Why do I do it?

Why is the urge to not accept good so strong? Silly little example, but so indicative of what I do all the time... last night as I got into bed it was like laying inside a cloud. The sheets were soft and the bed and pillow were perfectly supportive. And yet the urge to roll over onto my other side was so strong I could hardly resist.  Why? When I was perfectly positioned and incredibly comfortable? Why couldn't I just fall asleep in such bliss? Why did I feel the need to ruin it? Such self-sabotage is a very small thing, but I know I do it on a larger scale all the time. Why is so hard for some of us to believe that we really can have good?

Savoring the Moment

A few days ago I had a bit of an epiphany.  I had spent the day running around - cleaning, errands, workout... By the time I hit the shower that evening I was exhausted.  I was hot, sweaty, grimy, and basically too tired to even want to shower.  But soon the warm water and steam were changing my mind. I looked at all the products I use every day, barely noticing them... coconut shampoo, honey and almond conditioner, grapefruit and ginger body wash, olive body butter... it was like a spa at the beach! I took time to really savor each scent, to imagine that the warm water cascading over me was really a waterfall on a desert island.  It was the most relaxing ten minutes I've spent in a long time.   And I wondered.. how often do I ignore the blessings of each moment because I'm rushing through them?  I'm sure glad I didn't miss that amazing blessing, that wonderful, stress-busting moment!

Stepping up on the Soapbox for a minute

I have to share the experience I had at SuperTarget the other day, where I couldn't help but notice what the the girl in front of me in the checkout line was buying.  She looked to be in her mid-twenties and seemed fairly athletic.  The items I noticed her buying were:

"wheat" bread (not whole wheat, but that stuff that's basically white bread)
Pop-tarts
iceberg lettuce
Crystal Light
Bud-Light
peanut butter
tortilla chips

What bothered me about her choices was that they really are a product of our society and it's messed-up priorities.  There will be "health experts" out there who would applaud her for buying the Crystal Light because it is low-calorie, despite the fact that there are serious concerns about the effects sugar substitutes can have on our bodies (anything from headaches and stomach upset to leading to actually eating more sugar because your body is now primed for sweets).  Strike One.

Next I thought about how the only item in that list with *any* nutritional value was the peanut butter and even that was highly processed Jif and not even the natural kind.  Everything outside the lettuce and beer is highly processed, robbing whatever nutritional value might have originally been in the actual food (wheat, peanuts, corn) they started with.  So what exactly is the point of eating "food" that isn't really nourishing your body? Strike Two.

Then it occurred to me that when that young lady inevitably becomes ill because she hasn't actually fed her body anything it needs to function properly, she will go to our "health care" system which will give her drugs which will mask her symptoms but not actually solve her underlying issues.  Strike Three.

I think we're out...