Grains, Greens & Gravy

Grains, Greens and Gravy has multiple meanings but basically it's my way of describing how to live a happy and healthy life. Isn't that what we all want? It takes many ingredients and effort to make a happy life but Grains, Greens and Gravy give a good start. We are all on a journey and not everyday we adhere to living well. We are all human and we make mistakes. Don't hate yourself when you make a mistake. Pick yourself up and continue on your journey and remember Grains, Greens and Gravy.

Grains - Your every day staple. The things you need to do daily or at least almost every day to function well and be a good person.

Greens - The things you have to do almost every day in order to thrive and be your best.

Gravy - The spice in life, the everyday fun. Keeping you happy, healthy and energetic.

I have assigned an important activity to each of the letters of Grains, Greens & Gravy that give a good synopsis of the continous effort it takes to live a life to its fullest.

G - Go outside. You need to spend time outside every single day. It's important to keep your circadian rhythm in sync and it is the sun that does this. You should be getting sun in your eyes (no sunglasses) as much as possible. The sun radiates many spectrums of light, most of which we cannot see but your body benefits from all the spectrums, it's how our bodies synthesis Vitamin D, it increases our brains production of serotonin, wakes up the mitochondria in our cells(the powerhouses of our cells), as well as making us look better. It is important to be sun safe(don't let your skin burn) but you should be spending ample amounts of time in the powerhouse of our planet(even on cloudy days there is plenty of photons coming through). Being outside has the added benefit of supplying ample amounts of fresh air. Also incredibly important for our health, mainly in the form of oxygen, which without we would not live, but air also has other benefits like a host of living organisms that enter our bodies and repopulate our microbiome. The other elements of air are also important for our bodies. Being outside has the added advantage that you are usually exercising - be it walking, cycling, playing etc. You're connecting with Nature when your outside, connecting with the world, with God, with the universe, with animals and with fellow human beings. Being outside can be fun whether you're having a barbeque, playing football, climbing trees or anything else. In fact, being outside brings in so many of the elements that it takes to be happy that is why it is the first activity on this list. If you're ever feeling down and out, go outside, it will help a little or a lot.

R - Reduce the detrimental. There are many things that we do and have in our lives that are detrimental to our well being. Toxins come in many form, whether that be the mold on your bedroom wall(fix it asap) or toxic people in our lives. It is almost impossible to cut these toxins out of our lives completely but we can reduce them substantially. If your job or your boss is toxic try looking for a new role(a pay cut is always worth it if you'll be happier), if you have a friend that is always or sometimes putting you down, spend less time with them (there are 8 billion other people out there, and most of them are kind and nice), if you are in a toxic marriage do the work that's needed to fix your problems. These are all obvious but sometimes you need to think long and hard about what it is in your life that is causing you problems and how can you fix/reduce them from your life. I'm willing to bet that for most of you, what you put into your mouth is one of those big problems. Alcohol, sugar, caffeine and ultra-processed foods are all toxic to your body when over consumed. Social media, the news, screens, gambling, pornography are all detrimental to your health and well being. There is no rule book for life and what is detrimental to our own happiness needs to be figured out for ourselves.

A - Allow time for thought and reflection. Focus on the positive, and how you can make your life more positive. I like to think while I'm walking. But thinking can come in many forms. Day dreaming allows your brain to process through information and it is good for your imagination. Reading gives your brain new ideas. Talking with others allows you to think about life from another perspective and perhaps can make you think differently. Writing allows you to hash out a problem and come back to those thoughts at a later date - Kidlin's law: If you write down a problem clearly and specifically, you have already half solved it. Often in life we allow ourselves to get caught up in something that doesn't make us happy, or get carried away with an idea or pursuit because of social or parental or another form of pressure. It is important to be able to step back and think about something logically, and logic may not come from our own brains(no one is all knowing and all wise - that is why getting the perspective of other peoples ideas is so important)

I - Interact. We are social animals, spending time with good people (emphasis on good) will benefit your life abundantly. Social connection is of the upmost importance when it comes to your mental, physical and spiritual health. Loneliness is one of the leading causes of mental health problems and in a world where we are more connected than ever, loneliness is more abundant than ever. Interaction and connection can come in many shapes: meet a friend for coffee, join a sports club, go to church, your weekly hobby etc. but also it can come in the form of a simple hello as you pass someone on the street or a smile at a work colleague. Connection is one of the most wonderful things in this life, connection with with other people, with your partner, with animals, nature, God, the moon, the universe. Daily interaction with all these things will help to keep you well.

