Sudden awareness of mortality...
Hey everyone!
I was not raised with my biological family. The family that raised me, I left once I turned 18 because I did not want to interact with them any longer. I only have good memories of one of their family members. The family was just extremely unhealthy all around.
I sought out my biological family at 26 because I wanted to know my family medical history. That's when I found out there was diabetes, cancer, lupus, dementia, obesity, and more. Honestly, at 26, I just put it in the back of my mind. I was fit, active, and eating moderately healthy.
Getting to the title of this post, "Sudden Awareness of Mortality."
A month ago, my foster mother reached out to me about my 54-year-old foster brother. She told me that he had a stroke, but he was able to say one word. Cool... bet... I was hopeful! Since I left at 18, he was the only one I really cared about. No matter how toxic the family was, he was always loving, kind, and funny. To me, he was the glue that held the family together.
Anyway, my foster mother went on to tell me that my 52-year-old foster sister is on dialysis and undergoing chemotherapy. Her youngest son, who is 49, has a heart monitor. I have to be honest. I asked her if I could call her back in about 30 minutes because, after I got off the phone, I just cried for them.
Yes, I distanced myself from them to protect myself physically, psychologically, and spiritually. However, I never, ever wanted anything bad to happen to them, especially illness.
A week later, I received a phone call telling me that my foster brother's life had come to an end.
This is where I was hit with the reality of mortality.
I know death is unavoidable. I have experienced losing people before, but this just feels different. I don't have the words to explain it. I do know that I feel an urgency to get my life (39F, moderately healthy) together.
Since his death, I've been reflecting on their lifestyle, my family history, and my current lifestyle. If I do not change my whole lifestyle, I could end up just as ill as my foster family, my biological family, and, honestly, so many people in the U.S.
I decided to adopt a whole-food, plant-based diet, and I've been pretty successful! Every Sunday, I steep spearmint tea and stinging nettle tea to use as the base for my smoothies.
Today I made myself a smoothie with 1/2 a block of tofu, flaxseed, spirulina, reishi and lion's mane powder, dandelion root powder, and a spearmint tea base. I can't stand tofu, but drinking it in my smoothie this morning was actually a pleasurable experience.
It's only been about three weeks since I started eating plant-based, and my digestion has already improved. My skin is so soft and glowing.
Anyway... I feel more present and more thankful for my life. Come to think of it... I am light weight grieving, leaning into healthy food and a more active lifestyle has been part of my grieving process.
If you don't mind sharing, what was the moment that made you decide to go plant-based, and how has your life changed since then?