I spent April in Chile, caring for my dad until his passing on April 25th. Julio Marin was born and raised in Chile. He brought us to the United States in 1963 to pursue better opportunities for this family.
I was born and raised in Chile for the younger part of my life. My ‘papi” gave me life twice. He gave me life by fathering me and my siblings, but he also gave me life when he discovered Macrobiotics as a dietary method to help me regain my health. He believed in the macrobiotic philosophy of balance, and food energetics as the answer to help reverse two incurable diseases that I had been suffering from since the young age of 15.
Crohn’s disease and Takayasu Arteritis are both medically incurable. The latter was predicted to be terminal before I reached the age of 30. It was my dad’s encouragement that kept me going at a time when I was exhausted and felt hopeless after suffering multiple hospital stays and medical treatments which side effects had me lifeless for seven years. I had already suffered a stroke at 19 and there wasn’t much more the medical world had to offer.
Macrobiotics made sense. It was about food choices and combinations that help the body heal. My dad was optimistic and relentless, even joining me in the journey to heal my body through a gentle natural system that helps bring it to homeostasis.
The rest, as many of you know, is history. Macrobiotics not only restored my health but also gave me a compass by which to live life vibrantly these past 40 years. This gift of knowledge has been passed to my children, and is now being passed to their children, and it all started with my dad believing there was another way.
We both benefitted from it. He proved it by living 96 healthy years. He drove, worked out at the Y, and visited his ten grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren at every opportunity he could.
When I ponder on the many things that I will miss about him, and there are many, the top two are his personal commitment to staying physically, mentally, and spiritually healthy so he could enjoy life to his fullest and the fact that he never settled for the “no,” and instead would figure out the “how.”
In that same spirit, I have moved through life, teaching people that there is always a way back to a healthy life. The body is a self-regulatory system. Once you learn your body’s health code, you learn how to self-care to maintain it.
In the classes I teach, you will learn to discover your personal health code through proper food choices, combinations, and cooking methods and to respect nature’s seasonal bounty. Focusing on the liver and gallbladder is important as we move through the spring season.
In this month’s Saturday cooking class, I will discuss what foods are best for cleansing and supporting healthy liver activity. The liver is one of the stronger working organs we have; it filters blood from toxins, regulates blood sugars, and manages cholesterol.
Join us on May 11th at 9.30 am for a deep dive into liver and gallbladder health management. Invite someone you know who could really benefit from the information and enjoy a delicious lunch. And, as a Mother’s Day special, “mothers” will receive 10% off all the services I offer for this month. Just mention that you read about the special in this newsletter.
Looking forward to seeing you.
~ Virginia
