Writings by Dr.
Young
Published in the Ventura County Star on December 25,
2001 with the title
Make a pledge this holiday season to take care of yourself
by Kristofer Young, DC
Give the gift that everyone wants to receive, but that
we've never seen advertised. Give the gift that we all can afford to give, and
that we can't afford not to give. What is it? The gift of your own health and
well being.
There are cultural voids and misconceptions that
interfere with giving this gift, and more often, simply make its giving
inconceivable. One factor is that we don't focus on health. We are fixated on
disease, its treatment, and the covering of its symptoms with medications. Also,
we have little or no experience of daily health practices resulting in a better
life. An additional factor is that most of us would not easily think of
improving our own life as clearly being a gift to others. Finally, try as we
might, we still believe that a gift is a physical object; love is great, but
where's the present?
Ask your mother, your father, your spouse, your brother, your sister, your
child; "Would it feel like a gift to you if I had less pain, felt more rested,
was happier, stopped smoking, began exercising, lost weight, recovered from
chronic illness?" If these people are feeling loving toward you, the answer will
be YES. Turn it around. Is there anyone, family or not, that would be giving you
a wonderful gift by becoming healthier?
When a child cries from the pain of an ear infection,
struggles to breathe with the wheezing of asthma, or cries in fear of a painful
medical treatment, we too feel pain. When that child, in a healthy state, smiles
and giggles we feel her joy and comfort.
How painful to watch an adult, limping in pain, hunched
with pain, breathing or swallowing with difficulty, depressed by chronic pain,
hooked to tubes and monitors. How uplifting to watch a spry, happy elderly
person hiking, dancing, or playing with a small child.
The gift of your health is a blessing to all; each and
every day. It is a blessing for the future because in reduces the probability of
you becoming disabled, suffering with chronic disease, or dying early. Your
commitment to health also reduces the risk that your loved ones will have to
suffer with you during a prolonged illness or premature death. In a still larger
sense, the more days of your life that you are healthy, the greater your ability
to contribute to others. The more days ill, or in a bad mood generated by poor
health, the more that others will have to contribute energy to accommodate for
you and lift you up.
We each have a choice, not a guarantee, but an
opportunity to give the gift of our health to our family, our friends, and to
the world in which we live. There are few gifts that we will ever give that will
be more important or more appreciated.
Each time you wish out loud or to yourself that another
would begin to make changes to regain their health, remember that someone may
wish the same of you.
It is critical to understand that the absence of
obvious and active disease is not the same as optimal health. Our bodies
gradually, often imperceptibly, lose function and reserves until they
periodically and then ultimately breakdown. Conditions and practices of daily
living are the keys to health. How many of these are regular parts of your life:
loving relationships, organically grown food, low sugar and starch consumption,
aerobic and stretching exercise, plenty of rest and sleep, hope?
Give a gift that really matters.
[1] "When you finish reading your 100th
entertaining fiction book, what have you got? Vague memories of a lot of fun
stuff. When you finish reading your first excellent book on health you are left
with new direction and appreciation for the role that you can play in creating
the power of health in your self, your family, and the world in which you live.
So keep the fun stuff, but remember that there is no fun without health!"
~ Kristofer Young, DC - May 16, 2025 ~
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