Clean living gets a bad name. It’s used by a lot of people as a flag to wage some sort of morally superior and smug crusade against lesser ways of living. You shouldn’t be about that. You should, however, be mindful of just how modern society makes it more and more difficult to keep your body and your mind healthy. Here, we’re going to look at the lessons of clean living with a critical lens, taking the good and leaving the bad behind.
We’ve forgotten how to eat
For many people, this just might not be true. But for a growing number of individuals, the reliance on processed and unhealthy foods with little consideration of balance in our diet is a reality that’s hard to escape from. If you want to live cleanly, you should look into learning how to cook with whole foods more often. Yes, it takes more time, but as you continue to do it, discipline and enjoyment take over where once reluctances and doubt prevailed, making a difficult task much easier.
We surround ourselves with toxins
We’re not talking about the bacteria on your kitchen counter or even oxidation which is supposed to be amongst your greatest enemies. We’re talking about real, prevalent health issues that make a serious impact. For instance, as lawyers for benzene cases, litigation, and lawsuits can tell you, the supposedly ‘gone’ toxins that are still prevalent in many workplaces. Or the overall concern about air quality and the little effort that most put into maintaining it.
Pesticides and herbicides, too. We need to take a proper look at the risks of our environment and start looking to natural alternatives. This might mean talking to our employers about prevention against exposure to toxic materials, taking more time to ensure the ventilation and purification of air or looking for alternative ways to keep our garden pest and weed-free.
Finding your natural self in an unnatural society
This is a concern a lot of us feel unconsciously. We evolved as hunter-gathers, traveling the wilds of the savannah with little responsibility but our survival and that of our family. Scientists suggest that we might have lived happier lives then and ever since, we have built a prison of stress and responsibility around us. We can go for years ignoring these issues before they lead to a breakdown. Clean living means cleaning your mind, too and finding your ways to reduce your own stress.
Fads won’t get you there
The most important thing to learn about clean living is how you treat it. If you treat it as a series of steps to get to a healthier lifestyle, it’s a constant journey forward. A misstep is easily corrected. When you start getting into dangerous fads such as regular colonics or detoxification diets, you are putting your faith where there is little evidence to suggest you can expect a happy end.
Being aware of the dangers around you is nothing but a help. At the same time, let’s not start moralizing against others who don’t share our viewpoint and let’s avoid when possible the tempting allure of someone who says they have all the answers contained in a single life’s plan.
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