This week we typically spend extra time looking at the things we are thankful for. Amongst many, many, other things, I am thankful for my health. I am thankful, that in my early 60’s, I am not taking any medications (though I take a good fistful of supplements!), and I have not had any organs removed. I am in good mental, physical, spiritual and emotional health. But it didn’t come easily. I, like most of my readers, have had my share of health challenges.
I have been fortunate enough over my lifetime to have been in a medical career where I have tools to address my health challenges without toxic or surgical interventions. Initially, my career was in conventional medicine, but in my 20’s took a diversion to healthier alternatives.
I’ve gone the gamut in diets, detox programs, exercise regimes, and vitamin supplements that have been fantastic and others that deserved the trash can. I have suffered enough of my own challenges, that I can relate to my patients with theirs.
What I’m really thankful for is that I have been given the tools, the passion, the compassion, the listening ear, the desire to work to help others. I am thankful for a successful practice, where I have been the instrument to helping thousands of people find health restoration. My happy place is at my office, where I get to hear the joyful reports of so many men, women and children as they express their health wins. I get to watch people get their lives back.
I have cried with them when devastating things have happened in their lives. I listen as they pour out their hearts in anguish, fear, anger, sadness, disappointment and grief. But I have also laughed with them, shared in their new life experiences, and smiled at new romance in relationships that were dwindling due to health challenges.
So often we take our health for granted. In so many cases, health diminishes so slowly that we are unaware of the decline. Sometimes, it is an accident that abruptly changes our life, or an unexpected illness that seemed to just show up out of nowhere.
To be healthy takes work. I have worked my whole life on my health, and feel I am in better health now than I have been most of my life. To be happily healthy means making choices that support health, not diminish it – food choices, exercise, spiritual wellness, etc. even when making the healthy choice isn’t as desirable.
Wherever you are in your health, be grateful for what you have. If it isn’t enough, I’d love to help you. I once heard a saying “What if you woke in the morning and the only thing you had was what you were grateful for when you went to bed the night before”. I am so very grateful for my health, for all that I have, and for the ability to help others find joy in their health.
©2017 Holly A. Carling, O.M.D., L.Ac., Ph.D.
Medical/Health Disclaimer:
The information provided in this article should not be construed as personal medical advice or instruction. No action should be taken based solely on the contents of this article. Readers should consult appropriate health professionals on any matter relating to their health and well-being. The information and opinions provided here are believed to be accurate and sound, based on the best judgment available to the author, but readers who fail to consult appropriate health authorities assume the risk of any injuries.
