| Faith
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY
BY: MARVIN MATHEWS, M.DIV., LMFT
BY: MARVIN MATHEWS, M.DIV., LMFT
Native American brothers and sisters, there is an old saying “Use it or lose it!” There must be a nugget of truth in this adage or people would not comment on it from time to time. Observing creation and all of nature it appears that things were created for action. Everything is busy: bugs are busy breaking down soil; bees are busy pollinating plants; ants and birds are busy; plants are busy growing and reproducing; and people are bustling 24/7. Activity seems to keep our muscles and all other organs of the body strong and in good tone. I like to try to keep these profound truths simple. Therefore, I’m thinking that helping my wife with the work in our home is some of the best exercise we can engage in. Since we are retired, we spend most of our time side by side. In fact, I’ve observed by my own experience that if I have not kept myself physically fit, I will develop some serious back pain and pains in other parts of my body if I haven’t stayed active.
When we don’t stay active, we seem to grow weaker, and this seems to hold true for our intellectual, as well as our physical, health. Mental activity tends to produce and maintain healthy minds. Observation would indicate that this is also true for spiritual health. When I was just a boy, about nine years old, an Old Testament scripture caught my attention and I’ve been pondering it off and on for my entire life: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” Hosea 4:6, KJV.
Of course, doing useful labor outside is also very good exercise and tends to keep all of our muscle groups strong and in good tone. Gardening and farming can be most enjoyable and challenging as well, as we seek to learn how to grow an abundance of nutrient-dense, favorite fresh produce. In addition to these useful activities, taking hikes and going for walks is also most beneficial and enjoyable. Interacting with God’s created work in nature (the trees, the flowers, the birds and their songs, and the pretty blue sky) is some of the very best and most invigorating recreation that we can experience, not to mention that the fresh air and sunshine are also invigorating. We keep our home windows open as much as possible to allow an abundance of fresh air and sunshine in, thus making housework even healthier and more enjoyable.
30
|
A M E R I C A N I N D I A N & A L A S K A N AT I V E L I V I N G
We gain a knowledge of the Creator through a study of nature, of God’s created works. This includes observing and studying how the human body works. Our bodies are bio-electro-chemical machines and they function according to natural laws, the laws of human physiology. Experienced health care workers and those who practice our traditional ways know these laws will help us to maintain and even restore our health.
