Are you saving and investing your precious assets today, so that you?ll have what you'll need when you try to retire tomorrow? Probably not, warn experts who say, "Americans need to save more for retirement." A dicey situation that's drastically compounded when you factor in that Social Security and Medicare are disintegrating at the same time tens of millions of people are expecting to use these funds to help maintain their health and well-being.
As these important economic systems continue to deteriorate, the conventional idea of what it means to "retire" is changing too, because as we live longer, we?re going to have to work longer. Maybe instead of "retiring," most of us will be trying to "re-tire" our bodies to keep keep on going. This is the only way many of us will be able to continue living what we've come to consider "the good life." So now is a good time to ask yourself a couple of focusing questions:
"Based on how I'm living today, will I have the "energy" (Chi) to continue supporting myself (and perhaps my children) when I'm in my 60s and 70s?"
"What can I start doing right now to bolster and maintain my health so that I have the resources I'll need to support a long and fulfilling life?Ancient Chinese doctors and philosophers knew that people of their time ? like today ? needed an affordable, natural way to stay healthy so that they could live the best life possible. And their successful methods are available today, for people like you, facing the risk of not being able to afford conventional health care once you retire.
The Economics of Health and Well-being
The old adage says: "time is money"; logic says, "time is life." So it follows that, "money is life," because, generally speaking, no one gives or pays you money unless you provide something useful to them in exchange. And since the goods and services we exchange with each other, to satisfy our needs and wants, take energy (Chi) to produce, it's essential to stay healthy to remain productive in our changing economy.
Today, so many people are working very long hours to buy expensive things to enjoy today, while trying to '401k-away' enough cash for "retirement." But, when you do the arithmetic, it becomes evident that today's goods aren't that 'good' when you factor in the health problems ? like insomnia, restless leg syndrome, and other stress-related ailments ? associated with high levels of consumption. (It's interesting to note, that in our grandparents' time "consumption" was the term used to describe the dis-ease of tuberculosis.)
It's been said that "cash savings have virtually disappeared in the United States because people rely heavily on debt to finance a lifestyle that remains barely within their means." And while trying to 'finance' that lifestyle, there is a drawing down of 'health reserves' (Chi). This means that many of us are borrowing and spending our energy today, hoping we'll be able to pay it back?with interest?in the future. The problem is that "the future" is when we'll be wanting to retire, and will need our resources in our bank accounts and bodies.
An American philosopher said: "Health is the first wealth." And like money in the bank, it will last longer if you conserve your energy and invest it properly.
Balancing Your Accounts
Oriental medicine has been practiced by millions of people for thousands of years, and provides an evolutionary approach to health and well-being that is desperately needed today. This new "paradigm" or "model" can be summed up in one word "balance."
In a financial sense, if you properly allocate your financial 'energy' or assets, you'll spend some on today's needs and wants, and save some for tomorrow. If you spend only the amount you earn today, you would be in "balance," or, in other words, be 'living within your means'; but you wouldn't have the 'reserves' or "rainy day fund" that our grandparents and parents knew was so essential. Having a 'surplus' is still essential today, but this wisdom has been atrophied by the seduction of easy consumer credit. On the other hand, if you budget your financial and 'energetic' income in such a way that you spend less than you earn, you'll have a 'surplus' or 'savings' to use in the future, for retirement or other life-fulfilling experiences.
Managing Your 'Trust Fund'
Oriental medicine starts off by recognizing the obvious?which too often isn't obvious at all; that is, most everyone inherits a "trust fund" of energy, commonly talked about as 'health' when they're born. Why is it like a 'trust fund'? Because you didn't ask for it, it just came to you, and you "trust" as you go along through life that it will be there for you. Then, as you grow up, and grow old, how you invested your 'trust' along the way, directly affects how well you're able to capitalize on the investment Life has made in you.
Because our energy needs to last a lifetime, one of the first lessons we need to learn as children is how to replenish, and add to, our original supply of energy as we go about the business of living. Unfortunately, like the folk wisdom related to 'thrift,' the knowledge pool related to 'health' has more or less dried up too. Though, to a large extent it still operates in how we relate to some "things" in our lives. Take your car for example: it's generally understood that you need to keep your car fueled and maintained if it's going to carry you where you need and want to go. It's useful to apply this logic to your body too.
So given the importance of our "trust" fund, it's essential to know how to invest and manage it in ways that deliver the return of a lifetime. And a key principle to remember in managing your 'trust fund" is this: 'Avoid spending your principal!' or you'll be broke sooner rather than later.
Finding a Trustee
Just as financial management is a complex undertaking, where having a trusted advisor can make the difference between success and failure, so too with managing your health. You want a financial advisor who can show you how to invest in ways that generate more money (remember: 'money is life"); and you want a 'health advisor' that can help you increase your 'life energy.'
A good Oriental medicine practitioner is that kind of trustee for your health.
So once again, ask yourself, "What am I doing today to ?save, invest and balance' my 'trust fund' so that I can meet all of my needs, and some of my wants, today ? and for the rest of my life?" And if you listen carefully for your answer, you may hear the echo of Mickey Mantle's words ? a man who made lot's of money is his time - gently tapping you on the shoulder, reminding: ?If I knew I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself.?
Kitty Bradshaw is a licensed acupuncturist, with an advanced clinical degree in Oriental Medicine. Studying and working with Oriental Medicine since 1986, Kitty combines Traditional Oriental Medicine with Taoist healing methods to offer healing possibilities beyond the level of standard health care. Her deep understanding of Chinese medical herbs, combined with her intuitive abilities to diagnose and treat difficult problems, has helped many people regain and maintain their health. For a FREE phone consultation to find out how Oriental Medicine can work for you, go to http://www.biom.net to contact Kitty and sign-up for BIOM's complimentary newsletter. | |
