Fallen leaves from yesterday’s walk. © Kathy J. Sotak

TOTAL READ TIME: 3 Minutes

I wander through this chaotic maze to find the magic pill. You too? This infinity loop has twists and turns with polar opposites. Is the answer vegan or paleo? Intermittent fasting or breakfast? Moringa or chaga? Which way do I turn when the answers are left, right, up and down?

With the help of two important visionaries, I’ve overlaid the cheat code to the map. I’ve learned the principle that Everything is Medicine, as author and publisher Lorna Howarth says. I’ve started viewing Your Life is Your Medicine, as Dr. Cassie Huckaby teaches.

Howarth and Huckaby have taught me that everything is an input. Every input has an output. So why do I get upset when my mind and body have outputs I don’t like?

Imagine going to the doctor and filling out this upgraded version of an intake form.  Tell me about:

  1. The quality and caliber of your thoughts
  2. The quality of your relationships
  3. The beliefs about yourself, your community and the world that you live in
  4. The integrity of what you say and how you act
  5. The intention and practice of your habits
  6. The fullness of your love
  7. How do you move, eat and drink
  8. How deeply do you feel
  9. How do you breathe
  10. How do you create
  11. How do you play
  12. And, how do you forgive – others, and yourself

Inputs have predictable outputs. Take aspirin, for example. Predictably after you take it you will experience pain relief. Why do I not consider the impacts of all of my inputs?

The magic pill for health and vitality is how we live every second of our day. There are no exceptions. I can’t casually drink without accepting my output will be restless sleep and a stressed liver. I can’t complain without accepting my output is a constricted heart with shallow breath.

The stillness of the forest allowed me to hear what I most needed. © Kathy J. Sotak

Everything we touch, feel, think or do is medicine. Yesterday I walked at our nearest state park. Instead of the beaten path, I veered left onto a curious trail. I was rewarded with complete solitude. I hiked up and down a rolling hillside, just me and the rustle of leaves under my steps. Mother Nature reminded me with these fallen leaves we are in the season of letting go. Even grief is cradled in love; it’s a natural cycle. It takes a lot of energy to cling onto something. What do I need to release in my life, both physical and energetic? This was the medicine of my walk.

This intake form is now part of my daily practice. It guides my steps to spot the medicine I need. Some areas are easy steps while others are turbulent and uphill both ways. So how do we find the magic pill, you ask? It’s not at the end of the maze. The maze is the magic pill; the walk of life is the magic pill – and it is uniquely built for you and for me.