Winter solstice has passed and our days are getting longer. The long nights have, however, allowed us to enjoy a wonderful full moon. Waking up to the shine of moonlight is a little romantic and definitely puts a different glow into our kitchen as the kettle gurgles its way towards a cup of coffee.

After the sunsets and dawns, the ice and the icebergs, perhaps it might be nice to look at the moon. Baying is allowed! Having mellowed you out with the Moon, I hope to jar you a little with our article on excess. This is what we do in ways that will astound you. Have a look at the artwork of Chris Jordan and think a bit about what it means to you.

How about the reverse view - the Earth rising over the Moon!

FABULOUS LOW GI FOOD

Poached Egg with sautéed Mushrooms and Spinach

Preparation: Wash and trim the silverbeet and cut it into small pieces. Bring a large pan of water seasoned with sea salt to boil. Add the spinach and cook for 2 minutes. Drain thoroughly squeezing out any excess moisture. Cover and set aside.

Mind: Before you do your stretching exercise, lie flat on your back and think about the day. Think of a plan of action for the various things you need to do AND imagine all these things working well and the day running smoothly, flowing from one thing to another. Just spend 5-10 minutes doing this, then do the exercise above for a few more minutes and you are in great shape for a great day.

Soul: Before you begin to visualise your day, prepare yourself with a positive affirmation. You may already have something you already use. If not, then something like, "How wonderful to have another day alive!"; "I wonder what wonderful things I will create today?"; "Thank you in advance to all the lovely people I will see today" or create something that is relevant to your immediate needs and wants. The most important thing is to create a fresh start and leave yesterday's difficulties behind. Give today a wonderful sense of expectation and possibility.

Is this Freedom or the Disease of Excess?

The problems we are dealing with are, definitely, depression, obesity, metabolic syndrome, drug addiction and the other terrible diseases of inflammation. But we keep taking about these things as if we just have to find their cure, fix everyone and all will be well and glorious. There seems to be a belief that it is these diseases that are causing all the trouble. There's no need to be healthy or wise or ecological or holistic. These things talked about as some kind of unpleasant alternative. Being sick, bloated, unhappy, confused, fearful, greedy, driven and all the other things I talk about in relation to the winner/loser world have taken a hold regardless of the damage they do to people - just so long as the economy keeps going strongly.
Depicts 200,000 packs of cigarettes, equal to the number of Americans who die from cigarette smoking every six months.

close-up of image detail

There is a very simple philosophy and practice which is proclaimed everywhere from Plato, to my book, to Milton Erickson, Ernest Rossi and beyond - the Problem is a Message.

We are living in a world of excess in bodies that have evolved in a world of paucity. We are designed to lap up the riches of life because we have evolved to instinctively appreciate that these riches may soon disappear. And more often than not, they did.

Nowadays, continued plenty is turning healthy, active, vibrant human beings into automatons of the system that creates the plenty we are supposed to enjoy. It's not that we should all live in caves and be miserable. Of course not! The question is, however, does all this plenty give us the freedom and enjoyment of life that we think it does?

The other day I saw a group of young people exercising their right to choose. They sat in the cold wearing fashionable clothes that didn't cover the vital organs around the waistline, they smoked and were eating bags of hot chips. Now, what kind of authoritarian wowser wants to curtail the right of these young people to make their own choice? Certainly not me. But are they smoking and eating chips by choice? That is the question we don't ask. When they die of lung cancer or contract diabetes or suffer from arthritis, is that their choice, too? I don't think so. Where does the manipulation come from and why?

Offer a human being the sorts of social advantages, body highs, short term pleasures and an opportunity to rebel, then it is inevitable that many will ignore their will-power and indulge. The inner animal always outlasts the power of will. That, too, is an evolutionary development that has, so far, kept us alive. Now it is killing us.

Chris Jordan is an artist who tries to capture a visual expression of our excess in image. It is sobering. How might you show the 1,000,000 plastic cups used on American flights every 6 hours? How about the 32,000 elective breast augmentations conducted monthly in the US and mostly to girls under 21? Can you think how to depict the 200,000 deaths from tobacco every 6 months months? Chris shows these and many other statistical disasters on his website. Check it out. www.chrisjordan.com/current_set2.php

A great idea would be to have a listen to his message at TED. You can see the video at the bottom of this page or you can go to the TED website TED Talks - Chris Jordan I'd like to conclude with Chris's closing statement:

"The degree of integrity that each of us can bring to the surface, bring to this question; the depth of character that we can summon as we show up for the question of, How do we change? It's already defining us as individuals and as a nation and it will continue to do that on into the future and it will profoundly affect the wellbeing, the quality of life of the billions of people who are going to inherit the results of our decisions."

There is so much that we need to think about and I believe that thinking is the key. Not just with the head, but also the heart and also the enteric neural system around the gut and the nerve responses to the shift and change of fascia beneath the skin and the interplay of new knowledge with what already exists in our mind. I know that you may not understand some or any of those terms because they are things that I am discovering. It's just that we have to get to know what this body of ours needs for survival because it is beyond a joke. For the first time in decades the life expectancy of human beings in developed countries has stopped increasing, is stagnating and in some reports, is shrinking.

These problems will not go away with some instant fix and if they do they will just be replaced by new problems. These problems are a message. It is time to listen. What do you think? Contribute your comments - click here

Looking forward to sharing more thoughts, suggestions, news and making a very Healthy Wednesday connection with you!

Take Care, Richard, Susie and The Healthy Wednesday Team