Wise words from Kurt Vonnegut

Hello!

Yes, it’s been a while.

I'll be honest – I sometimes find it difficult to get inspired to write. Being immersed in this field of nutrition and lifestyle, I assume that everyone else is immersed in it as well. Hence I feel at times my words are only adding to the deluge of information already out there.

But yesterday I was inspired - albeit from a different angle. The message is short, important, and compliments the solid, science-backed information I will continue to share with you going forward.

The following is advice from Kurt Vonnegut Jr. back in 2006 (he was 84 years old at the time), in response to a student’s request for advice on life. The student sent the request to hundreds of authors. Only Mr. Vonnegut responded.

The key line in his response is as follows, although I strongly recommend that you read Kurt’s full letter included here (it's very short and worth the read):

“Practice any art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what’s inside you, to make your soul grow.”

So how does this relate to our health?

I think the answer is in the following quote, which was in the comment section of a YouTube video (formerly a TED Talk video), titled: What you can do to prevent Alzheimer’s by Lisa Genova, Neuroscientist, Speaker and Author of Still Alice.

“My mother died of Alzheimer’s at age 88, but lived 17 years of meaningful life after diagnosis. I attribute her amazing resistance to the onset of debilitation to her voracious appetite for news, walking, reading, politics, being a wordsmith and her lifelong discipline of moderation in food and alcohol intake, and love of classical music.”

I've bolded everything except the reference to moderation of food and alcohol for a reason.

Yes, good nutrition plays a critical role in Alzheimer’s risk reduction, as it does in the prevention of chronic diseases (often referred to as "diseases of aging"), where 44% of Canadian adults over 20 years of age have at least 1 of 10 common chronic conditions.

BUT...

In our effort to "get healthy", we often overlook the intangibles - the food for our soul (voracious appetite for news, reading, being a wordsmith, love of classical music...), in addition to the food on our plates.

Something that motivates us, gives us purpose, puts a smile on our face; learning, being curious; something within which we are so immersed that all of life’s challenges disappear during those moments; where we get the immediate, deep satisfaction of achieving something, whether it’s ripped up immediately afterwards or not (see Kurt's letter).

It's important to recognize that the pursuit of something that touches our soul could be just as important as the four pillars of health (nutrition, sleep, exercise and stress reduction). Maybe the fifth pillar of health? And perhaps this pursuit could even inspire us to change our behaviours around food and lifestyle, helping us lead a healthier life overall.

So read (or reread) Mr. Vonnegut's letter, and if you aren't already doing something that "makes your soul grow", then give yourself permission and time to figure out what that might be. And then just do it.

Thanks for reading :)

gillian xx