Are you a passionate person?
- Excitable?
- Caring?
- Well-meaning?
- Kind of crazy at times?
- And are bloody proud of these qualities?
- I sure am!
I’m grateful to be driven by what lights me up inside!
I appreciate my excitement and enthusiasm for life!
I love my precious friends and family so much and aim to make their lives brighter and better the way they do mine!
I strive to be my best – though often make mistakes and then endeavour to learn from them.
If I didn’t have my whimsical sense of humour and lack of concern for ‘political correctness’, a part of me would definitely be missing.
I don’t apologise for who I am, however I do apologise when who I am is inadvertently disrespectful.
If you’re a regular around here, you know that I am passionate about health education. This passion fires me up and gets me very excited; excited to learn, educate and lead by example. My internal flame is my most prized quality, yet a recent conversation with some of my closest friends made me realize that its also a quality I need to tame … in certain situations.
You see, sometimes my passion for health and lifestyle interferes with my relationships – the people I love more than anyone else in this world, in that my caring, well-meaning nature combine with my unwavering drive and cause unintentional pain.
I’d never intentionally hurt those clostest to me
Exhibit A: I have a close friend who is currently going through some health shiz and I am really concerned for her. I’d love to wave a magic wand and take her symptoms away – but, you know … reality.
I was staying at her place one night last week and we were in her kitchen . There were a few culinary habits that she has which I asked her to modify to accomodate my ‘high-maintenance’ GAPS requirements … I also made a few remarks about her pantry items that weren’t, in retrospect, necassary.
I didn’t make these comments to hurt her. I made them because once upon a time I did the exact same things, and it turned out they were perpetuating my multiple ailments. A great deal of my passion comes from my past experiences and wanting to help others heal before they find themselves in the same shitty shitty poo poo debacle I did. I’ve made so many lifestyle changes that if I now learn something new I figure; “what’s one more change?’ and implement it effective immediately. I forget that I’m a wee bit crazy, full-on, let’s-go-gung-ho, driven, spontaneous (my friends might say; ‘intense’).
My dear spud muffin of an amigo has made so many incredible changes just this year and is doing as much as she possibly can to heal herself. I am mega proud of her and doubt I acknowledge her persistance and strength as much as I could.
I realise now (oh hind sight!) that my throw-away comments about microwaves and olive oil sprays, aren’t so ‘throw away’. They made her not a little judged.
Through I was (in my quirky mind) well-meaningly letting her know that these things might not be so groovy for her overall health, I ended up doing more harm than said utensils. My ‘good intentions’ undermined with my number one priority; being a glorious friend. This stunning girl doesn’t need my opinion, she needs my love and support. From this moment forward that is what she and everyone else in my life will get. Love, hugs and humour before technicalities, ‘well-meaning’ information and critical analysis.
I know that many of you get excited about health. I also get the feeling that you’ve all got ginormous hearts that would never intentionally hurt anyone or thing.
These are commendable qualities to have, and worth holding on to in a world where mediocrity, social conformity and watered-down intentions are widespread. That said, I am becoming increasingly aware of the need to practise composure, compassion and kindness in the way I approach all situations.
Allow my mistake – one I now realise I’ve made time and time again – to be a gentle reminder of the importnace of kindness and empathy. The situation above may seem minor but it has meant a lot to me. It’s taught me that I am a friend, daughter, niece, cousin, feline mama (and comedian, some may say), before I am a nutrition student or lifestyle educator.
I’d rather be their friend than their nutritionist
Sometimes I just need to bite my tongue and accept that everything is subjective and everything is open to question.
I’d rather be a playful, supportive friend than an holier-than-thou health advocate.
Be kind, think before you speak and know that more often than not, a hug can is the best way to help a friend in need – education, information and inspiration can wait.