I had dinner with a friend a week or so ago and we had a conversation that truly struck home with me. He made the comment that without health in life, you have nothing. 

And I had to disagree.

This, coming from a woman who not all that long ago was busy spending my time recovering from surgeries and chemotherapy. You would think health would be at the absolutue forefront for me, right? It is close, very close, but when I didn’t have health I had a reason to fight for my health, and that reason was love.

Love of myself to fight and work hard to find the way through it all that was right for me. (Deitmar your voice is still in my head…..”Is this what is most loving and supportive for ME? If the answer is no then why the f*#@ am I doing it?!?!” and I still thank you for that tool of guidance). 

Love of life and knowing that I was not done living here, experiencing new (and “old”) things, places, time with people. So many adventures yet to be had and I was nowhere near done and ready to count regrets.

Love of those surrounding me…because there were (and always will be as that is the ebb and flow of life) times when I just wasn’t connected enough to my own love …. I may have been too tired or sore or felt beaten down by some curveballs…but was not once left to feel unloved  (sometimes it was from my boyz (ok, dogs), sometimes it was my  friends & family, sometimes it was through a random stranger’s kindness, and sometimes it was just that heavenly feeling I find soaking in my bath) and what a HUGE gift that is. 

There have been times in my life when I let health go because I forgot to love myself enough. I started with health, but without love I didn’t tend to or support it. I gained weight, lived a stagnent lifestyle, and in turn had less and less love of myself daily. I believe that self care comes out of a place of love for myself, so if I am not tending to the love the health will falter. But then the reverse is true as well, when I love myself enough to provide my body with good food, exercise, those self care steps to present a confident and open individual to the world better health (physical AND mental) follows in close stead.

Like a song that gets stuck in my head, the thought that I catch myself thinking over and over through the day the pasnumber of months is that I am happy and healthy, and it is in an almost disbelieving state of heart-exploding gratitude that I know this to be true. It wasn’t always the case and there has been hard work to get here, but with understanding and finding so much love in my life I found my way (relatively) easily.

And so now, with love, I have health. 

And when I was “unhealthy” (through chemo and surgeries), I had love to pull me through. I was still, believe it or not, for the most part happy and enjoying life (even if somewhat frustrated that I couldn’t do all I wanted to do).

Chicken and the egg scenario perhaps? But for me the answer is definitely without love in life, you have nothing.

My question for you today…..how would you fill in the blank and why? Without ________________ in life, you have nothing.

With my love, Glenna