N - Nutrition and Water. This is a complicated one, and yet simple at the same time. Complicated because everyone has an opinion on how to eat healthy and our ideas are skewed by big food companies lies and propaganda. But it is as simple as this - EAT REAL FOOD. That is food that you can make yourself in your own kitchen. If it has an ingredient that you would not find in a supermarket it is not real food. You need to eat the following into your diet every day: Protein (complete - meaning all 9 amino acids), Carbohydrates (complex not refined), Fiber (both soluble and insoluble), Fats, Vitamins and Minerals (If you eat real food and vary that food a lot you will get all the vitamins and minerals your body needs). Food is a life force and it can make you feel wonderful (real food) or it can make you feel terrible(processed food) "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food". There are plenty of foods that should be extremely limited in our diets - sugar (our bodies don't need it, in the form of whole fruit it's fine because fruits contains plenty of fiber), alcohol (not a food I know but it is poisonous to our bodies), caffeine (you shouldn't be consuming more than 100mg per day), ultra-processed foods (poison, not food). I will make one more note on real food, you should also ensure it is as clean as possible i.e. meat that doesn't use loads of antibiotics or that is produced by feeding the animals an unnatural diet (many animals have metabolic disease and when we eat them it is causing us to get metabolic disease). Fruit vegetables and grains should be produced in a manner that doesn't require ample amounts of pesticides, herbicides etc. This can be difficult to avoid and the easiest way to know for sure is to get as close to the source as possible (buy directly from the farmer if you can). Water is incredibly important for our bodies. For every part of it. Our bodies are roughly 60% water and you need it for all sorts of functions: It aids digestion, it transports oxygen and nutrients around your body via blood, it regulates your body temperature through sweat and respiration, it removes waste from your body, it supports brain function and mood, it boosts physical performance, it acts as a lubricant and cushion for your joints, it protects your organs and it can help support a healthy weight and metabolism. Obviously water is important, we all know this and yet many of us don't drink enough of it. You should be drinking 3-4 liters per day in it's pure form(not in sodas or teas or coffees or alcohol). Drinking pure, clean water everyday is the easiest way you can improve your health. Avoiding sugar in your beverages is the second easiest.

S - Sleep. Sleep is when your body and mind heals. You may think that you do not need much sleep but the chances are your doing long term damage by not getting adequate amounts of sleep.

G - God and your Spiritual Health. Whatever this means to you. You may be someone who goes to church weekly or you may be someone who does not believe in God at all. Spiritual fulfillment can come in many different forms but study after study has shown that having trust in something helps us all. Spirituality is the third leg on the stool of life. If we don't focus on each leg(Mind, Body & Spirit) the stool will be off balance and can topple over. For me, I pray daily(multiple times per day sometimes) I meditate every day two, often twice per day. I spend time in Nature, in the natural world. I connect with people, with friends, with family, with animals. I gaze into the universe - the sun, the moon and the stars) I read spiritual texts, spend time in spiritual places. There are so many things we can do to work on our spiritual health but it's working on our traits that can sometimes be that are hardest. It's hard to stay away from temptation, to be a kind person, to love unconditionally, to forgive, to be charitable. There are many people in this world who claim to be religious, Christian for example, but spread hate. The golden rule of Christianity is to treat others as you would like to be treated. No one wants to be treated with hate, and if someone shows you hate that is their issue, you need to rise above that hate. Jesus spread a message of love. If someone has a different opinion to you it does not justify you showing them hate. Many of us worship false Gods, we need to be careful of this. A little of most things are usually fine but anything materialistic you need to be careful. A rule of thumb is that if it needs to be paid for then you need to be careful e.g. consumerism, gambling, alcohol, food etc.

R - Rest and recuperate. In this modern world, many of us never stop moving. Play hard, work hard. Look after your family, exercise. Find time to prepare and eat a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner. Climb the never ending corporate ladder. Eventually you will burnout or become unhappy and unsatisfied with life. Our ancestors would have spent enormous amounts of time in states of rest. Sitting around telling stories, chatting, day dreaming, completing very low-effort tasks. We need to do the same. And this is separate to sleeping. You should have time almost everyday where you are doing almost nothing except watching the world go by - it's rather quite lovely.

E - Exercise. Another simple and yet complex subject. Exercise is good. Too much exercise is bad. I have no motivation for exercise, I don't like exercise, I don't know how to exercise. A lot to think about. For me, I keep it as simple as possible, I do things I enjoy. However it can take a while to learn how to enjoy something. I used to run as a kid but I gave up in my early teens. Many times I tried to take it up again but everytime I gave up because I found it so tedious, boring and unenjoyable. During Covid it was one of the only ways to exercise, and there wasn't much else to do in lockdown so I forced my self to run. A few times per week, every week. At first I hated it but after I was at a place I could run 5km without too many problems I really came to enjoy running. Don't get me wrong I still always have to force myself to go for a run(this has to do with an evolutionary trait of conserving energy) but every time I finish my run I feel great. For me it is the ultimate mood uplifter. No matter how down and out I may sometimes get. A run lifts my mood immensely. Blast some music with that and I feel on top of the world (for reasons of dopamine I don't always run and listen to music at the same time, just occasionally) We should be getting moderate exercise(walking, gentle cycling etc. multiple times per day, everyday) and intensive exercise for 60 minutes or so almost everyday. And this exercise should be in a combination of cardio and strength training. I like to think of it like this. Cardio is like your salary

E - Enjoy Life to the fullest. Find your purpose. Live each day to the fullest. There are endless things to love about this life, there isn't time to be bored all you need to do is use your imagination a little. Before, I used to have a difficult time staying away from addictive activities like scrolling on my phone or watching TV. Don't get me wrong sometimes I get caught in a doom scroll but it's much rarer now mainly because I am too busy living life to the fullest. Meeting up with friends, exercising, laughing, going on adventures, working on things I'm passionate about, learning, day dreaming, swimming, surfing, travelling... this list is endless but the most important thing I do is play. I play everyday. Don't separate work and play... for it is all play.

