“Here are some factors for health and a long life which we have put into practice: positive, optimistic thinking; a good conscience; outdoor exercise and deep breathing; no smoking; no alcohol or drugs, including coffee and tea; a simple diet – vegetarian, sugar-free, salt-free, low in calories and fat and 55% raw. These will vitalize the life span. Avoid medicines, doctors, hospitals.”
~The Nearings, from Loving and Leaving the Good Life
In honor of our book club meeting today, we tried out the Nearing's horse chow (which they ate every morning). Simply mix together:
- 4 cups oats
- 1 juice of a lemon
- 1 cup raisins
- dash of sea salt
- olive oil to moisten
Horse chow. It grows on you :)
Some more food for thought from this book…
Have less, be more philosophy:
“It’s what you are, not what you have on that is important in life… I regard being and doing as the essential ingredients of life; merely living and having can be an obstruction and burden. It’s not what we have but what we do with what we have that constitutes the real value of life.”
Television:
“One of the horrors of civilization. Direct experience is what we need; that’s what we’re here to get: experiential education, not through television, where we’re physically separated from doing. It separates the individual from reality; encourages passivity; implants deleterious images directly into the unconscious; dulls awareness; gives the illusion of experience; has a hypnotic addictive quality which is totally dangerous and obnoxious.”
Fasting:
“One day a week, usually Sunday, we gave our digestive system (and whoever cooked) a rest, by eliminating our already light breakfast and lunch and fasting during the day. Having no scheduled activity except perhaps a walk or a swim, or putting up a bit of stone wall, we took the day easy. These fasting days were ended in the evening by the fire with a supper of popcorn, carrot juice or cider.”
Scott’s reaction to a doctor who told him to take vitamin B12 and get routine medical tests:
“If I did this I would be trying to prolong my life under medical supervision for the rest of my life. Thank you, but I would rather die much earlier than follow such a course… My formula is to stay well and live as long as I can, in moderate health and vigor. If I cannot stay well by a normal diet and temperate living, the sooner I did, the better for me and the society of which I am a member.”
Why be vegetarian:
“For every possible reason, but primarily ethical. George Bernard Shaw always answered the same question by another: ‘How can you justify the disgusting habit of consuming animal carcasses?’ We know of no valid reason for eating flesh. The rotting carcasses are full of diseases and poisons. Raw fruits and vegetables and nuts are vital and clean if organically grown. A vegetarian diet is simpler, more economical, and kinder.”
