Last Friday, I gave my two week notice that I was not returning to my job once my maternity leave was over. It was a good job. With good coworkers. And good pay. With fully paid benefits (read: medical and dental coverage.) In the middle of a deep recession.
I know you might be thinking, "Are you insane?" I thought it myself a few times. Let's face it, people are having a pretty hard time finding jobs. Medical coverage is getting pretty hard to come by, and I had it so easily. But I had to go with my gut, on several counts. One, we have two children under two years old. They don't stay small forever, and I want to spend more time with them. Two, while it was a great job, I wasn't doing what I was passionate about. So now, I am trying to both make money doing something I love, and be with my kids all day. It is so far proving to be difficult but not impossible. Where there is a will, there is a way, right?
But what about the medical coverage? Well, I have been mulling this over for some time, even before I came to the conclusion I would quit my well-paying-job-with-benefits. Lately, medical insurance is a hot topic, both in and out of politics. Who should pay when you get sick is what it boils down to, and people seem to be on one of two sides of the fence. I think we are missing a big part of the picture, though. Instead of looking at sickness as inevitable, as something that only increases with age, and focusing on how to pay for that sickness, why don't we look at ways to prevent it, and put more money to that end? It seems simple enough to me, and yet there is an ongoing debate and our country is divided over this. There are new studies out everyday showing the power of various plants in our diet, and yet, of current government food subsidies, only 0.4% goes to fruit and vegetables, while 74% goes to meat, dairy and eggs. (Only 13% is for grains, 11% for sugar, oil, and alcohol, and a tiny 2% for nuts and legumes.) Essentially the government encourages a diet based on meat/dairy, thereby encouraging the diseases related to that diet. (http://www.onegreenplanet.org/lifestyle/tax-time-and-time-to-re-imagine-our-broken-food-system/)
In my mind, we can't count on the government, either to help pay for the prevention or the treatment of disease. It is up to us. I truly believe many illnesses are preventable (some even curable) with diet. Specifically, a plant-based diet.
Now, I am not advocating going without medical coverage (and we personally won't be.) But I am taking this opportunity to look at our family's health in a new way. We are doing everything in our power to stave off any possible illnesses with nutrition, and we are seeing excellent results already. And I want to give that opportunity and knowledge to others.
If you are interested in changing your diet and life (a lot or a little) I am here to help! Whether you want to become raw, vegan, or you just want to introduce healthier options to your diet, even if you are not trying to stop meat/dairy consumption, I can help you make those changes. Until then, I will be posting bits of information here :).
Stefania
www.revitalizewithstefania.com
thanks for giving the % allocation of monies. i was not aware. i couldn't agree w/you more on everything, esp the disease factor. between unhealthy diets, pesticides, and genetically modified food, it's hard for our historically organic bodies to compete. my job currently entails environmental monitoring to protect the aquifer of our groundwater. nassau county has ONE person "handling" this issue. as a result, that person doesn't even have time to go out and assess sites in person; instead he has to "get around" to reviewing lab data, of course, hoping all of the protocol was followed when the samples were taken. his dept. was decimated by the budget crisis that county is going through, and suffolk doesn't look any better with its outlook. it's amazing that officials whom we elect to provide services to keep us safe then reneg and claim public services need to be compromised b/c they do not want to raise taxes by $2. as a result, our cancer scares and other neurological/endocrine diseases will become more pervasive and we will trust doctors to fight chemicals with more chemicals in a reactive fashion, rather than being proactive and preventing these contaminants from getting into the drinking water in the first place. i think it's an awesome, integral service that your providing. truly inspirational and philanthropic. keep up your work!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the comment! It is so nice to know I am not the only one who feels this way, and also nice to know someone is reading! Our water system is another thing that bugs me- once you have polluted your drinking water, it is near impossible to bring it back! And even if the water to your house is public (not well water) and the government does a good job of monitoring the quality, the pipes running it to houses are ancient!
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