By MELISSA HART
Truth in the Trenches 

Imagine yourself waking up in the morning, stumbling to the kitchen and standing at the coffeemaker waiting for your first cup to finish brewing – but the coffeemaker isn’t plugged in.

And, when you run out of patience to wait for the coffee, you decide to head to the barn to do chores and wait for the lights to come on – but they don’t because you haven’t flipped the switch.

Or imagine picking up the hair dryer and trying to dry your hair, but it’s not on because you didn’t plug it in. Or wrapping your hair up in a curling iron only to have it come out flat because the curling iron isn’t plugged in.

Imagine your frustration when you go back into the kitchen for that cup of coffee you didn’t get earlier and continuing to stand and stare at the coffeemaker, waiting … and staring … and waiting.

Ridiculous, right? No one in their right mind would stand and stare at a coffeemaker to make coffee knowing it wasn’t plugged in. Or try to dry their hair with a silent hair dryer, right? But we do this every single day.

We wake up without enough sleep, we work through the day without the right nutrition and we try to solve problems without the right resources. The margins in our life are stretched to the limit, and our bodies are compensating for our lack of exercise and good nutrients.

We spend the rest of our time taking a pill, drinking another cup of coffee or popping a top on a cold one in order to wake up, feel better or take the edge off.

When are we going to tap into the power source of taking care of our bodies, minds and souls?

I know; I sound like some nutritional guru or someone who’s trying to sell you some magic shake or perfect blend of natural goodies, but I’m not. I’ve just come to the conclusion that if we aren’t going to exercise regularly, we are going to feel sluggish and dull. And if we aren’t going to eat fewer calories in moderation, in combination with a balanced diet, then we can expect to feel dopey, grumpy, sleepy or sneezy – anything but happy – and then we are going to need Doc.

We have so much knowledge at our disposal and untapped intelligence. We need the powerful combination of discernment, discipline and tenacity to make life-changing decisions, put margins around our lives and live the life we were created to live. Taken one step at a time, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish when you tap into the Power source, free for the taking.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Melissa Hart may write to her in care of this publication.