The drive to know possibly has something to do with my seven decades. It has, though, for a good long time, been a quite-intense-work-in-progress* — made so much easier with the accessibility of the internet. I remember stressing on my students — time and time again — that, with this tool, they had a wonderful free gift of knowledge right in front of them,  and all they had to do was unwrap it. Be curious, read, research, dig, question, study, learn, cross-reference, reject, start again, …. I told them there was no excuse to be in the dark about anything. The responsibility to look for the answers, however, was theirs alone. Thankfully, my retirement has given me the opportunity to continue to fulfill my responsibility and be a life-long-learner.

What I’m learning these days is very exciting: it wakes me up early — that way I have more time to read and study and understand; it keeps me endlessly searching, and researching, and buying and reading more books and scientific journals; it drives me to follow more Tweeters and Instagram-ers and bloggers; it seems to connect all the dots and give my life more focus.

Ultimately, I am determined to know The Truth. I cannot just believe. And there is so much to learn that I fear I am going to run out of time or energy. In today’s world, we cannot blindly trust the myopic, twisted or biased view of any media — mainstream or social alike. I am heedful of being scammed, and see that the only way to avoid it is to do my own thinking and then draw my own conclusions. Even when it is intimidating or even potentially risky to do so.

My first rebellious foray into acting-on-my-own-discoveries-of-Truth was when, ten years ago, I adopted a low-carb/high healthy fats way of eating. I totally bucked the mainstream food guides and, like many other brave souls, joined the “Paleo” gang. I did it in the face of all kinds of opposition/criticism/astonishment and ridicule from my family, friends and colleagues. (One astute critic commented that, “Five years ago you were all Gung Ho about The Zone!” ) Well, yes, maybe, but so what? Live and learn! 😉

Further, I not only did my own thing, and lost my 30 plus pounds, and became healthier, but I also talked about it and shared the Truth as I then saw it. If you are interested you can read more about that adventure here: Sunflower Girls Blog

This was and is an ongoing journey as more and more nutritionists and scientists share their Truth about food on social media and in scientific journals. Check out, for example, in random order, Professor Timothy Noakes, Nina Teicholz, Marika Sboros, Dr. Gary Fettke, Dr. Robert Lustig, Gary Taubes, Dr. Malcom Kendrick, Travis Christofferson, to name only a few…. They are all rebels in their fields, and inspire me to continue seeking the Truth in the realm of health, nutrition and disease.

Moving on from my LFHC discovery, I continue to venture into many other fascinating and contentious areas including sun screens, cosmetics, cancer, gardening, fermented foods, bone broths, meat-eating, fibre, vaccinations, wild harvesting, composting, recycling, methane, pharmaceuticals, etc. And so the rebel road trip continues. I often encounter the money trail heading in the opposite direction.

These days I’m immersed in Professor Jordan B Peterson’s work: his 12 Rules of Life, and his much documented views on social justice and freedom of speech; gender equality and pronouns; …. It is fascinating and all-consuming. And thanks to Professor Peterson, I’ve become even more courageous about sharing my sometimes unconventional and unpopular opinions. I’ve also decided to take to heart his advice on thinking and telling the truth.

“When you have something to say, silence is a lie.” “In order to be able to think, you have to risk being offensive.” Jordan B Peterson quotes on Instagram.

So, with that in mind, I will share that I’ve also recently, but seriously, joined the ranks of the skeptics who question anthropogenic Climate Change. And, truth really be told, I’m edging towards denier.

What a fascinating world of politics and science!

• Some would call this an addiction. Maybe.