March 27, 2007    Eric, Another Hero

GREETINGS AND SALUTATIONS from Arnold's Way!

It is on one of those dark Monday mornings, where you lie in bed awake, and if you are a writer, thoughts of what to write come dancing in your head. It is on such a Monday morn, I awoke almost startled, almost confused, but most importantly, I was determined. I was determined to write about someone who I think is important, not only for the sake of their well being, but more importantly, as a way to share that wisdom with others. On this particular morn my head was on a vibrational roll with three people, three heroes, three success stores that I thought were worthy to write about. I lie in my bed for almost an hour thinking and rethinking of who would I write about. How sick is that? It is like I have an obsessive compulsive personality which is totally enraptured by the whole process of a raw food lifestyle. It is like my whole belief system is based on the fact that a raw food lifestyle cannot only change our selves, but more importantly the world’s vibrational energy. It is like every breath, every word, and every thought is based on purity and excellence for our selves, for this county, for our children, and for their children. To think that we, as a country, as a people, no longer have to fear cancer, heart disease, and crime on the street. And I'm thinking that we, as a country, have the indomitable right to be free of illness and disease. It is at this point that I realized that I am either a total wacko or truly a Monday morning writer from the tip of my head to the souls of my feet. Imagine thinking and thinking for over an hour about the subject of your story. Imagine waking up before the sun, before the light and literally having a mental war thinking about who I should pick for this week's focus. In my particular case, it was not an easy decision. In my particular case, after wrestling for an hour, I made my decision. I chose Eric, not because he was the best looking of the three, and not because he had accomplished the most. It was because, at this particular moment in time, I knew Eric the longest.

Eric is one of those shining knights who understands what raw food can do, and is not afraid to share his success with anybody who enters his path. He shares his success story with his employees, his family, his neighbors, and with all of his business contacts. He understands on that level, and that he, too, is on a mission. Eric understands that he, too, has no choice in the matter but to spread the value of changing one’s lifestyle to a mostly raw food diet. Eric knows the other side of what can happen when one doesn’t change their lifestyle. What I am trying to say is that vibrant Hollywood looking and physically fit Eric wasn’t always that way. I first met Eric about 10 years ago. He was slightly pudgy, slightly skeptical, and most of all, in total back pain all the time. It was to the point where there were some days he could not even get out of bed because his back pain was so severe. Eric was doing everything he could to alleviate the pain. He tried Chiropractors. He tried the medication they prescribed for him. He tried over and over a hundred different methods. It got to the point that Eric almost saw no hope his back pain. It had gotten so severe, so debilitating that he was almost ready to do anything to change his situation. Two years of suffering was enough. It was on such a moment that Eric, a somewhat customer of my Manayunk store, attended one of our monthly lectures, given by Loren Lockman. Loren spoke on the simplicity of raw food, the simplicity of fasting, and the simplicity of why a raw food lifestyle makes so much sense. Loren spoke about eating mostly fruit and leafy greens since they are nutrient dense and easy to digest. He spoke about the fact that once you cook food, the very life force of the food is destroyed. Loren spoke about his fasting center, and how patient after patient, once they gave up their medication, once they changed to a mostly fruit and leafy green diet with some nuts and went on an extended 21 day fast, that whatever illness they were suffering from, simply disappeared. Eric was all ears. He felt he had nothing to lose. After the class, he gradually changed his lifestyle. He gradually became a mostly organic fruit and leafy green eater. Eric felt that he had no choice in the matter. He didn’t want to be debilitated for the rest of his life. He didn’t want to be dependant on the medical world forever and ever. At the time, he was a bachelor, and he knew deep down that if he didn’t get better, the next step would be a hospital bed at age 45. He was simply too young to be bed ridden for the rest of his life.

My friends, what I am saying is, that you can either take charge of your life, or you can allow someone else to do it. There is no gray, no right, or wrong in the matter. It is just a simple decision to make in each moment of what you want, and who will be responsible for your health. It's that simple and that pure. Each week I write of another hero, another person, and of another illness that simply disappeared once they took charge of their moment to moment decisions where their health was concerned. Eric became a Raw Foodist. He lost 50 lbs He became so strong, so fit, and to the women who see him, so good looking. He is making a difference not only to himself but to all those around him. He could not do enough for others. He could not share enough to his workers. They are now all raw, from a young girl who was overweight and depressed all the time, to his other employee who had Type II Diabetes; Eric changed not only their lives, but their family's lives. It is not unusual for Eric, week after week, for Eric to buy 10 books, and hand them out to anybody he meets. Eric wants to become a warrior of peace and harmony. He understands that if the world is going to rid itself of pain and suffering, it starts with one person, one moment, and with one good deed at a time. Eric is now giving classes at the Mount Airy Learning Center in Philly about raw food. He tells his story to everybody, and I do mean everybody, about how the power of changing one's lifestyle can change not only their world, but all of their loved ones as well. It is on this note that I salute Eric, and to all of my other heroes, I will write your story in due time.

I thank you for your time.

Arnold