BAND-AID, ANYONE?

BAND-AID, ANYONE?nby Natalia Alexandria

I’m surprised band-aids aren’t served at cocktail parties. As a life coach and student in the classroom of humanity, I don’t think a week goes by without my hearing about another miracle cure, or quick fix for what ails us. I look outside and see a world littered with fragmented versions of how to get better, be better, and look better. The quick fix is running rampant. We have come to rely on easy, fix-it models of success that leave us in chronic relapse.

Weight loss programs depict this all too well, but these heavily financed marketing machines have spilled over to everything that is self-help. Find the higher self with the help of a pilgrimage to some obscure city somewhere in the world that purports mystical monopoly. Have a positive attitude and your dreams will come true. Take a few pills, and poof! You’re cured -- until the next time.

Come on, people. With such an abundance of information that should certainly inspire a holistic approach to all that we do, why are we relinquishing personal responsibility to the entire self, and expecting a doctor, coach, or some mystic to take over? Why is it that in our search for more meaning and quality living we end up flirting with disaster every time our efforts last only as long as our selected program of help?

I believe it’s time for a new attitude. This new attitude must incorporate a perspective that whether it is self-improvement, personal growth, or self-help, you take it on for a lifetime. Do I hear sighs and gasps of discomfort? You mean you would rather be healthy, achieve mental clarity, or have inner peace, for a few months only? Like it or not, a lifetime of quality living, means lifelong attention, not band-aids to achieve overall wellness in our body, mind, and spirit. It’s time we do more than trust a band-aid when we fall, and look much deeper into how and why we fell in the first place.

This new attitude also means that we will no longer approach quality living defensively. We will not wait for problems to arise before we consider taking preventive steps to better living. We will not pretend that our weight gain or other symptom is not connected to another imbalance in our entire energy field of the body, mind, and spirit. Holistic thinking will be more than conversation. It will be a practical measure when evaluating our life choices.

There are countless benefits when you impose a lifelong and holistic approach to all that you do. For starters, you will certainly make sure that what you do is realistic, helpful, and effective. You will not waste time and energy with temporary solutions that bring about failure. You will get to know yourself better and become better equipped to decipher through the array of help for YOUR personal balance. And just like exercise, it’s gets easier every day. Your focus will be on wellness for your entire being – not temporary wellness with the help of a quick fix.

I call it living an extraordinary life. It’s a lifetime reality of balance and respect -- integrating and updating disciplines and practices into a process that protects us during moments of crises. It’s about making every day and every minute count toward where we want to be, how we want to feel, and what we want to give. Without this attitude, we slip back into confusion, fear, and irresponsibility, which only perpetuate negative physical, mental, and spiritual realities. You can’t just wish for a better life without conscious choices that work specifically for you day after day.

The big picture attitude to wellness and quality living…do you dare to be better?