Taking Healthy Back – MY story

Hi, I’m Mary Elaine Kiener, your host in this eCourse.

In the next lesson, I’ll be inviting you to tell a little bit about your story, so I thought it only fair that I offer you a quick personal look at where (and how) my own healing journey began.

Summer, 1990.  Believe it or not, I’m actually 40 years of age in the photo here on the left!

Well, ok, I was 40 years old – “playing” the role of Mary Windrod–an 80-something year old woman in a production of The Rimers of Eldritch at The Spotlight Theatre in Grand Ledge, Michigan.

My mother – who was 76 at the time, came to visit me and attend the play.  Afterwards, she came backstage (see our photo together) and said to me:  “I couldn’t find YOU on stage, but I saw my older sister, Euphrey!“

Now, I suppose that was a great testament to my “acting” ability [after all, I also won an award for “best character actress” that season!]

However, the VERY REAL LESSON I would soon learn was that a series of upcoming health challenges in my mid-40’s would be directly related to mismanaged stress-induced lifestyle “habits” I had developed during my mid-30’s.

In an odd sort of way–20 years before Morgan Spurlock’s “SuperSize Me” epic experiment–I had spent 2 full years in a job that resulted in me often eating 3 fast-food meals while also commuting 75 miles to and from work each day.

What I didn’t realize at the time–while my “outer self” didn’t look as old as I did in the above photos–was that my INNER self had aged tremendously, and was probably much older even than my mother’s.  [And, by the way, during those two years of daily commutes, I also managed to burn out my car’s engine by not giving IT the care that it required (as in, regular oil changes!).]

In short, by the time I had reached the “ripe-old” age of 44, my body-mind-spirit literally “forgot” how to be healthy.  There were lots of signs of my failing health and wellbeing, with no one in sight to help me reverse their course.

I was left to figure things out, one step at a time, on my own.  And, believe me, I’m still learning–often a single (sometimes simple) step at a time!

Thankfully, however, the very first lesson that began to turn things around for me was simply beginning to include more fruits and vegetables into my daily life.

Twenty-five years ago, we didn’t yet know much of what we’ll be exploring throughout this eCourse.

Yet, it all tends to come back to the basic question of why fruits and vegetables play such an important role in our health and the overall quality of our lives.

Or, to paraphrase a physician colleague of mine:  There is no health condition that cannot be improved simply by adding good nutrition nor any condition that will not be worsened without it.

Do you know someone else who needs a Healthy Living Revolution?  

Why not invite them along….It’s always easier (and more fun!) with a buddy!