Be Like An Organic Farmer

Every year we get to about this point in the summer where our garden is really starting to produce a significant quantity of produce. This is when we get to eat the fruits of our labor, but you can only eat so much. Then you have to figure out what to do with the surplus. My daughter Grace and I pick several dozen ears of sweet corn and delivered some to all of our neighbors in our little neighborhood. Then the rest we husked and brought inside to be processed for freezing. Most of our surplus gets frozen or canned for the winter, so we can control the quality of the food that we eat year-round. This always reminds me of the old saying “we reap what we sow.” However, that saying is a broad generalization, it doesn’t account for all of the work that goes on between the sowing and the reaping. It does imply that in order to reap or harvest you must first sow or plant.

Recently I have been consulting with several people who have a variety of different health challenges. In most cases, they are reaping what they have been sowing. That may seem like a harsh judgement, but it is not a judgement as much as it is an observation from the perspective of understanding what promotes growth and what causes growth to be stifled.

Let’s say you plant a seed in fertile soil. It germinates and a new plant emerges and begins its journey to a mature plant. A lot can happen between the new life stage and the mature plant stage. Too much or too little water, sun and fertilizer will weaken, stunt or kill the plant. Predators like deer, rabbits, woodchucks, and crows may destroy it in a moment. Others, like insects may damage its leaves slowing and weaken its growth. Then you have weeds that seem to spontaneously grow and compete with the plant for all or its necessary resources. The gardener or farmer’s job is to execute a plan to address all of these factors. The organic farmer has to do it without the use of chemicals. In order to do that they have to figure out the best ways to work with nature, versus disturbing the whole ecosystem by poisoning not only the unwanted weeds and bugs, but also the wanted microorganisms that live in the soil, as well as the consumer of the produce.

When it comes to our health, we are born and then require care to mature and grow. It is the quality and quantity of care that has the greatest impact on how we progress and move through our life cycle. This care involves many different areas. The areas that are neglected are the ones that come back to haunt us as we age. The dental profession has done a great job instilling the habit of caring regularly for our teeth. The spine is a body part, like the teeth, that requires regular care to offset the everyday wear and tear of our daily stresses, not to mention injuries and accidents. When this care is ignored or neglected the impact is not only on the bones, joints and discs, but most importantly the nervous system. As we age, neglecting to care for our spine, causes the nervous system’s performance to decline, leading to loss of functions that we don’t always perceive, until they become so severe, we can no longer ignore them. No amount of patented chemicals can bring back the loss of communication within the nervous system.

If you want to reap a harvest of exceptional health and performance as you age, you can’t cut corners. You must put in the time every day, week month and year caring for all of the aspect that produce a healthy you. The sooner in life we adopt this mindset and behavior the greater the potential for growth. Be like the organic farmer learning about all of the details that go into nurturing a thriving ecosystem for his plants to grow. You too need to be living in a thriving ecosystem as well. An environment and a lifestyle that sets you up to flourish. You also need to learn about all of the details that are necessary to produce the healthiest you possible. Covering up the early warnings of loss of function with symptomatic treatments will eventually show up when it is time to harvest. Don’t let today’s neglect be tomorrows regret.

Lombardi Chiropractic Family Health Center
1116 Upper Lenox Ave.
www.lombardichiropractic.com
315-363-4114

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