10 Steps To Better!
Life is short. Today I am remembering and sharing some simple steps from school, family, and friends over the years to improve life. Here are 10 of them to remind us to overcome and be better.
Working with foster children you get to see the world through different eyes. Everyone feels mistreated, ugly, rejected, and un-empowered (is that a word?!). Throw in drug addictions, domestic violence in the sacredness of family homes and we have a mess. Toss in a poor diet and a hurricane happens – pulling 400,000 children into a system where they can feel lost. Many times these children at-risk fall prey to excessive medication to deal with their stormy lives.
One day, after trying a new delicious treat, 18 of us sat around the table, and I asked the question and shared some thoughts. Consequently, this outlines our conversation about what we can do—focusing only on what we have control over: ourselves!
10 Ways to Make Life Better
Before you start thinking perfectly, I must acknowledge that every improvement is a success!
1. Don’t be angry, grumble, or complain for more than 5 minutes
Express yourself and let it go! It creates wrinkles if you let it linger!
2. Be generous to forgive
It ERASES years, along with the hate that hides inside these hurts. Generosity sometimes erases hate from the recipients of your generosity!
3. Have a pot of soup cooking
Indeed, before Bone Broth or Stock became popular again, this brew has dominated kitchens as a delicious soup for 1000s of years on campfires and stovetops to greet guests, prevent hunger, soothe the soul, and wash away weak immune systems.
4. Chew your food slowly
Slowly chewing food is a great help in digestion. We are not just what we eat, but we are what we digest from what we eat. The goal is to have a slow time together without the fast technology snippets. For example, hanging out or walking in the sunshine are ways to put goodness, truth, and love in every part of life.
5. Try to Eat everything around the bones: cartilage and fat
My grandmother had beautiful skin. Interestingly, she could eat all the parts of her meat bones, including organs, to increase nutrients.
6. Put on natural facial sunscreen and cream/moisturizer before bedtime
Looking beautiful helps us feel better. Our faces are the place where our glow shows. Hence, lathering olive oil, coconut oil, shea butter, or cocoa butter before you shower. Get as natural as possible and include essential oils for a boost! I certainly have my favorite blends.
7. Grow a little garden and get connected to your food.
Most children I’ve worked with will eat the food they have grown. Herein lies the great mystery of discovering the motivation. Processed foods contain anti-nutrients, so try to minimize consumption. Avoid refined sugar, gluten, and sugary beverages. Think Weston A Price Foundation and read Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. These are great resources to empower you. If you are stuck and need a boost, try our cookbook, which includes real food recipes under 30 minutes of prep time- but gluten- and dairy-free. It 100% gives real food to kids at risk!
8. Meet your local farmers and eat better!
It’s only recently that corporations bought into farming. Go local and support your community and your body. Gratefully, we have a farmer’s market where wonderful farmers bring organic vegetables, sauerkraut, kombucha, meats, and eggs. There are usually organic farmers and farmer’s markets around you. Here is another source for finding local food.
9. Canned food from ancestry is glass, not aluminum
Namely, the containers make a difference. Formerly, when there were abundant vegetables from the garden, farmers, or stores, the extras filled mason jars! Today, look for foods stored in glass where possible. These “glass-canned” vegetables have no BPA, so when the warmed, cooked food goes into the glass container, the contaminants are fewer.
10. Consume kefir, yogurt, and/or buttermilk before bed – probiotic pills if lactose intolerant/sensitive
Truly, my grandfather did this every night with a glass of buttermilk and cornbread crumbles. He lived to be 90 years old. There’s something significant about keeping good flora (bugs) in your gut. Good probiotics or “bacteria” are vital to our gut health, behavior, and systemic functioning. See more here.
We can leave a legacy of healthier children. With our current statistics, joining together to re-think better immune systems from the inside out is essential!
Mandy
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