98 Marbles
In minds crammed with thoughts, organs clogged with toxins, and bodies stiffened with neglect, there is just no space for anything else.
Alison Rose Levy, health writer, journalist
I brought some brown rice into work and asked the chef to cook me a stir-fry with veggies and salmon for my cleanse. The chef said, “You don’t drink, you don’t smoke, you eat well, you’re not fat - what is there to cleanse?” “Toxins, sugar, and way too much bread” I answered. He shook his head - in his opinion, I was already clean, and “not fat” (whatever that means).
Many women in our society have an interesting relationship with food and our bodies. According to the documentary, MissRepresentation, 53% of 13 year-old girls are unhappy with their bodies. By the time they are 17, that number jumps to 78%. When I was in my teens, I was anorexic then bulimic but because of a grace greater than myself, somehow that dis-ease quit me. Yet at 85, when my father was dying because of his decision to abstain from food, I was surprised to have a dream where his emaciated self asked me the question, “When will you nourish yourself?” I awoke slightly confused, wondering two things: Why he was asking me; and how I could nourish myself any better than I already did without swinging to the extreme of becoming an organic food Nazi. Sure, I could eat more slowly, but I’ve come so far in my relationship with my food and my body.
This cleanse has made me conscious of how I tend to be less discerning about the emotions that I hold in my body. I hold onto so many toxic emotions and thoughts – anger, frustration, and judgment, loss, just to name a few. I wouldn’t think of sitting down and eating a tub of ice cream but somehow I allow the emotional equivalent into my space without even thinking about it.
I’m not quite sure of how to change this tendency of mine. If I were having an issue with food, I think first I’d observe my patterns, when I get triggered to eat, etc. So here with my negative thoughts and emotions, I need to observe the patterns and then decide how I can let go of what’s no longer healthy for me. Ultimately the goal is to walk in the world with an open heart.
In minds crammed with thoughts, organs clogged with toxins, and bodies stiffened with neglect, there is just no space for anything else.
Alison Rose Levy, health writer, journalist
I brought some brown rice into work and asked the chef to cook me a stir-fry with veggies and salmon for my cleanse. The chef said, “You don’t drink, you don’t smoke, you eat well, you’re not fat - what is there to cleanse?” “Toxins, sugar, and way too much bread” I answered. He shook his head - in his opinion, I was already clean, and “not fat” (whatever that means).
Many women in our society have an interesting relationship with food and our bodies. According to the documentary, MissRepresentation, 53% of 13 year-old girls are unhappy with their bodies. By the time they are 17, that number jumps to 78%. When I was in my teens, I was anorexic then bulimic but because of a grace greater than myself, somehow that dis-ease quit me. Yet at 85, when my father was dying because of his decision to abstain from food, I was surprised to have a dream where his emaciated self asked me the question, “When will you nourish yourself?” I awoke slightly confused, wondering two things: Why he was asking me; and how I could nourish myself any better than I already did without swinging to the extreme of becoming an organic food Nazi. Sure, I could eat more slowly, but I’ve come so far in my relationship with my food and my body.
This cleanse has made me conscious of how I tend to be less discerning about the emotions that I hold in my body. I hold onto so many toxic emotions and thoughts – anger, frustration, and judgment, loss, just to name a few. I wouldn’t think of sitting down and eating a tub of ice cream but somehow I allow the emotional equivalent into my space without even thinking about it.
I’m not quite sure of how to change this tendency of mine. If I were having an issue with food, I think first I’d observe my patterns, when I get triggered to eat, etc. So here with my negative thoughts and emotions, I need to observe the patterns and then decide how I can let go of what’s no longer healthy for me. Ultimately the goal is to walk in the world with an open heart.
What would it take to make the space in your mind, your organs, and your bodies so you could walk in the world with an open heart?
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