“Our bodies are our gardens – our wills are our gardeners.” ~William Shakespeare
Food is a mirror to your inner state. Like the outer world and other people can show your deepest thoughts and feelings, food tells how you feel. We are so used to living in a constant hurry and do things automatically, that we have lost the connection of food to ourselves. Have a quick lunch. Order pizza or Chinese food for dinner or have a lot of snacks between meals — or instead of them — depending on our mood. Food has become a comforting thing, an easy way to sooth feelings and have pleasure. It never disappoints, you always receive what you have wanted. Food is no longer just about nutrition. We feed our feelings. Living in a never ending circle. Food cravings differ from one to the other but there are some similarities, which can help you to start look at eating certain things differently. And before going for lunch with colleagues ask yourself. Am I hungry? What I really want to have? How do I feel? Why I want this? Does my body ask for this or it is a certain feeling that wants to eat?
Sweets and Chocolate
When you feel lonely, misunderstood or sad, the first thing that you may look for is chocolate. Chocolate gives you a reason to smile, to believe that life is good. But does it work in the long term? Try and find other ways to get those good feelings and raise your endorphins, such as through exercise or chatting with a friend. Then, you can enjoy and taste every bite of your chocolate for what it is.
Hot and Spicy Food
Being in a hurry with daily duties and responsibilities you can lose the joy of life. Spicy food awakens the senses and helps you to see the different colors of life — to taste every situation and feel the blessings. Learn to see the nuances of life and feel happiness in any daily situation. And spice it up occasionally with a your favorite spicy foods.
Meat, Fast Food and Bread
Stress, overload, rush – when you need to ground yourself you try to feed it with heavy food. Stop your daily rush regularly, feel yourself here and now. You don’t need to fill your stomach with everything you can to be able to feel yourself as whole. When your mind is everywhere but here, find a quick relaxation method to calm your mind.
“Health is a state of complete harmony of the body, mind and spirit. When one is free from physical disabilities and mental distractions, the gates of the soul open.” ~B.K.S. Iyengar
There are no right or wrong foods, but how often you eat it. How do you feel when having this or that? Do you really enjoy it, feeling gratitude or trying to hide some feelings and fight with guilt afterwords? When you are in love, you can live all day without thinking of food or you can eat whatever you want but keep losing weight. A lot of who we are depends on our feelings, both positive and negative. Try to step out of this circle, when you feed negative emotions with food and then experience them more, you might want to look for other items to eat. Start writing down your foods and the emotions you are experiencing at the same time. This can help you listen to what your body really needs. Food is one of the strongest things that influence your life. You are what you eat. If you don’t have any goals or dreams you eat everything and anything. Look for fulfillment outside of eating food — try and find those parts of you that want to do other things. Then food can be a flavorful enhancement to your day.
The more you eat, the less flavor; the less you eat, the more flavor.” ~Chinese Proverb
Featured photo credit: Steven Depolo via flickr.com
