.SOMETIMES RAW.

I think it is clear that it is important to be healthy and fit. Without health you have nothing. It is just a big goal to be healthy and to pay attention on how to become and stay healthy.

I have it pretty easy when it comes to healthy food. I have been growing up surrounded by it. My mother was always on some sort of vegetarian/vegan/bread-baking – let’s try-somthing-new-trip. I enjoy many foods but I can also just give up anything in a second when I am focused. When I decided that I wanted to stop eating meat I just stopped –  I just did, applying little effort. I also stopped drinking coffee for some time. When it started getting in the way with my pregnancy and my yoga classes. I am not totally crazy – I do enjoy a nice cup of coffee with some almond milk now and then. 🙂

As crazy as it is with my love for my cup of coffee I believe that one gets just used to certain foods. This can be a bad thing if you need the pizza and bar of chocolate at night on our couch. Being used to any taste is not good at all. It is also not good to have a couple of energy drinks (e.g. Redbull) a day or even a few cans or cups of any soft drink. Try to cut out as much of the artificial sugar as possible. If you are thirsty drink water. Simple. And if you drink water only for some time you will find the taste of those sweet drinks just sickly. You will taste the chemicals for sure. Yes, there are chemicals in your soda.

The good thing is that your body and your tastebuds have the awesome ability to adapt in the new direction so you will find the bad stuff not so tempting anymore. For example, I am not eating any type of “regular” chocolate and sweets anymore. The first three days were a torture but the body heals itself and it made me just eager to find alternatives. There are a plethora of raw food chocolates out there for example or just some dates and figs if you get the sweet craving. The body is getting better and better of letting us know what we should and should not eat. The healthier we eat, the less we are able to eat the bad food.

The best about this adaption is that you do not have to do this transition  at high speed. I am lucky to adapt to the food changes quickly as mentioned; however, you should do it slowly. If you start slowly to head in the direction of eating more healthy food, you will slowly but surely lose the cravings for the junk. Being healthy is the greatest gift you can give yourself and your family.

“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.”
― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

How many times have we heard the saying “Patience is a virtue”! So far in my life I always had this feeling that I would miss out on something if I am not fast enough or if I waited too long. So I need everything as fast as possible obviously. So I raced through most of the opportunities and choices in my life not paying attention to any details. I used to constantly rush through life to achieve and get big things (that are “oh so important” in this materialistic world).

What really important is – is life itself but I did not pay attention to that. What do we learn when we grow up these days? We get something – then we have it, use it and throw it away because it either does not work anymore and we want something faster and better. This makes me feel empty in a way. What I still have not learned was the true purpose and meaning of patience.

So for me I took up writing at a young ago. I always wanted to write. I wrote my little diary when I was a kid but usually thinking to take writing further I am too scared and it is too much work to even start something in the first place – even if it is a blog. Not even talking about writing a book for instance. And then who would read it? There are so many other writers out there. So many who do a better job than I would ever do. I was scared of the amount of commitment and work to just start sitting down in the first place and write. I told my inner self for so long that it will take me forever until I come up with something of value. Or maybe I would never come up with anything.Then I have to mention that English is not my first language. German is.

I sat down one month ago and started writing this blog. I just started and I felt a building impatience. I deleted posts again, I rewrote, edited, deleted. It was constantly like this. Every time I felt I improved a bit I would get angry again and delete the post all over because I thought it was just bad. My body and brain worked independently. I saw myself as a failure. I so wanted to write something of value. Then again, what is “something of value”? If I post anything, it is now valuable for me. However, these feelings of criticism, anger and fear scared me. My husband always was patient and told me to start a blog and do what I love but I kept deleting my posts.

I know that it takes repetitive practice to get better at any skill. Though all these years of deleting things on a blog, crating a new blog, throwing aways writings, I discovered patience. Patience takes practice and it is hard – and is definitely not a virtue. I believe that patience is really to have trust that it all will work out in the end and about having some inner strength and to face your fears and stick to your guns. I gained some confidence slowly and my writing adjusted to some style I liked… I am still working on it a lot but I am able to publish it here now and feel good about it.

