Wednesday Wellness: Self-Reliance

I’m not sure I ever considered health an aspect of self-reliance, but the more I learn about it and the healthier I become, the more I am convinced it has everything to do with self-reliance!
I was thinking about self-reliance this morning and the phrase “use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.” So I did a search to discover where it came from. It emerged during the post World War era and Great Depression and has since become a wise adage. In my search I discovered this wonderful talk by former General Relief Society counselor Silvia H. Allred that she gave during a BYU Women’s Conference entitled “Principles of Self-Reliance”. She discusses emergency preparation, money management, food storage, and then she talks about physical fitness and good nutrition!
There are many reasons why I believe we have been commanded to be healthy, and self-reliance is as good a reason as any. Being capable of providing for ourselves and our families in good health and physical agility whether in times of safety or emergency is crucial. I believe preparing for an emergency should include daily exercise just as much as it should include having a 72-kit or a year supply of food or a financial reserve or a solid education. It requires just as much discipline and patience as we add upon it daily, weekly, monthly, and annually to be capable and prepared. Being self-sufficient takes hard work! It is exhausting to prepare meals, fix things, care for children, or do the work to maintain a home! Having the physical capacity to keep up makes it that much easier.
I hope you can check out Sister Allred’s article. It is a good guide to self-reliance. And as for that wise adage, the principle applies to our bodies and minds: “use it, or lose it.”
Check out this video. For fun.