This has been an incredibly difficult week for my husband and I. Unfortunately we have witnessed the inexplicable passing of a beautiful 2 year old little girl. As relationships blossom through the years, friends become like family and their kids become a part of you…and to lose a child of a friend feels like a loss of your own.

Being privy to this event made me feel like I simply couldn’t post on my blog. I write about food. Healthy eating. Healthy lifestyle. At a time like this, I thought I had nothing to write about. But something changed. Yesterday we all united in Church to celebrate the life of this little girl. As I sat there listening to the parents of this little girl speak, I was blown away by their strength, their dignity, and their courage during these tragic moments. They gave me peace.

What?

Those most affected by this loss are the ones offering me peace?

Yes.  Because they have inner strength. They are spiritually and emotionally strong individually and as a couple.  That is something worth sharing.

The truth is that if you really break it down…we don’t know when our time will come to leave this Earth. Eating healthy does not guarantee the full ride. Regardless of your lifestyle, no one is immune from pain. People get sick, people have accidents, things happen… we all die.  We simply don’t know what cross we’ll bear and some crosses are harder than others. The saying goes: “When you think you’re going through the worst thing in the world, there is someone else who has it worse than you.”

So now that our dear friends have lost their little one as a result of a pool drowning… the community instinctively draws their loved ones near. Cautious voices whisper: “Put floaties on your kids.” “Don’t lose sight of your kids for one minute.” “We have to be so careful.”

Parents and grandparents want to protect their young so much that after a loss like this one they rather err on the side of ridiculous just to be safe. But the truth is that even with the extra precautions, with the fear, with the hope of protecting your loved ones, accidents will continue to happen. Life will continue to happen. Unfortunately, fear of living will not save you.

The only thing we can do is to have spiritual and emotional strength….like my dear friends have…to deal with the pain.

It is that strength that we need to enjoy the good times when we have them, and bear with the bad times when they arrive.

I can’t imagine going through what my friends are going through. I can’t imagine dealing with their pain, especially considering how hard this has been for me. But I have learned from them. I have seen their faith and I am confident they will get through this and feel happiness again. I have a true admiration for them and their family.

So for today my friends, I propose that if you want to be healthy, begin from within. In order for a healthy diet to mean anything at all, your mind and your soul needs to be healthy also. Seek inner health. It doesn’t really matter what your belief system is, but have a belief system of your own and nourish it. Laugh, listen to music, focus on happy thoughts. Be good to yourself. Value your self and your being. Surround yourself with people that make you better. Be grateful. Be good to others. Meditate. Pray. Breathe.

Never stop sharpening your spiritual and emotional being…because only then will you achieve true health.