Saying no.

 I love a key point Doctor Gabor Mate makes,

that if we do not say no, our bodies would say it for us with illnesses.

That one sentence says so much.

I learned how to say no years ago.

At an annual doctor's visit, my primary care doctor told me,

"You do not have to do anything you do not want to."

Those words were so powerful, the following day, 

when a boater invited me to join her for a movie.

I asked her, what type?

Horror, she replied.

"No thanks," I told her, "I do not watch horror movies."

She was so shocked, I can still remember the expression on her face.

Until then, I never said no to anything she suggested.

And that was a start.

Through the years, I learned how to say no.

Hence when I came across Doctor Gabor Mate's words,

It struck a core in me.