The Exploration Begins

About me

Hi! My name is Marie. My blog “Article 25” will chronicle my journey, discoveries and growth in the Health Education and Active Living (HEAL) program. In my professional life I work with young children- helping them to grow, explore and give meaning to the world around them. In my personal life, I am a cook, cyclist, wife, friend, traveller, volunteer and much more. I live everyday being grateful for what I have in life.

Why Article 25?

Health is a basic human right, as stated in Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

“Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.”

As a child, I was aware that I enjoyed things that many others in my country and world did not. My parents did not gloss over famine, war or human rights violations. I had a loving family, a warm house, hand me down clothes, plenty of food and toys, clean water and a safe neighbourhood. As an adult, however, I came to truly understand the full meaning of my privileges when I worked and travelled outside of my hometown. In Mexico I worked with street children, teaching personal hygiene and some basic life skills. In Peru I learned that less truly can mean more. In Peru and Mexico I witnessed the systematic degradation of ancient cultures by western influences and the devastation that this is having on the populations. In the North, I learned what it meant to be embarrassed by the colour of my skin and that the colour of my skin afforded me certain privileges, even in my “developed” country. I learned that children went to the dump to get new toys. I learned from one child that if she wasn’t beaten by an adult that weekend, it was a good weekend. In all of these places I came to realize, despite my knowledge of being privileged, the selfishness with which I lived my life. I realized that without knowing it, I was projecting privilege. All of these experiences have had a formative role in shaping who I presently am. All around me I witness and have witnessed people who, for whatever reasons, have been denied basic human rights.  I strongly believe in the universal right to health and that if everyone could enjoy this right, then many other rights will also be honoured in the process. This is why I chose to call my blog “Article 25.”

The Personal

Knowing that I am privileged, I have vowed to take care of myself by maintaining a healthy lifestyle. I do this mainly by making healthy food choices, exercising, striving for balance between work and life and finding any excuse to spend time with family and friends.

I love food! Whether it is eating, cooking, baking, experimenting with it, reading about it or even just thinking about it, I love food. My husband and I believe in ethical and sustainable food choices and practices. We grow some of our own food, or eat what comes from my parents’ urban farm (as they like to call it.) We purchase local, organic food whenever possible and whenever not possible, we are forced to play the tricky game of making the most ethical and sustainable choice between the options. (For more on how to do this, read Marion Nestle’s What to Eat.) My husband and I are vegetarian and eat mainly whole foods.

I am interested in nutrition and have a developing understanding on the subject. (Although my father would have you believe I am an expert.)  I am on a constant quest to further my knowledge.

I began cycling quite by accident. I had been told by my doctor that running was damaging my body and that I should stop. After much sulking and dramatic displays of self-pity, I was asked by a friend if I wanted to be in a cycling race with her. That was the beginning of a new love. I was also inspired by my best friend who had just completed her second Iron Man competition. Cycling became something that my husband and I took up together and coupled with food, it embodies much of our relationship. I am a pathetic swimmer, but I hope to change that in the near future. I enjoy step and high-low aerobic exercise, some free weight exercise and have recently tried Tabata interval training. My rattlesnake joints believe in the healing influences of yoga but having what was once described to me as a “frolicky mind” I have yet to control the internal chatter. Outdoor exercise and being in the wild environment offer me as much of a mental as well as physical escape.

Why HEAL?

Because I work with children I am exposed to a wide spectrum of perceptions of health. A few years ago, I worked with a child new to the school and country. He was mute, timid, shy, and unresponsive to any interaction with either his peers or me. He didn’t smile. Due to social-economic reasons, his lunches consisted of white bread sandwiches with nothing between the slices. He was subsisting on nothing, and it was taking a devastating toll on his physical, mental and emotional health. He was saved by a health intervention- the subsidized lunch program. Months later, this child was flourishing. He had the strength to hold his head up in class, to focus on learning his letters, and to learn how to add. He could run around outside with his friends, playing and laughing with them. I was amazed at the drastic changes in him and his successes fuelled my passion for health and active living education.  I was angered that because a child is poor, he does not have access to the healthy lifestyle with which so many of us are privileged. I want to change that.

I have come to realize that I have been judgmental of other people’s health but after the discussions of the first two HEAL classes, I can already feel that judgement eroding and broader, more malleable and accepting understandings of health, wellness and balance beginning to develop.