Mistakes are bad, right Well, not always. Here's an example of a great one, and it's something that demonstrates a conviction I have about raw foods! You see, in all of this talk of moving to Portland, I made a huge gaffe recently in my thinking about finances.
You see, I was pondering the terms of a home loan one afternoon -- percentage rates, down payments, monthly payments, tax escrows, etc. It was all really dry, boring material. Suddenly, I thought to myself, "Wow, here we are about to buy another house, after owning this one for so many years. In less than 10 years, we would have owned this one outright, but now we'll be starting over again with a 30-year mortgage."
In a way, it's daunting to face that -- 30 long years of house payments. It's quite a commitment, especially when we were seriously contemplating just buying some bare land, getting ourselves off-the-grid, and building something on the cheap. (Of course, just because you buy a home and commit to a mortgage doesn't mean you can't sell it at some point before it's paid off, so it's not really a 30-year commitment. But still...)
In any case, I was thinking of this long-term concept when I reached my exciting mistake. Suddenly, I considered: "Wow, 30 years... Let's see, I'm 20 now, so I'll be 50 years old by the time this is paid off!"
>> I'm serious -- that's exactly what I thought! <<
When I realized my mistake (after literally about a minute of knowing in the back of my head that something was amiss in that equation), I began to laugh out loud. This is what raw does to you -- and by that I do not mean it makes you lose your mind! Raw makes you FEEL like you're 20 again, to the point of actually believing it.
This is the kind of criticism I face nowadays from my work peers: "You sound like a kid." "You're too idealistic." Et cetera. I always laugh and say, "Well, I feel like a kid -- so, thank you!" :-)
Age is a funny thing. To me, the number is largely irrelevant. I've encountered vibrantly alive people in their 70s, 80s, and even 90s. Sadly, though, it sometimes seems like a majority of people who are many decades younger than that are already "done" -- appearing to me as though they've surrendered, lost their life force, misplaced their vitality, and/or quite often simply embraced a general bitterness (which, in that latter case, is unfortunately something that ironically makes them feel alive again).
I realize that there are situational circumstances that can prematurely age people -- hard times, bad luck, misfortune, depression, disease, etc. But, how many of those who are "alive but not living" exist in this mode because of a poor diet?
Well, there's no way we can ever know the answer to this, but I personally feel that it's a staggering percentage -- and this is why pursuing optimal health is vital not only to us as individuals, but to the larger picture of an enlightened, peace-loving, transcendent society. Yes, health is *that* important to everyone!
Original Comments
Below, we have included the original comments from this blog post. Additional comments may be made via Facebook, below.
On April 28, 2010, wrote:
Jim--after seeing your live blood results, I am curious if you added any b supplements into your diet?
On April 28, 2010, wrote:
Hmm, I don't recall any indications of needing B supplementation based on that. I did try to increase my antioxidant intake for a while, though. However, in retrospect, I don't see anything of concern in my live blood at that time. We're going to be talking more about live blood in the coming weeks as we discuss Nadi Balance some more. We've seen a lot of blood now, and have a better understanding now than we did then on many live blood issues.
On April 28, 2010, wrote:
i thought he said he saw something that indicated your b vitamins were low. do you take a b-12 supplement?
On April 28, 2010, wrote:
He may have casually thrown around a few ideas, but definitely no conclusions. Indeed, this is one of the caveats of live blood work... conclusive findings versus general health indications. We'll definitely be talking more about that. In any case, based on what I know now, I have no concerns in that area. Rarely, yes, I do take a B12 supplement -- just kind of for good measure. But, it's not a big concern for me. I have a lot of notes on B12 -- quotes from numerous doctors and raw nutritionists -- and am planning on doing a special post for that at some point.
On April 29, 2010, wrote:
hee hee hee hee, Whooooo hoo hoo, Oh my! That is so awesome.
I show people pictures of my past few driver's licences and proclaim, "Look! I'm getting younger!" For me it started with attitude. Getting happy came first, and now, the diet and healthy body are making me much younger still. Chronologically, I suppose we are "getting older." But with health and vitality, and idealistic views, . . . YES! Younger it is.
On April 29, 2010, wrote:
I'm leaving the job I've been at for 12 years at the end of June. Starting all over. At age 47. But you know, no one believes I'm that old (least of all me), and I don't have a single gray hair to prove it. I do like celebrating my birthday but otherwise I'm more and more convinced age is just a heuristic device that helps us to live in linear time.
On April 29, 2010, wrote:
great post! good for you for being raw vegan and feeling 20. actually, i'm feeling 25, but i'm getting there. ;)
On April 30, 2010, wrote:
I'm convinced of it, Terri! Raw is the fountain of youth.
On April 30, 2010, wrote:
Agreed! And, how exciting to be starting over, Elizabeth! I'd love to hear more about that. :-) Do you mean an entirely new field?
On April 30, 2010, wrote:
Oh, you definitely look like a 20-something, Carlos! lol... We should start a "20-something" club for people who are *technically* over 29, but feel like they're still 20-something. Or, more to the point of my post... for people who actually still *believe* that they're 20-something. Feeling 20 and believing you're 20 are both great, but they're distinct - -and I think the latter happens to raw people all the time.