Taylor Swift. One of the most brilliant minds of our age. Her words bring tears to my eyes.
When I heard this song, I had this incredibly whimsical story well up within me, waiting to gush forth into the world. I imagined that my health was a separate person, and we were walking side by side. In this imaginary world, my health sang this song from its heart (Yeah, my health has a heart). This is what I knew she would say.
A letter from my Health
Hi.
I want to introduce myself. My name is Health. You may remember me…
I was the one who gave you energy, breath and life.
You were my best friend. You breathed air into me, gave me food and water to sustain me, and lifted my spirits when I was down.
But somewhere along the way, we seemed to have drifted apart. I was here, waiting in the wings, eager and ready to share our beautiful journey together. I waited as you delved into the realms of experimentation. I was there, standing silently as you pelted me with all the junk you could throw. Sugar, spiking its way down my throat. Alcohol, pulling me into the depths of dizzy spirals. The sheer amount ingested threatened to bury me with its weight. I swallowed my pride and picked out the shards of goodness from the river of garbage that flowed my way. I selflessly gave you as much as I could, squeezing my way back, a glimmer of gold among tar.
Somewhere in the depths of my struggle, I could hear you, bragging how good we were together, how I was indestructible, how I would never fail you. I felt each word as a dagger to my heart, fearing what was coming next.
And all the while, I hoped. I hoped that you would look my way again, smile and bring us back to the brink of glory that we used to share. My love for you was unconditional, and I prayed that one day you would look at me the same way.
As the years went by, I couldn’t bear the separation. As you turned away from me, I started kicking and screaming. Forcing you to acknowledge the gap between us. Pleading for you to see what we had become. All the while, I could see everyone around you praising you for handling so well what I threw at you. The stress, the blood pressure, the rising tide of sugar in your bloodstream. No-one could see me, invisible, standing behind you, begging for some love, on my knees wishing you’d stay and give me the time of day.
The more I threw at you, the more you looked my way again. So, like a child seeking attention from loved ones, I threw as many tantrums as it took to get you to take care of me again. The avenues I could run through were endless. I wanted you to notice me, but I didn’t want to hurt you too badly.
At night, I would whisper in your dreams, hoping you’d pay attention. Stop the madness. Come back to me, like this was a movie, like you could if you just said you’re sorry.
Until the day you came back. You came back to me. You looked at me and took my hand, squeezing it tight, sending me waves of love and shame and gratefulness. You stroked my hair, and brought me back from the brink of death. And all the other stuff melted away.
You started bringing me the beautiful things. Nectar and ambrosia, food for the gods. Sweet, fresh and soothing drinks, coursing down my throat and bringing a glow to my face. You spun me around, wiping away the tears and we frolicked and moved together. You would tuck me in at night, give me a kiss and send me away to dreamland.
I’m glad I didn’t die. I’m glad we got back together. I will always love you.I will work as hard as I can to be the best I can be, together.
Love,
Your Health.
Can you imagine your health sending this letter to you?
I can. Especially in my formative years, when I filled my body with an amazing amount of chocolate and junk food. It’s caught up with me in recent years, after being borderline diabetic. I had to take serious measures to change my food lifestyle to make it more sustaining.
If you’ve ever had health issues, I hope this one resonates with you. Let me know in the comments below - what do you think your health would say to you?
(Please note, this has no scientific basis, just an outpouring of creative energy. A lot of this is out of my personal experience - the excess sugar, the overeating, the sedentary lifestyle)
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