I was watching Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and was reminded how intense Lord Voldemort’s desire was to find the stone that would bring him back to full health and strength. While I was watching this movie I started to make a connection between the Sorcerer’s Stone and our everyday lives. If you will allow me to make a comparison between a fictional villain and our lives, I think I can show you how we may be searching for our own Sorcerer’s Stone and not even realizing it.

We all desire health, vitality, energy, and a quality life, but are we taking full advantage of a proven source of health—physical activity? Or are we relying on pills, surgery and medicine to keep us healthy?

According to a study conducted by the Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee, people who are physically active (150 minutes per week or more) live longer than those who live a sedentary life. They are also less likely to be on poor health related medication and suffering from diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Another encouraging finding was that people who were sedentary but
began to be physical active either reversed or delayed the onset of poor health related conditions like high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Unfortunately, I’ve seen members of my extended family fall into the category of “pill poppers” and rely on surgery and medication to keep them healthy. Of course I value and appreciate all that modern medicine offers us, but at some point we also need to take responsibility for our own health. If we want a long and healthy life, we need to work for it by eating a balanced diet and getting exercise. Otherwise, we are like Lord Voldemort, searching for a quick fix to compensate for our poor choices.

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