How Do We Develop Strength in the Face of Adversity?

How do We Become Strong Enough to Withstand Adversity?  

We Build a Strong Foundation

Throughout the last 12 years as a Holistic HealthCare Practitioner I have seen many of my patients face, struggle and sometimes be toppled by adversity.  As we know, adversity comes in many colors, flavors and strengths and how people fare when faced with it is dependent on many factors, but most assuredly the strength of “their foundation” plays a critical role in the their outcome.

By Foundation, I don’t just mean the two legs underneath us. I am referring to the Foundation that we build brick by brick with all of the good habits, care, love, compassion, nutrition, sleep, movement, sense of purpose, sense of community,  and connections to the people, places and things around us.

We start building this Foundation even before we are born. It is our Mother that lays the first bricks with wholesome food, a loving environment and her own pre-natal self care. As we get older the building of this Foundation becomes our responsibility. We are in charge of the care of this human body that is fiercely strong and yet somewhat fragile and dependent on our attention. I have always believed that we should be continuously enrolled in age appropriate courses from pre-school through grad school on the care and maintenance of this wondrous, complex and somewhat magical gift of our human frame. We are going to inhabit it for our entire lives and what it does for us is in most cases is a reflection of what we have done for it.

If we learn to give our body all of the ingredients it needs to strengthen and support a strong Foundation, we can withstand MUCH adversity and still be whole on the other side. Adversity comes in many forms that we know of ; disease and illness, accidents, emotional crisis, work stress, poverty and natural disasters , just to name a few.

What if we could develop such a strong foundation that when we are confronted with adversity it may challenge us, it may even take our feet out from under us, but, it does NOT topple us?  Then we would be able to pick ourselves up and regroup and still have the life that we are meant to live.

Let us work towards shoring up our Foundation. Let us not continually build more floors on our house without a foundation. We know that life is going to throw us curve balls and none of us are immune to adversity, but I propose that we start paying close attention to all that we do in our moments and our days that can either crack our Foundation or build it up.

As a Holistic Healthcare Practitioner I suggest that we start building that Foundation by strengthening, improving and creating Optimal Health. This means that we are approaching our health from a whole person perspective. We look at not only disease and illness, but we consider how we interact with our environment both internally and externally. Holistic Health shores up the foundation by emphasizing the connection of mind, body and spirit.

My job is to  help patients analyze the true state of their health and guide them towards the best ways to heal and restore whatever health they have lost . The World Health Organization (WHO) defined health in its broader sense in its 1948 constitution as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” I encourage all of our patients to view their health in these terms.

At Evolve Acupuncture and Wellness we use Functional Medicine, Holistic Nutrition, Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine to help build your strongest Foundation. We employ massage therapy, hypnotherapy, yoga and meditation to help facilitate strength and healing.

I encourage you to take a moment to think about your own Foundation. Where do your strengths lay? Where do your weaknesses lay?  Have you nurtured that Foundation so that it will be strong in the face of adversity?  Today is a great day to make the choice for a better life.