N - Nature. The science is pretty clear. Spending time in nature is good for our health. of course it is. It calms the mind, strengthens the body and connects your spirit to the greater. The obvious advantages are some we've already discussed - sun exposure is good for you in a multitude of ways, being in nature probably means your doing some form of exercise but there are other ways too. Grounding is the practice of connecting your body to the earth and allowing the electrical charge in your body to resync. You can do this easily by connecting your skin to the planet: walk or lie on grass or soil or stone or go swimming in the ocean or a lake or a river(of course like with everything else, be safe) Exposure to cold water comes with the added advantage of it being one of the best ways to increase your dopamine levels making you feel good. Nature is a teacher, a healer, a source of wisdom but also provides an abundance of free and nutritious food - have you ever eaten nettle soup or picked wild nettles. Spending time in Nature is a great way to connect with your children where they can teach you through their awe and enquiry. I spend time in Nature every day, collecting food, observing bees and butterflies, smelling wild flowers, climbing trees, swimming in the sea and much more. It is one of the things that makes me happiest and connects me to the world. Nature is my first source of healing, to paraphrase Wordsworth "Come forth into the light, let Nature be your healer"

S - Stress Management. "Cortisol is the elephant in the room that is often not addressed. You can't be in a constant state of stress and improve your health at the same time" - Dr. Mindy Pelz. Stress causes all sorts of issues for your body. Cortisol is of course a good thing for many situations, you will have a cortisol spike everyday to wake you up in the morning. But if your Cortisol is spiked everyday it will cause many problems. Lots of things cause our cortisol to spike, which puts our bodies in to a state of alertness(so when our ancestors had to out run an attacker we were fully focused on that task) but when we're in a state of stress other parts of our bodies do not function properly, our hormones, our digestive system, our immune system. And things we do that we think are good for us add to this stress for example, low calorie diets or excessive exercise. There are no shortcuts to good health. It takes time and patience and trying to rush going from ill health to prime health (as myself has fallen victim to in the past), the rushing probably does more harm in the long term.

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G - Give Back. Gratitude, help others, do the right thing. We all need help in life, no one, not one single person has survived, never mind thrived, without help from someone else. Some of us are fortunate enough that we have grown up in happy and healthy families and received lots of help and encouragement. Others are not so lucky. We can each give back in small and large ways, in many different ways. I like the Ten Native American Commandments as a way of living well, here they are and you will see most of them are about doing good and giving back: Treat the earth and all that dwell thereon with respect, Remain close to the Great Spirit, Show great respect for your fellow beings, Work together for the benefit of all mankind, Give assistance and kindness wherever needed, Do what you know to be right, look after the well being of mind and body, Dedicate a share of your efforts to the greater good. Be truthful and honest at all times. Take full responsibility for your actions.

R - Read and Learn. There is so much to learn about life and how others live. Always be learning. Our minds are the most complex thing in this universe and the amount we can expand it is unlimited. Reading and learning about all things makes us all better.

A - Adventure. There are so many cool things to do in this world. Even in 100 lifetimes you couldn't do them all. But still most people go through their whole lives with out ever doing anything adventurous. It's not just the process of doing the adventure that is fun but it's also the planning and organising, the people you meet on the adventure, the memories you form and friends you collect. When you meet someone who has experience the same or similar adventure it's always a pleasure. Adventure spurs and works your imagination and can come in so many forms be it skiing in the alps, walking the Camino, diving the great barrier reef, going on a weekend road trip, surfing the Californian coast, completing a triathlon, backpacking around Asia.

V - Venture into the Unknown. Do hard things. Take risks. We don't know what where our lives are going to go and we shouldn't be scared by that fact. Be brave and see where the road will take you.

Y - Yield to the unknown. Life is a mystery. Stop resisting to what you don't understand or you can't predict. This is hard I know, I really struggle with this. Follow the path and see where it takes you. That doesn't mean you don't need to put in effort and think about changing paths but sometimes you have to accept the path you are on and trust. "God, give me the serenity to accept what I cannot change, the courage to change what I can change and the wisdom to know the difference". Really none of us know what is around the corner. Accept this for what it is - It is Wonderful. And you don't know what direction a path is going to take you, even if it feels shit and miserable it is true that every cloud has a silver lining, you just haven't seen the wood for the trees yet. (Yes I love a cliché). Have trust that eventually you will be able to. There are many good things that come from being sad, you are able to empathise more, create more, bring your life back in to perspective.