Fundamentalists

This week we had some Mormon missionaries visit our house. Now, I come from an evangelical background which taught that Mormons are a cult of Christianity and their theology deviates enough that we can't call them true Christians. We had an obligation to proselytize them to come out of their belief system and step into ours. I would feel nervous talking to them. I felt like I had to criticize their organization while defending what I believed. Being non-confrontational, it was very difficult for me to step into this role.

Fast-forward past the deconstruction of my orthodox Christian faith and now I have a much different perspective. I now believe in a concept called universalism, which basically affirms that everyone will eventually find themselves back into an unconditional loving relationship with God (Source, the Universe, the Light... fill in your favorite term). I can respect anyone's journey and rest assured that they're in good hands. I have no need to get another person to think like I do because eventually I will be in a loving community with all humans.

Now, I see people with different belief systems as my brothers and sisters. Fellow humans following a path of growth. I much more prefer open-ended conversations in the hopes that I'll learn something from their journey that can help me on mine. No need to defend my beliefs and preach to the world. Why bother with that? I would much rather live the light than talk about the right way of living the light.

I think the same thing applies to my fitness journey. You go online and you find many, MANY different opinions on diets and exercise routines. So many conflicting perspectives. Which is right? I've come to the conclusion that there is no one right way to get healthy. We are all different souls living in different bodies. What works for you doesn't necessarily work for me, and visa versa.

All we can do is share our experiences so far and try to experiment. Word to the wise, though. What I've experienced is that if something is too good to be true, it probably is. For me, I've settled on taking the slow, inside-out approach. I want my health journey to encompass everything - physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. I don't want to starve myself or go on some extreme, unsustainable program that's going to provide immediate results without also developing the habits to keep the results. Definitely slower, but more rewarding, in my opinion.

So, where does that leave me with "evangelizing" my approach to fitness? For one thing, I haven't hit my goals, so I'm still figuring out what works for me. But once I dial that in, sure, I can share what I've done. But, in no way would I prescribe my approach to someone. That's part of the fun. Getting to know what makes us tick. Learning to appreciate our incredible bodies for what they are.

I suppose I would say I'm more holistic that fundamentalist in most things, including faith and fitness. Look for what works for you and follow that.

Up a pound.