Being Authentic

I really like this quote from one of my favourite books by Charles Eisenstein, The Yoga of Eating:

“A discrepancy between what we eat and who we are in the world generates a kind of tension, which is resolved either when the diet moves back in line with the person’s incarnate role, or when the person’s entire life changes to come into harmony with the new diet.

Force, that is, will power, can hold diet and being apart, but not forever. The tension will build, in the form of intense cravings, aversion, and eventually, physical illness. The body speaks its message louder and louder trying to get what it needs, even as it does its best to function with those needs unfulfilled.”

This continues on with the type of message that I try to put across, and that is that health is much, much more than just what we eat, and that there are many other influences impacting who we are and how we choose to live.

We can’t just think that changing our diet is going to be the total answer to living a full, happy, healthy life. If we have been craving certain foods, eating out of boredom, eating junk because we are too busy to prepare healthy food etc – until the issues underlying those habits are addressed, (as Charles says above), will power will only work for so long.

Which means that ultimately to change our diet means a re-evaluation of who we are. Isn’t that great?  So when we want to refine our eating habits, first we need to look within and get to know ourselves a little better.  To try to understand what it is driving our habits and to see how we might be able to fulfill our true needs, rather than using food as a substitute.

And that is always a very positive thing to do 🙂

Leisa