholeheartedly and savour the aroma of our full life. Then we will find how it is not obligatory to incessantly fill our heart (and belly!) with earthly satisfactions - those types of things that only add to our yearnings afterwards.
We can actually feel this joy, gratitude and love in order to experience the life as a whole at any moment regardless of the situations. It is not about what we see, what we hear or what we do that complete our life as a whole. It is about what we 'choose to' feel about our life.
Yes, our life in fact is already whole.
When we initiate taking actions based on this knowledge, we can have real control over the balance creation - enduring health, prosperity, enriching connection and delight.
About the Author:
Contents are taken with minor modification from ONE, a book by Masami Sato. Visit Buy1GIVE1 for blog updates. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service
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