I teach about health inspired by simple Japanese philosophies and lifestyle practices, so you can learn to find peace, fulfillment, strength, and health in your own body. Sign up for my newsletter to receive all my writing and exclusive resources!
The irony of reaching your 'perfect health’ goals
Dear Reader,
When we try to adhere to strict health goals– such as a certain weight or waist measurement– we often find ourselves particularly struggling with the idea of having to maintain it.
We work hard to reach our health goals, and the irony is that the harder we work to grasp onto the progress we have made, the more engulfed in the anxiety and fear that we may ‘slip back’ we become.
This makes us tired of taking care of our health, sometimes tired enough to make us want to give up.
We can find freedom from the pressure
But we don’t need to feel like we are held prisoner by our own bodies, a freedom we can find when we understand change not as something to fear, but something we can accept.
One of the cornerstones of Japanese Zen Buddhism is the idea of accepting impermanence, that nothing in our lives can be grasped or held onto– the good, the bad, the exciting, and the boring.
Everything is constantly changing whether we seek it or not, and we only need to pay attention to the changing seasons to understand why: the fleeting nature of it is why the emergence of spring can feel so joyous, or the onset of autumn can feel so calming.
It’s the change, not the state, that makes us pay attention.
Change is inevitable, but it's not bad
We can reflect this truth on our bodies, but the prospect of change doesn’t need to overwhelm us. Just because our bodies will inevitably change doesn’t mean we should treat it with disrespect or disregard.
We can experience contentment by focusing on taking care of the person inside, rather than becoming preoccupied with the body it’s in.
Prune the tree, but you don’t need to worry about saving the leaves from falling.
Perhaps this is the key to maintaining joy in the art of taking care of our health and wellbeing.
Instead of being too caught up in maintaining the status quo, we can see that maybe there is value in the act of taking care of ourselves, rather than the result.
For at its core, health is not about reaching a number, but it’s about investing in an element of our lifestyle that makes life more enjoyable.
Warmly,
Kaki
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Hi, I'm Kaki!
I teach about health inspired by simple Japanese philosophies and lifestyle practices, so you can learn to find peace, fulfillment, strength, and health in your own body. Sign up for my newsletter to receive all my writing and exclusive resources!
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