The Catholic Times' desk columnist recalls his early years when the
family kept bottles of vitamins and medicine on the dinner table. He
wondered at the time if they could cure the ailments for which they
were taken. Exercise and eating well, he thought would have been the
better way.
He was not concerned then about his health. It was
mainly trying to keep away from catching a cold. At that time, a good
night's rest or a nap would be enough to regain strength. He played
soccer, basketball and joku (playing volley ball with your feet). During
his years of schooling, these sports kept him in good shape.
As the years went by, things began to change. Aches and
pains started to appear. Food was eaten no longer for its taste but rather for his own taste for food. He remembers that he could make the rounds five
times at a buffet table, and eat at different hours of
the day without problems. But one day, coming back from a bath house, he
fell to the ground because of an excruciating pain, later found to be
gastritis and an esophagus problem. Even after this incident, he was
not as careful, he admits, as he should have been. He now is more
careful when he sits down to eat, even when it's a simple meal of
noodles.
He is bothered with chronic
tiredness which even a good night's sleep does not dissipate, and finds
walking up to his third floor office difficult. Because of these latest
symptoms, his wife also gets after him to improve his dietary regimen:
including omega-3 oil, vitamins, brown rice, vegetables, beans with the
rice, papaya enzymes and also, whenever possible, buying organic.
He
has taken steps, he says, to provide for the lack of exercise
and a good diet, supplementing with other health aids. Seeing how this
has improved his physical health, he wonders if similar steps focusing
on the spiritual side of life will improve his
spiritual health. He has been baptized for 30 years, but instead of
making progress in spiritual maturity, he had been content, he says,
with comfort and laziness. Especially pride which has brought
inflammation and hardening of the spiritual faculties.
The
concern we should have for the the body is similar to the concern we
should have for the spirit. Sunday
Mass and our daily spiritual exercises, if not regular and desire is
missing, may be a sign that we need to take some spiritual vitamins.
They could be in the form of retreats and spiritual reading. And because
of the interconnection of the body and the spirit, both need to be
cared for if we are to live to the optimum of our possibilities.
