The art of health is mastering balance. Going to either extreme of the spectrum between health freak and junkie will produce dire consequences.
The longer ones stays in the zone of extremity, the more deeply the affects become. Our bodies and well-being are likened to an onion with layers going from the outside physical components spiraling inward layer by layer to the inner core of the energy body. The whole is the onion and as such, the whole is the being. As one sits in the extreme habits of one end of the spectrum, the affects start on the outside and the longer it sits there, the deeper it goes into the layers.
This is what happened to me.
I had a craving to become pure that drove me to the health freak end of the spectrum and I stayed there for four years. Vegetarian, no stimulants including no alcohol, no caffeine, no sugar, meditation at 4 a.m., yoga practice 3 days a week with teaching it 3 more times a week, organic food consumption only, regulation of my senses down to what music I played and the media input (no TV in the house). Was I "in shape?" Was I in "good health?" Yes, but I did not have a balance. I secretly craved red wine. I wanted to occasionally binge on a TV series that I heard about from the yoga students in class. I felt constricted inside at the price of optimal body health.
So what then?
The ending of a relationship was the catalyst (and excuse) to go on a beer bender. And that I did. One heart-broken night with my daughter set with the babysitter, I turned up the 90's love songs and drank a lot of beer. I got trashed really fast. My body was not used to it. And yes, I was sick the next day. But it was a breakthrough for me. I wanted to "let loose" a bit more. So I allowed myself some champagne after meditation sessions (I switched my meditation from 4 a.m. to the early evening group sessions.) I allowed myself to indulge in some big juicy cheeseburgers. Then fries with it. Then some more beer. I bought a TV, a smart TV so that I could run the latest shows through the internet. It wasn't long until the evenings were spent on the couch with beer and burgers and Thai food, and Mexican food, and, and, and... This time I stayed in the extreme of junkie for 4 years. What happened? I gained 60 pounds. I developed pre-fatty liver disease. I became depressed. And I went through another relationship.
It took me a full year to recover from this last extremity.
Now it is my goal to stay in the middle. Drink some wine - sometimes. Eat some meat - sometimes. But put to practice a little of the good, enjoy a little of the bad, and place health balance at the top of my priority list.
When I have conversations with friends, family, and customers, I hear the seeking in their voices sometimes. It's because I recognize it from my own experiences.
It is my goal to provide the goods and products for those searching for the balance through Townsend Draft Goods.