LaughterSEEKING: LONG TERM RELATIONSHIP WITH HAPPY, FULFILLED OPTIMIST
(from the May issue of “Heat Up Your Health” monthly e-newsletter)

Nothing forces you to be mindful of the fragility of your health and well being like the simple passage of time. Tasks that once seemed so simple slowly acquire a burden of effort and focus that often leaves you perplexed and frustrated.
We have always advocated the pursuit of a higher quality of life and taking a proactive stance for your health and wellness. Being active, healthy and happy is not some vague aspiration that will magically appear in your life simply because you will it. The truth is the choices you make on a daily and a moment-to-moment basis determine the quality of your life.

Oh yeah, and it takes focus, determination and discipline. Do you truly want to change your health and your life? In your heart, do you realize that you deserve to be healthy and happy? Are you ready to receive the gift - for yourself and your loved ones - of a life well lived?
If you are, work will be required every moment of every day. Don’t look for a special pill to cure all of your problems or a fast solution for a situation that has taken years to create. Take great comfort in the knowledge that no matter what condition you may be in today you have the power to be happier, healthier and more engaged in your life than you ever imagined.
The beginning of your transformation requires three simple commitments:

1.) Believe in Yourself

So often we don’t commit to the simplest changes in our lives because we’ve become too accustom to our habits and routines. Or as motivational speaker Brian Tracy tells it, so many people are stuck on ‘Some Day Isle’. “Some day I’ll do this….”, or “Some day I’ll do that…”. Or most tragically, many people simply feel that they’re not worthy or they’re undeserving of a better life. They may not admit it - even to themselves - but that’s what’s going on deep down inside. The simple fact is that everyone deserves the best life they can create for themselves. And it’s within everyone’s reach. Believe it. And start by believing in your right to deserve it and your ability to make it happen. Accept your responsibility.

So often we don’t commit to the simplest changes in our lives because we’ve become too accustom to our habits and routines. Or as motivational speaker Brian Tracy tells it, so many people are stuck on . “Some day I’ll do this….”, or “Some day I’ll do that…”. Or most tragically, many people simply feel that they’re not worthy or they’re undeserving of a better life. They may not admit it - even to themselves - but that’s what’s going on deep down inside. The simple fact is that everyone deserves the best life they can create for themselves. And it’s within everyone’s reach. Believe it. And start by believing in your right to deserve it and your ability to make it happen. Accept your responsibility.

2.) The Real ABC’s - Always Be Curious

Well, that’s all fine and dandy and who wouldn’t want to live the best life that they can? But where do you go, how do you learn what to do?  Who can you trust to tell you the right things that you need to know? Oh yeah - and how much is it going to cost me? All good questions and the answers are at your fingertips - Literally.

The Internet is the largest resource for information in the history of humankind. Don’t be afraid to Google new terms and to validate what you learn from one source by cross checking the same information from other sources. Can you believe everything you read on the Internet? In the words of a once popular American president “Trust - but verify.” Go to your local health food store and ask questions; you’ll find people there well informed on healthy lifestyles, and don’t be afraid to reach out to others. Know someone who is eating a raw food diet or who is in great shape as a result of regular physical conditioning? Talk to them - ask them questions. Most people who have made significant changes in their lives or who live a healthy lifestyle are more than happy to share their knowledge with you. The fact is you own the responsibility to educate yourself and to identify the areas that you want to improve in your life. Consciousness and enlightenment is your goal and the effort and the knowledge to pursue them is your responsibility!

3.) Start Moving and Don’t Stop

Seriously, start moving. And then keep moving. Nothing sustains inaction like a sedentary lifestyle. If the only exercise you are getting is the circuit from your fridge to your TV room to your bathroom, your best start is to break that cycle. Get outside and take a walk. Breathe fresh air. Only have the energy to make it to the corner and back? Great, then do it once a day. Try going a little further each day. The more you can do the better you’ll feel. You’ll soon start to feel alive in your body once again and be compelled toward greater challenges to improve your health. But it all starts with that one little step. Get up and go and stop the silly excuses you keep accepting for not doing it!
Sooooo, What’s the Catch?

“Ok,” you may be asking yourself, “what are you trying to sell me?” Well, I sell far infrared saunas for a living and am not only passionate about them but know first-hand how they can help rejuvenate your health and your life. I’d love everyone who reads this newsletter to own one (preferably a Sunlight Sauna) but today my interest is in selling you something no one else will.

Today my goal is to sell you - yourself. The YOU you once knew but today seems like a fond, faded memory of someone who you left long ago.

Remember when you were younger with all your wonderful dreams and goals? Remember when life seemed simpler and you were so much happier? Remember that body you had and feeling so alive that anything seemed possible? Remember love? Remember faith? Remember passion?

What happened?!?!?

LIFE! It happens to all of us and we find ourselves in roles and responsibilities that compromise our goals and overwhelm our vision of the life we thought we’d live.

Here’s the good news: It’s all still there waiting to be reclaimed by you!

What’s important to you - what are the things in your life that have meaning to you? Start your journey by embracing the things in your life that matter to you - that give you joy and fulfillment - and releasing the things that diminish you or don’t add to the quality of your life. Only YOU have the power to live your best life possible.  I’ll close with the saying that I look at every day posted on my bathroom mirror: “Life is NOT a dress rehearsal”. Now go out and get yours!

(To subscribe to Soleil’s “Heat Up Your Health” monthly e-newsletter or to suggest a future topic, email kim@soleilsaunas.com . Kim can be followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/kimsvoice and has begun a Facebook group for the RAW and RAW-curious called “RAW Foodies in Kelowna”. They hold a monthly potluck in Kelowna.)