“Check Up On It”
“It’s paramount that we stay vigilant about what’s going on in our body…so check yourself out.”
“Living Lejem” ~ Richard Roundtree
Quote source: Richard Roundtree talks about knowing your body & staying vigilant (one for the boys) (Youtube published date 10/25/16)
Stock photo source: blackfilm.com
How many times have we heard that it is important to take care of our bodies and be aware of the changes that it goes through? Growing up and all throughout high school and college I had a pretty decent shape. As I got older, switched jobs, and became less physically active, my metabolism slowed and I noticed that I had gained some weight. Not thinking too much of it because I honestly thought I could afford to since I was so thin originally, I shrugged it off and went about my business. One day, I noticed a slight hardening in my stomach area and thought it strange. Over time, I noticed that my stomach seemed to be getting larger at a more rapid rate than the rest of my body to the point where people thought that I was expecting. I ignored it for a long time, discontent at its appearance but still trying to embrace it because I chopped it up to getting older. I even gave it a nick name, “Tommatricia” and wasn’t too worried because it wasn’t given me any issues or pain. Finally, I decided to get it checked out and discovered that I had a huge fibroid growing inside that was causing my stomach to protrude so much. I made arrangements to have surgery to get it removed and was grateful and blessed that it wasn’t more serious then what it could have been. I also learned that it is important to get checked out sooner than later to understand what is going on.
It is very important to take care of our health and be aware of our bodies and what we are used to experiencing with them so that when something abnormal arises, we will recognize it and first be able to assess what may be going on and why. When we are aware, we know when something is off or doesn’t seem or feel quite right. It is pertinent to address what is going on with a professional, especially if the issue or changes continue so that it can be rectified not only sooner, but quicker. Another reason why we shouldn’t wait to get checked out is simply because of peace of mind. So many times we can self-diagnose ourselves and get into a worry fit about our concerns when all we need to do is go and find out. Having peace of mind will naturally lead us to not stress and into a more healthy state.
Living a healthy lifestyle definitely helps in having a more fulfilled life long term, and it can help in minimizing issues that can arise physically, but it doesn’t alleviate them completely. Hopefully we all can continue to live a relatively healthy life, however finding some type of concerns throughout our lives is inevitable. Whether it be what may be discovered, embarrassment, or even doctors, offices and or hospitals, some degree of fear comes with the territory of discovering something not normal with our bodies but we should not dwell on it. Of course it’s so much easier said than done, however we can only concern ourselves with what we can control and literally put our faith into action for everything else.
When its all said and done, staying current with our check-ups are not just for us and our health, but it is also for our loved ones. We should do all that we can to ensure that we will be around to experience life with them for as long as we can. And although it’s not the easiest subject to have to address it is so very important. As author, Jim Rohn stated, “Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.”