My time spent living with the poor and the indigenous people of Mexico and Central America has turned up some interesting correlations. You understand that your life is full of stress in the Western world and I am sure you have been exposed to the idea that people who live simpler lives with less things seem to be happier. But do you know WHY?
Is it just a mental thing? Is it because they don't know what they are missing?
I believe it is much more than that.
I lived in an impoverished community in Panama. Many of the home were square wooden boxes that were partially open to the outside. There was no plumbing, no running water or electricity. There were no beds nor any furniture. Families slept on the ground and cooked over an open fire outside. They had no refrigeration (and neither did I for nine months). They collected rain water in buckets which they used for drinking, cooking and bathing. They often went without shoes. They ate very little meat and instead a lot of things they could gather from the jungle like papaya and breadfruit and mangoes. They lived in close proximity to each other and had lots of family around.
This is just a partial description of the way people lived and at first glance it seems like a difficult life.
But, they were happy.
So I set out to look at each facet of these people's lives and to analyze it from a more scientific and psychological point of view. The things I discovered were amazing.
For example: I took a look at the foods the people typically ate and I discovered something mind blowing. Yes, the fruit was fresh and non-GMO and organic because it was picked in the jungle. But there was something even more amazing. Almost all of the common foods were high is chemicals that promote the production of feel good chemicals in your brain! I am talking things like tyrosine which promotes the production of dopamine which is what makes you feel happy! No wonder these people were happier. They were actually eating food that chemically made them happy.
And that's not all. After studying many of the daily habits these people lived with, I found all kinds of connections. They go without shoes and spend most of their time touching the earth. That is called GROUNDING or EARTHING and has been studied recently by scientists who have linked our absorption of free electrons from the earth's surface as a major necessity in preventing inflammation, on of the major causes of disease! In modern society we wear insulating shoes and live in insulating houses and drive insulating cars and work in insulating offices. We almost NEVER come into skin to dirt contact with the earth.
The list goes on and on and I will be writing more on this subject so stay turned. I believe we have so much to learn from the simple lives of people we typically consider to be doing without. A change of perspective is in order and if we are willing to honor these lovely, happy, kind, gentle, connected, compassionate people and learn from their way of living, I believe we can heal ourselves.
For a More Connected Tomorrow,
laura
To make sure you get all the info on how simple living can change your life, subscribe to our webpage by CLICKING HERE.
Comments
Post a Comment