Clean Closets and Authentic Lives

I have this closet in my house. It’s only about 3 feet wide and 5 feet deep and it is full of shelves. The light doesn’t work, my boys pulled the chain out of the fixture last year. This closet, no matter how clean the remainder of my house is, is complete and utter chaos. It is 7 years’ worth of “I don’t know where to put this so stick it in the closet”. Finally, yesterday, I tackled the chore of cleaning it. It was like the wardrobe to Narnia.

 I found papers from when my kids were still young enough to make cute Santa Clauses with cotton ball beards and maracas out of paper cups. I found pictures, old bills (boring) vases and decorations and Christmas lights and a native American long bow (wait.. what?) and a box of scrapbooks and journals from ten years of marriage. Fun.

 Most of it didn’t even phase me to be honest, my divorce is old news and while I do sometimes miss my boys being little, I am learning to relish the phase of their lives we’re in now since we can’t go backwards in time. But one book stood out from the rest, and it was a journal circa 2010/2011.  

 I have always started journals with the intentions of creating some type of memoir that surely SOMEONE wants to read when I die but 3 days later I realize I’m actually pretty boring and I abandon the journal over to my kids so they can draw truck pictures in it. But this one, it was different. The very first page posed the question:

“Am I leading an Authentic Life”

 And the answer, almost 8 years ago, was a resounding “No“. I have no idea what made me ask the question, I’m sure I read a book or saw the question somewhere, I don’t know… but I broke into a 4 page rant about what I wanted from my life. I commiserated and pleaded with myself to figure out what exactly it was that I wanted. I recognized that while I loved my family, I needed to have a reaching and lasting impact on something, anything. I mentioned, more than once, how unhappy I was with my body physically, and with my health and well being in general.

 It was basically me listing every single that, up until that point, I blamed on other people.

 Now I have mentioned many times that in the past, I had to own up to my own issues and grow. But I don’t think I’ve ever had as clear of a vision of how I did that than when I read this journal. For nearly 6 months, I wrote almost daily. I brainstormed ways to take the things I loved doing and creating. I took notes about the things every single day that made me happy.

 I created financial, career, health and fitness, and parenting goals. I painted a verbal picture of what I wanted to be, who I wanted to be. I forgave myself on the bad days and I praised myself for my successes. Looking back, this is the time in my life when I began investing time volunteering, I started planning events, taking family pictures and considering what I wanted to do for a career. I began to focus on positive thinking, I took note of toxic people.

 I think that I reached a point, where I began to outgrow things. I lost people. I moved in a different direction than some I was close to. But I also gained people, and I learned so many things about what I will tolerate in my life. I learned that those who don’t encourage my growth were never meant to stay and that is perfectly fine. The people who are meant to be in my life will cheer for me no matter the season or growth (or even regression) I experience.

 I realized yesterday, that I have cultivated almost exactly the life I wanted. I have ended up, ironically (Or maybe not as ironic as I think) in a position where I get to plan events, take pictures and train people ALL IN THE SAME WEEK, while watching my kids grow into amazing young men.  I have reached a point where I can have a bad day and fully accept it, because I know I am strong and capable. I have come to the conclusion that every single day, I can face whatever comes next. Because I’ve built myself from the very bottom of a dirt covered floor more than once before, and I can and will do it again.

 And it all started with one question.

 So what about you? Are you living an authentic life? Are you living a life that speaks to others about who you are? What your goals and desires are? Are you living a life that says “This is who I am and I am proud of that”? One that enhances the lives of others while creating a masterpiece of your own? There is nothing in this entire world that can stop you from answering this question with a confident and exuberant “Yes”. And that is you. Take ownership. Make a list, make a plan, hold your head up high and decide who you are. Build from wherever you are and never stop. There’s nothing in this world like cleaning out a messy closet, and starting fresh with an entirely new outlook on life.

 

Anti Quick Fix Rant

Real food vs supplements 
Fact: while there is a place for supplementation in the nutritional lifestyle of certain people (a small, specialized population) for most, every nutrient you need can be obtained from just eating real food. In fact, getting the micronutrients your body needs is typically even MORE effective when you get it from real food rather than a supplement. (Real food meaning minimally processed veggies, fruit, meat… stuff you don’t open a can or box to eat)

When you take a supplement, specialized or otherwise, you are cutting out many of the ingredients that, in nature, work together with the key ingredient to increase its bioavailability and the efficiency within your body. You can’t build a house using just wood, you’ve got to have the nails, the hammer, all the tools and accessories necessary to do it correctly. Your body works the same way. 
In some cases, certain supplements contain ridiculous amounts of nutrients that are easily obtained otherwise. When this happens, your body excretes them all via your urine. So when you pay $100 or more per month for all of these vitamins, you have essentially purchased expensive urine.

In addition, there are more and more studies showing the dangers of over taxing your body with some of the vitamins that would otherwise be consumed in a safe amount if you had just eaten an orange to get your vitamin C. 

The point is this.. before you begin self medicating with the latest and greatest “health” trend, take a look at your nutritional lifestyle. Are you eating as clean as you could be? Are you honestly giving yourself the nutrition that you need to have energy, lose weight or reach any other goals you might have? Unless you are fueling your body properly on a daily basis, no amount of supplementation is going to render sustainable, life long change. Eat to fuel, eat real food. It’s that simple. 
FYI: these facts are also scientifically proven, unlike the claims of many supplements 😉 and the specific population refers to people with illnesses and the elderly whose bodies may not be able to absorb nutrients due to poor or deteriorating health.