Being healthy starts from within

According to merriam-webster.com, healthy means to have health. Health is defined as "the condition of being sound in body, mind, or spirit." 


Eating healthy food and drinks cover only part of attaining health. Exercising is another part of health as it covers the up-keep of the body physically, but what about the mind and spirit? How could one attain health emotionally and spiritually? To answer this we have to evaluate how we are fueling  ourselves in these areas. Just as if you went to the doctor because your back hurt or felt physically sick, the doctor would have to figure out what caused this condition. The doctor would start a process of elimination in order to pin-point the source of pain. He'd then come up with a prescription to heal and then give the patient orders on what to avoid so that it won't happen again. We have to be our own doctors sometimes, Subhan'Allah.

I had many years mentally and spiritually diseased. I was not alone. After many trials and difficulties in life, I had to analyze and study myself to attempt to find not only the source to my pain, but where the salt was consistently being thrown on it was coming from. Alhamdulillah, I found the floodgate... negativity. I was in a negative, toxic environment that had made its way into me. Negative environments are not always the physical location of a person. A person can be in prison or an impoverished neighborhood and have peace and health. A person can be in a mansion and feel like their dead. The location is a spiritual one and what is used to fuel it dictates whether it is negative or positive. When I moved from Chicago, IL to Grand Rapids, MI. I thought I had also left my unhealthy baggage, but it followed me. It followed me because I was still housing a diseased mind and spirit.

Subhan'Allah. I knew the source of my pain were things from the past that I had to let go of and make peace with. I had to accept the fact that it can never change. I even forgave and asked forgiveness to Allah SWT and others in order to start unpacking and heal. I even began to pray and take my relationship with my Creator more serious. I then noticed something....

Every time I cleaned up spiritually, I felt great emotionally but then for what seemed to be out of the blue, I would feel very faintly, the disease trying to come back. I was now ready to fight. I increased my prayers (at the time I was Christian), and made sure to not miss any church. I started reading the Bible and asking Allah SWT for protection and guidance. I then realized I was watching a lot of negative trash TV and movies. I was listening to things on the radio that were not beneficial or of substance. I began to censor myself and ask Allah SWT to filter my mouth and I found that this is the only spiritual immunization we have when combating the diseases of the mind and heart - keeping negative things out (with the guidance and help of Allah SWT) and bringing/keeping positive things in.

What we listen to on the radio, what we see on the screen does effect the health of our spirits and mind. This was the whole purpose of media - to manipulate and "tell" us what to think and do. Just like making sure to keep fresh fruits and foods on a daily would be the new regime, the same applies in the spiritual. Limiting what we expose ourselves to and if we have to watch TV making sure it is informative and something we can contribute to and positive (Halal).

We ARE what we eat, physically and spiritually. It takes time and some times we might fall off, because no one is perfect.We have to be healthy proactively and on purpose if we want to keep the diseases away. No one ends up with a six pack without trying so we must at least try - Allah SWT knows best. In Sha Allah we pray and make du'a often to stay in the remembrance of Allah SWT by creating positive environments that can house blessings and keep out diseases.

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh