Well Fed
There are many reasons for making nutritional changes: boredom, weight loss, reflection, a much-needed rest for the digestive system, health-related issues and conditions, curiosity, spiritual or religious, or because a friend or family member is doing it alongside with you. The reason for undertaking such an endeavor can be a generous motivator throughout the change until we all realize that the core motivation is that we are all wanting or needing to change the way in which we are fed. What was working, no longer is. Something had to change and the desire for change was far greater than maintaining the status quo.
On Day 21 of Whole30, I reflect on how, in general, I bounce back and forth within the cycle of feeding fear to being fed up with doing it to realizing that there is a well inside me that is already Well Fed. Food is a medium for journeying deeper within and is the mirror for how one feels about oneself and the world, which is always one and the same. Food is not a vice or an enemy, but a teacher and servant. And food is not the bane of any existence but an invitation to abide in the body and in life more fully and healthfully. In so many words, there is no reason to have beef (pun intended) with food. Who we always end up contending with is ourselves but food gets the bad rap, as we use it as a protector and as a means for transferring our suffering. But such conclusions could not be made unless we did not dare to make a change in our sacred food habits.
In Week 3, I have prepared 15 new recipes, throughout Whole30 alone I have tried 33, and each one has been welcomed surprise and taste exploration; full of flavor with all the nutrients a body could need. Feeling sensations of cravings between meals or just after a meal cannot be justified, as there is no way I could say it is because I have not been Well Fed. I have been more than Well Fed. I have always had enough nourishing food before me. But what I have noticed is that what is asking for my attention is the way in which I am feeding my heart and energy, leaving real hunger for that which is beyond what edible food can provide: Am I talking kindly to myself in those silent moments throughout the day? Am I giving my body the rest it needs? Am I giving my mind the nourishment it is asking for with stimulating books and conversation? Am I giving myself the gift of just being and doing absolutely nothing? Am I nourished by how I serve the world?
Food can be the means of identifying what else in life is asking to be changed. It no longer needs to serve as a distraction but a call for deeper awareness. Are we listening?
Naturally during the winter our bodies want more rest. Although we live in an overstimulating world, our bodies are still in a constant rhythm with Mother Nature and desire the sense of hibernation during this time of year. Yet, we often do not listen and end up playing tricks on ourselves to keep up the pace when we really would benefit from a pause in the madness. During this time of year, we also believe food is the means for satiating our need for hibernation but we would be wrong in that too. The body’s metabolism actually slows down in the winter and we should be eating lighter and less, however we usually find ourselves eating heavier foods and more of it. All outcomes that could be avoided if we but only listened and realized how well fed we already are from food and that what we really desire is something beyond it.
If we are craving for more, why not try giving more love to ourselves, first? There is an energetic body that feeds the physical one and it is in that space where we find that there is an endless well of nourishment. All we need is to tap into this source through breath and awareness. The abundance of the sun is not just in our solar system but also in our own Souler System. We are what we have been craving for. It is our own attention we hunger for and it is by our love and light that we are Well Fed. Thus, explore what truly feeds your heart and soul and notice how you are already the Source of your nourishment. Journey from being fed by fear to fed up to, finally, Well Fed. Namaste.