Words of Wisdom

I’m in the middle of reading a book called Launch: An Internet Millionaire’s Secret Formula to Sell Almost Anything Online by Jeff Walker. I’m learning things from it and it’s very good But the thing I want to talk about here today is in Chapter 13 which is titled A Recipe for a Big Life.

The Sabbath Day

In Chapter 13 Jeff is talking about how you have to take care of yourself. Take days off, take a break from your business and take a rest. He mention’s Stephen Covey and his recommendation of Sharpening the Saw which means refreshing yourself because you can’t continually operate at a high level if you are working 100% of the time. Listening to this part initially made me think of the Sabbath day. Isn’t Heavenly Father so kind to give us the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8). A day that we are commanded to rest from our labors. This is for a wise purpose and many experts and scientists have proven over and over the advantages to us to step away from our work to focus elsewhere.

Sometimes I hear people say that the Sabbath isn’t really a day of rest because when we are in the church we have other obligations and responsibilities which we need to take care of on Sunday. But we are commanded to rest from our labors and then be on the Lord’s errand that one day per week. Serving and focusing on others has also been shown to be good for our own mental health and our own outlook on life. So rest in this sense may not mean what we first think. But instead we need to draw away from our daily labors and refresh ourselves in service to others.

Million Dollar Racehorse

Immediately after Jeff Walker talks about taking time away from the business or your work to help your brain, he then talks about taking care of your body. And he used an analogy of a million dollar racehorse. He said if you owned a million dollar racehorse wouldn’t you take great care with it. Make sure that it is well fed and well rested? You would carefully monitor its workouts and make sure it had a clean and comfortable stable and regular vet checkups. You would want to keep that racehorse in top condition. And then he said, “In your life and your business, your body is your million dollar racehorse. Don;t you deserve the same care?” This struck me hard yesterday.

I was inactive in church for a while in the early 90s. During that time I didn’t follow the Word of Wisdom (D&C 89). I drank coffee and alcohol during this time. When I decided to return to church activity I easily gave those things up because I wanted to be worthy to hold a temple recommend. It was easy for me to just walk away from those things because I had a goal in mind and a reason to stop. I made a choice about which was more important to me and my life and I chose the temple.

But let me give you a little back story to what I’m going to say next.

Now, I have struggled with food. My body doesn’t do well with certain foods. Grains make me uncomfortable – we don’t need to go into more detail than that. Sugar and gluten make my joints hurt. A diet filled with carbohydrates makes me gain weight and feel bloated. I know all of these things. I know a lower carb diet filled with leafy green vegetables and protein makes me feel great. It can be difficult to eat this way when all of the people around you are eating popcorn and ice cream and lots of potatoes. I have done it before, though, and I felt great.

Since the quarantine while the scientists try to figure out this corona virus I have been eating everything. Anything that is offered to me. The quarantine has been in place here in Michigan since mid March and so it has been about 10 weeks now and I have gained over 15 pounds.

Why is it that I know that certain foods make my body uncomfortable and unhealthy for me and I still choose to eat them? Why was it so easy for me to go full stop on the tea and alcohol along with some other things but I have such a struggle cutting out sugar and high carb foods and grains? I think perhaps the answer is that I had a higher purpose for those other things. But aren’t we taught that we are children of God and our bodies are a gift? When I stop and think of myself in that way, as a Daughter of God as a person who is worth way more than a million dollars, aren’t I worth it? yes, it takes effort and planning and thought but so do so many other things I am working on in my life.

So today, I am recommitting to more fully honoring the Sabbath Day and to taking care of my body in the way that I know makes me feel great. I hope that you will be willing to try things to find out what makes you feel great too and that once you know you won’t let laziness or peer pressure stop you from doing the things that are best for your physical well being.

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