What we know but don’t want to know. Acknowledging what is and dealing with it.

Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas

You can’t heal what you don’t acknowledge. Jack Canfield

We sometimes know something we don’t want to acknowledge and so we don’t check what we can check, we don’t monitor, and we don’t make subtle changes that can make our life better.

We also live in a time when there isn’t agreement on what might make our life better. Should we be eating plant-based meals, low-carb meals, low-fat meals, or just stick with real food but not too much?

Sometimes we know our clothes aren’t fitting right, we haven’t been to the gym, and we can’t remember the last time we got on the scale. We know we won’t like the number when we see it on the scale but better to see it sooner when we are five pounds up than when we are twenty-five pounds up or even more. Facing our demons is a life-long battle.

Those who knit will know the saying, “A stitch in time saves nine.” Another saying, “We need to nip this in the bud“, means dealing with the problem early instead of when it is almost too big to manage. Overlooking minor details can have disastrous effects on our life.

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the message was lost.
For want of a message the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

How many things happen in our lives because of something else we didn’t look after well enough? What heartbreak and hardship could we prevent if we looked after the details and mundane things in life better?

Sometimes we have areas in our life that flourish because we are looking after them very well, but in other areas, we are neglecting them. I had a friend whose garden I admired until I realized she spent all her time in her garden because her marriage was disintegrating. Could a little less attention in the garden and a little more attention to her husband have changed things, or was she coping as best she could?

True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us. Socrates

To excel in one part of our life does another part have to be neglected? Our health we neglect at our peril because health is the first wealth. Not everyone is blessed with robust health, but some of us who are, take our robust health for granted until we are no longer healthy. It is why those who are still fit and healthy at sixty-five might not be those who looked the best at eighteen. How we looked at eighteen was the blessing of good genes, but by sixty-five it is good genes and what we’ve done with them, and the older we get the more our choices will matter.

I expect in the end it is not extreme diets, or extreme exercise routines that lead to good health, but moderation in diet and exercise and continuing to be active throughout our lives. What if active living is better than going to the gym? What if eating a healthy diet without dieting is best? What if the health and fitness industry is not good for our health? What if trying too hard to stay young, ages us, and aging gracefully will keep us more youthful and healthier longer?

It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that ain’t so. Mark Twain

Acknowledging what you don’t know is the dawning of wisdom. Charlie Munger

Accept what is. Let go of what was. And have faith in what will be. Sonia Ricotti

Thank you for reading this post. Please come back and read some more. Have a blessed day filled with gratitude, joy, and love.