Time to Cleanse

I keep hearing and seeing ads for body cleansing. The advertisers tell you how to rid yourself of years of toxic accumulations by drinking their special potions. They say the accumulations are like "Spackle in your intestines" and when you rid yourself of them you will drop those ten extra pounds that have been haunting you for years and your energy will reappear.

I actually agree that cleansing is a good idea especially around this "excessive" time of year. In fact today I was cleaning out my nutrition files and came across years of materials that I have been saving. Stuff from 25 years ago! What surprised me the most was that much of the health and wellness information available back then is pretty similar to today's current research.

The main difference is there is a "wellness mindset" that is now mainstream and starting to appear everywhere. That same information is being translated into action and intertwined throughout the institutions that serve us: healthier menus at fast food outlets; whole grains in the grocery store; corporate gyms; healthier school lunches; more alternative medical choices. Awareness and consciousness about health (emotional, physical and spiritual) has increased a thousand fold.

Which leads me to my point. Most of us know the basics of how to stay healthy and well because information is everywhere and if we don't know, we can go to the Internet and look it up (another reason to throw away my paper files!). But it is not "knowing" that fosters change or cleansing. A look at the current statistics on obesity and disease confirms this.

So what I came away with today as I threw out pounds and pounds of paper was that each of us makes a choice about how we want to live. A week on cleansing powder will not clean you out permanently; it is a temporary fix. Permanent cleansing is a daily ritual, one in which you decide that your actions can lead to something bigger down the road. It is the accumulation of actions that determine how successful you are at reaching your goals whether they be dietary or life goals. So cleansing becomes an ongoing, vibrant and conscious way of living.

That doesn't mean you never overindulge (hello holidays!), but it does mean that you are continually seeking balance, living somewhere between today and eternity. Creating a life that gets you to where you want to be. It is helpful to map out where you are going because then you have a better chance of arriving at your destination.

So yes an occasional colon cleanse is good for the body but a guided, daily cleanse that comes from healthy living is good for the soul.