Salubrious. I love the way it sounds. The definition is: promoting good health or well-being. Synonyms: beneficial, healthful, healthy, nourishing, wholesome. Of all places, I was sitting with my dad watching The O’Reilly Factor on Fox News - not a show I ever watch on my own accord, but time is precious with my ill dad and I’ll bond any way I can. At the end of the show, O’Reilly spills out the word of the day, and my ears perk up when I hear the word: Salubrious. I say, “now we’re talking!” - and my dad turns to me and says with a wink, “you? salubrious.” We smile a knowing smile at each other. He might not have known the definition of the word, but he knows one thing - I am salubrious. I definitely promote good health and well-being. I live my life constantly conscious of what I am putting into my body and how I move my body on a regular basis. If I get off track a bit (and I do), I have the tools and awareness to reign myself back in and not go off any deep ends. I have come to realize that it’s a huge part of who I am, and most importantly, that the only way to promote a healthy lifestyle is to LIVE a healthy lifestyle, not preach one. Over time I have filled my mom and dad’s mental medicine chests with factoids, health breakthroughs, books on how to conquer diabetes, kits to quit smoking, tips, nurses, second opinion dispensers, third opinions and so on. I finally stopped and honor their choices, and love them, and have compassion for them just the way they are. Just the way they eat and smoke. I’m not holier than thou because I know big health terms, stretch, eat kale. It hurts to see them suffer, but I stay on my yoga mat and leave them on theirs. I’ve been around people who stand on a health pulpit and I find myself craving cookies when I’m around them. So, I learn from that and keep my kale and walks to myself and look at my side of the street and how I can continually promote better health and well-being for myself. If someone finds that attractive in some small way, I’m all ears.
