Is there some area of wellbeing you’re struggling with? Some level of stress or anxiety you endure? Has it been lingering for some time? Or has it snuck up and slapped you unexpectedly in the face? Is it something that, deep down, you know or suspect is improvable…if you really committed time, resources and self? Come on, be honest – at least with yourself.
I didn’t always have the X-Factor of wellbeing. Several decades ago, in my twenties, I struggled with an eating disorder. It wasn’t just the eating disorder that had me – a 5 foot 10 inch woman – weighing in at a waif-like 49 kilograms and battling to get through each day at the office, it was the multitude of other things going on inside of me. Not many people knew I had an eating disorder. It was hidden beneath a dose of ‘Stoic Kiwi-ism’, where it percolated dangerously alongside a haunting kind of guilt, low self-confidence, inner despair and a quiet and curious cloak of shame…a shame that ate at my interior and spirit as much as the starvation did. Let’s face it, announcing you’re missing Superhuman genes is not something you shout out to the world, particularly here in New Zealand. We’re so ‘gung-ho’ after all…good hardy, practical and stoic stock…which isn’t a bad thing – it just doesn’t always work, particularly when coupled with a cultural tendency to repress uncomfortable feelings…or ANY feelings. Unfelt, these can stow themselves away in the body for a rainy day that you might one day need a large umbrella for.
Alongside the eating disorder, I lived with chronic low energy, depression and anxiety throughout a good half of my twenties. I don’t feel ashamed about sharing this with you. Heck, these days I think I deserve a medal – something like a Navy Seal might after a heroic mission in a war-torn country – because it was a heroic mission: diving inside myself and discovering what lurked in the hidden depths. It was a courageous act which I wish more people would make. But look, I can’t lie: at times it was hair-raising doing the graft for my emotional and physical health. And hauling that stick thin, terrified young woman out of the mud and slush of her own interior was nothing short of an act of valor.
Sometimes you just have to prioritize the most important things though – and I’m sure you’d agree your health and wellbeing rank near the top, yes? It’s hard to feel good without them, right? So please, as you’re climbing the corporate ladder, taking care of your partner and/or children, or aspiring to monetary material heights – battling the epidemic of stress and anxiety as you do so – remember your health…because your body certainly will.
If you really want the very best kind of total health, you must look after ALL of you – that includes the mental/emotional as well as the physical realm. And I know you really would like exceptional health and wellbeing. You’d be doggone crazy not to. You want it because you know that when you have total health you get to connect with life at a whole new level of joy, success and vitality – and maybe you’ll even ooze a fabulous kind of X-Factor that draws all good things to you.
Regular massage and other bodywork modalities were ESSENTIAL for my road to recovery in my twenties. And regular massage now remains the bedrock for the maintenance of my multifaceted wellbeing. I threw everything I had at my holistic health for many years. It wasn’t easy – it was essential. Sometimes ‘easy’ must be passed over for the sake of doing what’s right. This is called INTEGRITY, and you and your body/mind/spirit will feel a whole lot better in life when you operate with this ingredient. Integrity is the X-Factor of health and wellbeing. I now reap the benefits of the efforts I made a long time ago to restore balance and vitality to my mind/body/spirit self. It’s the rich holistic platform I stand upon, so I know it’s possible.
I know that you can achieve great health too…if you really want it enough. But you might need to get out of your own way first. And you likely have to drop out of the ‘If, But, and Maybe’ Club. And please, don’t even start on that glaring Elephant in the room – money. I threw every penny I had at my health for over five years, just to stay on the court of life, so you won’t catch me playing violins for you when it comes to money and health. Oh, if only I could give up those 3-4 Starbucks coffees a week that cost me about $20, or reduce the payments on my Audi, my boat, my house – I could have a massage or holistic treatment once a month and feel so much better. I could reduce the accumulation of stress. I might even be on the way to feeling GREAT…at the very least, better. But are you worth that? Do you really truly care about yourself and your body that much? Because YOU have to want wellbeing for yourself. You have to make these choices. Media, family and culture, however well intentioned, aren’t necessarily going to encourage you in fully healthy directions. You’re the one who has to cultivate healthy habits and sometimes a dose of discipline.
However you get there, do yourself a great favour: don’t do Martyr, Victim, or Stoic. Do AUTHENTIC and self-honest, committed and willing – be the hero/heroine for yourself. At the very least that shows a classy kind of integrity and is extremely refreshing in this tired ‘I’m FINE’ society.
You can do it the hard way – alone – and pretend you’re doing okay as you quietly tread water. OR you can enlist an experienced deep-sea diving practitioner or professional to help you navigate. Choose someone, commit, and get on with restoring and maintaining your health and wellbeing, because you’re worth it. You might not believe that in this moment, but the Self that is you in five or ten years time from now – trust me – that Self really does.
Louise’s extensive experiences and background have led her to become a visionary and inspiring Author and storyteller. Adventurous, bold, heartfelt and frequently thought provoking, her novels enlighten, uplift, entertain and inspire.
Louise’s published work includes her popular first novel: ‘The Bright New Dawn’ and latest release, ‘Her Eight Limbs of Love’, placed third in the Ashton Wylie Mind, Body, Spirit Literary Awards.
www.louisebeker.com
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