WATER

This month’s recipe is about as simple as it gets. It is only one ingredient: water.   It’s a little silly to call it a recipe - it’s more an invitation to check out your water and notice how much water or hydrating fluids you drink, and explore if you experience any confusion between hunger and thirst.

Instead of burdensome new year’s resolutions to physically alter your life or your world; just notice and observe the volume of hydrating fluids you drink: filtered water, fresh fruit or vegetable juice (not bottled), or non-caffeinated herbal tea.  Is it challenging or easy?

Then if you are compelled, figure out the suggested volume.  A good guide for your weight is this simple equation. Divide the number of pounds you weigh in half and the resulting number is the number of ounces of water you might drink per day - spaced out evenly throughout your waking hours.

For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, you would drink at least 75 ounces of water per day which is a little more than  2 quarts of water, drinking ½ quart four times throughout your day.

Keep in mind that 1 quart = 32 ounces

And if you are enjoying this experiment, then for a day just drink water and see how you feel - but double the ounces.  If drinking water feels a bit extreme - include other hydrating liquids like fresh juice (vegetable or fruit) and herbal non- caffeinated tea.  And observe how you feel.  (We at Om- Cooking make a green juice which a combination of fruits and vegetables that hydrates you with easily absorbable water, and also replenishes vitamins and minerals which virtually go directly into your bloodstream because little digestion is  necessary.  Give our green juice a try on that day and see if you sense a difference.)

A further step, if you are still into this whole exploration, choose a day where you limit how much water you drink  - and notice how you feel - always having a big bottle of

hydrating liquids to quench yourself with.  This would be an opportunity to refine your capacity to sense and differentiate thirst from hunger - and notice the impact of being

dehydrated.   Because of the subtlety of thirst,  when you actually feel thirsty is often long after your body is needing to be hydrated.  When your mouth is dry, many of your cells are already shriveling and looking like raisins. (Batmanghelidj, Warner Books, p.1)

Life is meant to be fun and if it isn’t we need to take a sober look at why - and it is ONLY in the attitude of fun and curiosity that I invite you to undertake exploring any part of this ‘recipe’.  And the moment the curiosity becomes heavy and feels obligatory, stop.  Only do as much of the exercise as you can in the state of curious fun - like a small child feeding a duck.

The journey of uncovering your own well-being was never meant to be an arduous process - but because it has been misconstrued, misframed as a struggle (ominously exorbitant insurance costs, stressed out healthcare practitioners) that outrageously expensive studies need to be done to prove that happy people are healthier.

It took Harvard University $5 million dollars to ‘prove’ that happy people are healthier; a reality that our common sense easily understands, though there is such a distrust of the body (and common sense) that studies need to be undertaken to prove truths that any unindoctrinated soul like that child feeding a duck - would undoubtedly confirm.

So realize and remember that being well is easier than imagined and can be foundationally supported by drinking  enough pure water.  Stay wet, stay young, have fun - and catch some opera if you’re thirsty for some culture.