My Mother In Law is Saving My Life
There are a lot of influences in my life, that have led me to this idea of semi-fasting. Most of them boil down to one thing: stress. I've been observing how stress has built resilience for many people, and that resilience has many effects - from luminous careers to radical longevity.
My mother in law is a case of the latter. She has led a life filled with stress, and now, at 89, she is productive, upbeat, and healthy. Her stresses weren't of the modern-day "oh, my work is rough, and I hate my boss" sort.
Here's her story, in a very-brief nutshell:
Her stresses started with being born second in a family of 5 children, all living together in one room with their parents. When I say "one room" I mean just that: there was no kitchen or lavatory. The cooking was done outside on the floor, and the communal bathroom was down the block. It goes without saying that there was no electricity. She grew up going to bathhouses to wash, and cooking from day-to-day with no refrigerator, stove, or any other modern amenities.
Education? Sure, she was educated... until second grade. After that, she needed to help her mother wash laundry for the rich people. By hand. Without running water. So, to this day, her reading is ...creative and interesting. But not the style *I* learned to read, when I was a kid.
In her 20's, she served in the army and at one point was a lone telephone-operator, connecting calls from a one-person shack in the middle of the dessert. She was unarmed. It was like a sort of solitary confinement, but with the constant threat of being attacked by the enemy, and with no protection from that threat.
She married a man who has a big heart and big needs. He has always needed to rest throughout the day, so he never built a career. He needs emotional and physical attention at all times. He needs to be praised and coddled. And she dotes on him, as if he were a child. Why? After all, this man increases her stress level to where her mantra is "I can't take this anymore!"
She has always cooked her own food and cleaned her own house. She's been doing that for about 80 years and continues, today. Usually, she cooks for more than just herself and her husband: she cooks for her children and grandchildren. When she visits, she will voluntarily help clean OUR kitchen and fold our laundry - pitching in to take care of a house of 9 individuals, all together!
She never learned to drive, so she walks to get her groceries, her medicines, her clothes or miscellaneous needs. She walks about a half-mile each way, to get to the stores and make her purchases. She dons a baseball cap and sunglasses and goes on her trek. Reminder: she is 89.
Guess what? My father in law is also 89. He has always been coddled and taken care of. Arguably, he never really stressed his body to do very much. And for the past 10 years or so, he's been an invalid, totally and absolutely dependent on his wife. He can't hear, can't see, and can barely walk or take care of basic needs. The difference in their health is glaring and obvious. She acts like she's 65 or so. He acts like he's... barely with us.
How does this relate to fasting? Stress. My mother in law has led a difficult, stress-filled life. Nothing came easy. And in response, she pushes herself beyond "reasonable" boundaries. She brushes herself off and bounces back from all types of challenges. Sure, she'll take breaks when she needs, as her age sometimes gets the best of her, but fundamentally she has been a strong, resilient woman who may yet outlive ME, if she continues the way she does!
I don't live the type of stress-filled life that she does. And I'm concerned about that. Semi-fasting is a form of forcing the body to face a daily challenge of how to nourish itself. It's my way of taxing my body and tricking myself into a natural stress level to which our bodies, as humans, had learned to adapt, through the millennia.
My mother in law is my role model, and rather than seek to shirk or relieve stress, I embrace and welcome it with open arms.
My mother in law is a case of the latter. She has led a life filled with stress, and now, at 89, she is productive, upbeat, and healthy. Her stresses weren't of the modern-day "oh, my work is rough, and I hate my boss" sort.
Here's her story, in a very-brief nutshell:
Her stresses started with being born second in a family of 5 children, all living together in one room with their parents. When I say "one room" I mean just that: there was no kitchen or lavatory. The cooking was done outside on the floor, and the communal bathroom was down the block. It goes without saying that there was no electricity. She grew up going to bathhouses to wash, and cooking from day-to-day with no refrigerator, stove, or any other modern amenities.
Education? Sure, she was educated... until second grade. After that, she needed to help her mother wash laundry for the rich people. By hand. Without running water. So, to this day, her reading is ...creative and interesting. But not the style *I* learned to read, when I was a kid.
In her 20's, she served in the army and at one point was a lone telephone-operator, connecting calls from a one-person shack in the middle of the dessert. She was unarmed. It was like a sort of solitary confinement, but with the constant threat of being attacked by the enemy, and with no protection from that threat.
She married a man who has a big heart and big needs. He has always needed to rest throughout the day, so he never built a career. He needs emotional and physical attention at all times. He needs to be praised and coddled. And she dotes on him, as if he were a child. Why? After all, this man increases her stress level to where her mantra is "I can't take this anymore!"
She has always cooked her own food and cleaned her own house. She's been doing that for about 80 years and continues, today. Usually, she cooks for more than just herself and her husband: she cooks for her children and grandchildren. When she visits, she will voluntarily help clean OUR kitchen and fold our laundry - pitching in to take care of a house of 9 individuals, all together!
She never learned to drive, so she walks to get her groceries, her medicines, her clothes or miscellaneous needs. She walks about a half-mile each way, to get to the stores and make her purchases. She dons a baseball cap and sunglasses and goes on her trek. Reminder: she is 89.
Guess what? My father in law is also 89. He has always been coddled and taken care of. Arguably, he never really stressed his body to do very much. And for the past 10 years or so, he's been an invalid, totally and absolutely dependent on his wife. He can't hear, can't see, and can barely walk or take care of basic needs. The difference in their health is glaring and obvious. She acts like she's 65 or so. He acts like he's... barely with us.
How does this relate to fasting? Stress. My mother in law has led a difficult, stress-filled life. Nothing came easy. And in response, she pushes herself beyond "reasonable" boundaries. She brushes herself off and bounces back from all types of challenges. Sure, she'll take breaks when she needs, as her age sometimes gets the best of her, but fundamentally she has been a strong, resilient woman who may yet outlive ME, if she continues the way she does!
I don't live the type of stress-filled life that she does. And I'm concerned about that. Semi-fasting is a form of forcing the body to face a daily challenge of how to nourish itself. It's my way of taxing my body and tricking myself into a natural stress level to which our bodies, as humans, had learned to adapt, through the millennia.
My mother in law is my role model, and rather than seek to shirk or relieve stress, I embrace and welcome it with open arms.
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