[Klara]

so glad to see you on the forum again, azulparsnip. Thank you for your care. Since my dad died I've been going through alot of different stages - and also added that since then a friend (who loved mb and I don't know how much it might have helped her) and my mother-in-law has since died. The stage I'm at right now is not the sadness of the absence of others, but rather the starkness that we all get there, so what exactly is our purpose here. Somehow just to keep disease at bay is not enough. Of course, life without disease is much more enjoyable, so to those in that challenge, it is crucial.

But thank G-d I think I am healthy (who knows what's going on inside) and I think alot now of what exactly am I supposed to be doing to make my life meaningful.

We all, including me, am very impressed by hearing of people who live to a nice ripe old age, and most especially if they are healthy (what do you mean when you say he is healthy?? how come he needed to hire you??). Most especially after my father died, I thought alot of what he left me, in ways that still aren't all clear to me, things he taught me, by trying to explain, but mostly by example of his life - what have I taken from him and made my own - it was funny, at the beginning I had this need to cook Hungarian foods and try to remember how my mother cooked them, then I realized I enjoy the mb foods and I don't have to stay stuck in my childhood foods, even if that's what I feel connects me to them (my mother passed away in 2000).

So now my thoughts often are what am I doing that's important - what of me will remain when I'm gone - what have I given over to my children? and often I also think how much do I need to know if there's an afterlife?

Those kinds of thoughts.

Does the man you work for give you life's wisdoms he has acquired over his lifetime???

And I totally agree this mystery of life is way beyond food. Michio Kushi believes food is the basic foundation and from there we build. But as you pointed out, not everyone eats this way and still live out a healthy long life. When I have this conversation with others, the answer usually is, but these people (those in their 80's and 90's) had a much better foundation than children of today. In their youth they didn't have so much processed foods, and most all of their meals were home cooked, eaten in the warmth of being with family members. If my math is right, the man you are working for was born in 1913 and lived his tender years during war times and also during Depression years - there wasn't a great amount of food around I imagine, and people couldn't overeat I'm guessing like today, and for certain not at all these instant food places.

If you look at how macrobiotics is described, it is considered an ART - meaning it's not that scientific, but rather seems to be based alot on intuition, doing what seems right to the person at the time. otoh, there's plenty out there to show that alot of what people are eating today just can't possibly be good for the body - today we do what's easier rather than what's better.

Bottom line I guess is how you yourself feel after whatever it is you eat, no??

Klara