So gradually it is getting easier through patience. For me it is easy to just type and type but then I read it all over again and it seems without a concept again. There are perfect moments now that I feel pride and joy when I read what I have written because I learned to write better through patience and a lot of practice and even a lot more reading. And just like this another door opens to a new understanding of life. Rushing around does not get me anywhere. To write anything fast or even just to write something because of this and that does not make any sense. I lost enjoyment and patience of the moment and then did not write anything at all. This way we also miss our feelings, experiences and our individuality to create anything of value. The picture of a turtle comes to my mind now. Moving around with a nice steady natural pace, sure-footed and constant slow moves. Well now, all I can say is that I  love to write and and I am patient enough to master the skill even better and enjoy the journey which is the most important thing.

I have been practicing patience and it has dispelled my fears and it steadily drives me forward. It gives me new ideas, pushes me towards new goals and this makes me more appreciative of the journey and makes me feel more confident. Maybe patience is a virtue but we have to find our own path or route to understand it fully.

“The potential possibilities of any child are the most intriguing and stimulating in all creation.” —Ray L. Wilbur

Today I played outside with my son almost the entire day. He loves to be outside. I read once that “toys are the building blocks for our child’s future. They teach our children about the world and about themselves”. Well it is true to some extend.  I know from my own experience that if I buy my son a new toy – no matter what kind of toy – he plays with it for some time (usually not very long) and then puts it to all the other toys. Here in Germany we have a plethora of wooden  toys (HABA factory for example) BUT he plays with those kind of (mostly expensive) toys only for some time.

I think that it is important to think about the number of toys that children have. Most bedrooms or play rooms are filled with toys up to the ceiling and this does not have to be. I believe parents should limit the number of toys their kids have to play with. I believe that fewer toys will benefit children in the long-run. Firstly, kids will learn to be more creative. I have been in a toy store today as a matter of fact to buy my son a “bobby car”. I have seen so many toys in there and came up with the conclusion that too many toys prevent kids from fully developing their gift of imagination. WHY does a kid need a toy vacuum cleaner or toy shovel and broom? Let them play with he real thing! I also have been reading on two german public health workers (Strick and Schubert) who conducted an experiment in a kindergarten. They told the teachers to remove all the toys for three months. In the beginning there was a lot of boredom but then the kids used their imagination again and their surroundings to play.

What I also found out was that my son’s attention span developed longer when he had less toys. I realized that when there were too many toys in front of him and many others behind him in the shelf he did not appreciate the toys at all. The toys were literally investing for a couple of minutes. When I watch my son play with other kids I see that he establishes better social skills. I believe this is also due to the fact that he has fewer toys. He needs to interact more with other kids and adults. My son learns the give and take of good conversation. The amount he repeats at just almost 18 months old is amazing.

My favorite thing in the world is reading. I mentioned this in a couple of posts already. I want to try to develop a love for reading, writing and art for my son. I believe that fewer toys will open up the love for books, music, painting and coloring more. He will use his imagination more.  A love for art will help him better appreciate beauty, emotion and communication in the world when he is older. I read to my son every night before bed-time. Two little pixie-books at least and his all-time favorite “The hungry caterpillar”. He loves it, listens and stays on my lap the entire time. I started reading to him when he was five weeks old.

Another huge aspect is that my son experiences more nature. He basically grows up outside. He runs around the garden all day long. Flowers, trees, grass you name. He and I are fortunate that he can be able to enjoy so much nature and physical exercise. If you do not have a garden close to your home go to a park as much as you can. I believe that children who learn to appreciate the world around them take care of the world around them.

My husband is a huge advocate on disciplining  our son. He says that children need to learn everything from the ground up – including appropriate behavior, how to get results, how to get along with others and how to achieve ones dream. Discipline should never be withheld or avoided – instead it should be positive and consistent. We all know that words are powerful. They can either destroy or create. It is important to choose words carefully because they can offer encouragement and positive thought or them can send the kids further into despair.

I try to teach my son to be optimistic. (Hello Jean). Pessimism does not change the world. Optimism does. I work for the United Nations so Peace is an issue on a daily basis. Sometimes I think this is not in my hands but in relation to what I see on a daily basis and what is going on in the world this is exactly in my hands. Start in your little world. Start with your kids.

I mentioned “time” before. There is one gift you can never take back or give back. This is TIME. I believe it is important to carefully think about what and who is getting your attention on a daily basis. And if you have time give your child undivided attention. These little guys love it. “Disconnect to connect”!