Be One With Your Body, Don’t be Like Young Gabriel

I carried my big tray of cups and dishes back towards the kitchen, impressed with myself that I carried such a big load. I was feeling good and thinking to myself, “I am a world’s top 5 busboy”. I pushed the swinging kitchen door open. Two policemen said “Gabriel, can you put down all those dishes [they were impressed too] and please come to the main office”. My brain started thinking of all the things I had done wrong. Is this because I tried to kill my brother when he sneezed on my breakfast and tossed it in the sink or because I would pretend to have diarrhea so I was late for my tutor every week? Did they know I drank a beer at Lindsey's party (even though I didn’t enjoy it and I don’t even like Lindsey)? Or that I would hide a cup of Pepsi next to the ledge of the dishwasher station because I could always pretend it wasn’t mine and it was going in the dishwasher? (They only had Pepsi products because they were cheap and got a crazy good deal.) Or, worst of all, if this is because someone at Mamma Mia’s found out I ate excessive amounts of breadsticks while pretending to load up the baskets, then clearly it wasn’t worth it.

When I went to the office, the police started immediately. Gabriel, did you ever spend any time in the back behind Mamma Mia’s? Um no, should I have gone back there? Were you aware that Chris, Stacy, Luis, James, Tyler, head dishwasher Oscar, and Sally front-of-house spent a lot of time in the back? Isn’t that everyone? Yes, but I don’t smoke so I stayed in front and ate a lot of breadsticks. (Came clean, couldn’t handle the pressure.)

Quickly I found out that 99% of the fine fellows who worked at Mamma Mia’s (a very, very average and over-priced Italian restaurant in St. Louis) were selling very large amounts of cocaine behind the restaurant. Gabriel being the 1% who not only wasn’t selling drugs (probably should have been), had no clue this was going down. Of course now it all made sense. The waiters all had very nice cars, Oscar had a Mr. T amount of gold necklaces and full gold grill and Stacy was always in a new outfit when she got into her red Porsche and Sally front-of-house with her $6.75 hourly wage was always vacationing and talking about how every day was a spa day.

So why am I telling you about the Pablo Escobars/Tony Montanas of Mamma Mia’s?

We all have to pay more attention. Don’t be 16-year-old-Gabriel. I have so many patients who come in and don’t connect to the signs their bodies are giving them. 

Chinese medicine is all about paying attention to your own system. Your energy, bowels, urination, sleep, emotions, tongue and pulse. These are amazing diagnostic tools that tell you everything about your body. Don’t ignore physical or emotional issues. Unless you’re a 7-year-old, ailments need consistent treatment, rest and attention. 

Acupuncture is amazing at addressing both physical and emotional problems. Often, physical issues are a repercussion of stress/anxiety showing its imprint on the body. Get regular acupuncture, take regular herbs. Don’t come in and say “Gabriel, I can't feel my whole arm,” or “Gabriel, I can't control my bowels,” or “Gabriel, I have been sick 5 times in the last month.”

Don’t wait until you’re a disaster. Take consistent care of yourself and pay attention to what's going on with your system, and don't eat an excessive amount of breadsticks.