Simple Choices; Profound Revelations

     I am on my second bottle of water today! H20 is my new beverage of choice. I am actually enjoying this. If you read my previous blogs, you remember I limited my former beverage of choice, Dr. Pepper, to between the hours of noon and 4pm. During that time I explored many new drinks and learned to make new choices when it came to that dreaded question, "What can I get you to drink?" I used to avoid restarants that didn't have Dr. Pepper and would drive across town to find a fountain with just the perfect mix. Think of the freedom I now have no longer chained to such a debilitating habit.

     For the last two weeks I limited my Dr. Pepper intake to the hours of noon and 4pm. Somedays I'd be watching the clock, holding out until noon. But soon I was rushing to grab a Dr. Pepper at 3:30pm so I didn't miss out. And then an amazing thing happened.
     I was asked by a teacher of the Word to meditate on the simple fact that I am an eternal spirit put into a finite body in a finite space (earth). So meditating on my newly revealed identity as an eternal spirit only using this body as a vessel, not my identity, I got a keen sense of stewardship over this body. I didn't have to think about what my beverage of choice was it was as if I already knew. I took my last swig of Dr. Pepper and threw the bottle in the trash. I got a bottle of Natural Spring Water and took an refreshing sip. I knew I had drank my last Dr. Pepper. This refreshing, pure, satisfying water is my favorite drink in this world. It doesn't feel like a must drink it or a should drink it; it feels as if I have always drank it as my drink of choice.
    There are a lot of benefits to making water your beverage of choice. As Victoria Morgan states in  her online article, "Drink Water Until It Becomes Your Beverage of Choice," we are an under hydrated culture. You can't replace pure H20 with sodas and caffienated beverages. Morgan references studies that report dehydration from the lack of pure water is a major cause of obesity in our culture. It makes sense because this generation raised on soda pop is the most overweight generation, yet.
      Water is just plain good for you. I was suprised at the immediate changes making water my beverage of choice made. First I felt fuller with smaller amounts of food. I also wanted to make better food choices because my palate was fresher. I was suprised how much plain, pure water satisfied my thirst and eliminated my desire to drink anything else. I believe I have been unwittingly dehydrated. Last week, I went on a 4 mile hike through some fairly easy terrain at a community lake. Half way through the hike my hands began to swell up. I had drank a small amount of water before the hike but clearly not enough to get rid of the sugars in my system. I am looking forward to my next hike in two weeks. After two weeks of hyrdrating with my beverage of choice, I hope to have different results on the trail.
    It cracks me up to think of all the complicated diets and routines and programs that we put ourselves through to lose weight and get fit. Maybe its as simple as canning the soda and replacing it with the most simple, God given remedy of all, H20. I will of course be reporting back with the results of this natural change.
    You are an eternal spirit place in a finite body put here to do wonderful things. Just like you rely on your car to get you from point a to point b, you wouldn't pour bad gas in it, your body is your spirit's only way to interact with the world. The better you take care of it, the more you can accomplish within it.