Pre-Parenthood

6 years ago, I was 21 years old working in a bar & grill, flipping burgers and dropping chicken wings in a deep fryer. I wasn’t in college, but I was college age in the college part of downtown. Which meant, I went out drinking nearly every night, and if I didn’t go out, which was rare, I stayed in to drink. At the time, my current idea of healthy eating was to put a couple pieces of lettuce on my plain cheese burger. Midway through my 21st year, the long nights of binge drinking, cigarette smoking, ganja toking, and eating a fast food, deep fried diet living were starting to catch up with me. I had always been active in sports growing up, but due to severe digestive organ pains and a slow, steady upturn in my body fat %, I could hardly run a mile without being exhausted.

I went to have the stomach issues checked out, as there were visible bulges appearing on my groin and in lower stomach. I couldn’t lift more than 20-25lbs without immense discomfort and pain in my groin. The doctor suggested that I had two hernias and that surgery was the best option. Having no insurance meant that if I opted for surgery, it would be coming out of my own pocket. I just couldn’t imagine the tip jar at the bar ever supporting such a surgery, so I resolved to deal with the discomfort, thinking, “I’ll find some way to handle this soon.”

It was soon after, that I received even more profound news from my girlfriend at the time and now partner, Meagan; I was to become a father.

Damn.

There goes my plan to live horribly irresponsibly, drinking and smoking all day, partying all night.

It’s funny how situations, which initially seem so daunting and life threatening, can so often promote such phenomenal growth in a condensed period of time. The advent of my fatherhood was one of these circumstances. I faced this opportunity to grow and to learn, and now my family and I reap the rewards of great health and high energy.

Post-Parenthood, The Learning Phase

Is there ever enough time to feel completely prepared as a parent?

No. (And I’m 98.67% certain that my unconscious is not playing tricks on me, in a vain attempt to self soothe my shortcomings as a parent)

As I began taking on the role of father, my eyes starting blinking open and flickers of truth would shine in. Now, I would constantly find areas where I find I could be better. I’d see areas where if I were more adept my children would be better equipped to succeed in the world. I could notice weaknesses and poor habits that I don’t want to burden and cripple my child with.

Our son, Dakarai was still just a baby. I knew he would grow fast. But I also knew he would pick up our family’s tendencies and form habits even faster. Time wasn’t particularly on my side, and guilt wasn’t going to better my son’s life. I recognized I would have a difficult time tackling all of my shortcomings. So, I picked the one that I thought was most basic, essential and within my capacity to affect immediately; what foods went into our mouths.

It is such a basic question, yet it eluded me throughout my life up until that point; “What do you put into a child’s mouth for optimal health?”

It seemed no sooner had I formulated the question that the answer materialized, while at a chiropractor’s office, in the form of a video about raw foods. That video opened up a whole new world to me and led me down a path that would have me meet and train with world class athletes and pioneers in the field of health.

I started eating more whole, fresh, raw fruits and vegetables and my health began to steadily improve, along with my energy levels.

I undertook an extensive internship in Costa Rica and enrolled in a Natural Health Practitioner college program. I thoroughly tore through reams of books searching for the optimal way of maintaining each of the various aspects of health I had discovered. Incorporating other healthful practices, on top of the radical change in dietary choices, resulted in a rapid acceleration in my rejuvenation.

Current Health/Energy Status

 

I now consider myself exceptionally healthy and chock full of energy. Others may call me an ultra marathoner, as I enjoy ‘very long’ runs and have participated in 50 mile and up races. I also enjoy playing with friends; tennis, soccer, basketball, golf, hockey, skiing, frisbee, very amateur parkour and even such sports as underwater hockey.

Sickness doesn’t know my name any longer and it has been essentially over 5 years since I’ve taken a ‘sick’ day off of work (or life).  My digestive issues are resolved and I delight in my food more than ever. Chronic and persistent acne, that bothered me since prepubescence, finally subsided (without the need for steroidal drugs). Even my self confidence proportionately rose alongside my level of vitality.

Only when I have the joy of attending certain food and fitness events will I encounter others that approach the energy levels I exude. Even living in a city so proud of its athletic prowess, at nearly every park I go to with my children, I am one of the few parents actively playing. Which is a shame, and one of the main impetuses for the creation of High Energy Parenting.

It’s not as if parents don’t want to be upbeat and clear headed, play wholeheartedly with their kids, start creative businesses or pursue their passions. It is that parents simply don’t have the energy to do these things.

And more importantly they don’t know how to regain and sustain high energy levels.

And most importantly, if they do happen to discover how to manage their energy levels, they rarely know how to be happy about doing it.

So Why Am I Doing This?

I want to see high levels of health, vitality, creativity and joy become the ‘norm’. I’m sick and tired of seeing kids too fat to run (that’s just plain not fair to that child’s health or experience of life) and I’m fed up with seeing parents clearly overweight, feeling burned out, in a daze, missing their own creative opportunities in life and missing out on precious time with their children. I began talking to parents head on about this issue and realized that there is a lot of misinformation floating around about health & weight management and also there is a severe lack of explicit, comprehensive methods for living a high energy life, attaining and maintaining your ideal weight, and balancing work, family, and social life.

So, I am taking away the excuses. I will provide the template. I aim to clear away the foggy notions and give clear cut answers, techniques, and solutions for parents to enjoy high levels of energy with a trim, healthy body, a sharp mind, and a carefree smile.

Come On, Why Are You REALLY Doing This?

Ok, I’ll share my truly selfish reason.

I’ll tell you what I want, what I dream about.

I want to live in a community of 50-100 people, whom embrace a high energy lifestyle, share a similar philosophy and constantly aspire to enjoy each day to the fullest. I dream of waking up everyday surrounded by parents who revel in vigorous play, take pleasure in simple, healthy foods, appreciate positive, peaceful communication and who are passionate about creating useful and/or inspiring pieces of work.

My current dream consists of an entirely sustainable community, requiring no outside electricity, water, or food.

Does that mean I want to live in a remote jungle devoid of outside contact and technology?

NO WAY!

I fully relish the immense capacity for connection the internet offers, the exponential growth curve of technology, and am definitely not going to stop promoting a message of peace and health in favor of seclusion. (And I’m certainly still going to enjoy blending up my smoothie in a Vitamix and watching a TEDx talk.) I simply want to enjoy all the joys of modern technology in a sustainable, responsible way. The Earthship design meets this standard.

An Earthship meets provides heat, electricity, and water in a sustainable fashion. That means no heating/cooling bill, no gas/electric bill, no water bill; and yet I still get to enjoy full connectedness to the world through the internet and satellite. Food is taken care of through the creation of permaculture based food forests. If you haven’t heard of or seen food forests yet, find the time to search the term on YouTube and have a look. Food forests provide a super abundance of produce, with ever decreasing amounts of human effort/involvement required, after the initial forest growth stages.

Imagine a place where anywhere children turn they have fantastic examples of human health, intelligence, compassion, industriousness, creativity, integrity, and responsibility to family, animals, and planet.

I am hoping that through the sharing of the information and methods on High Energy Parenting, a community a real world community of parents will form and bring to fruition this dream of mine, and perhaps yours.

~ Kevin Cosmo