Did you see the lead article in the Sunday NY Times Magazine? It was about nutrition, by Michael Pollan. His position is that we should eat food. Just food, without additives, supplements, enrichments, reformulations, re-engineered, or processed. If you eat moderate amounts of plain food, the better you will be. He makes a case that getting nutrients is not the same as getting nutrition.
Now, I know there are people out there who know more about this than I do, but I like his basic idea: keep it simple, stick to the basics ( I read another book about that)
That is what I am trying to get people to do when they come to me for treatment. I want them to live their life, in real direct form. I don't want them to live it in their brains, or through chemicals, or magical routines, or special thought processes or mystical beliefs.
I want them to live with thoughts, emotions and behaviors. I want them to think about what they are doing and feel what they are feeling. I want them to see that what has been done to them, and how they have reacted, has brought them to where they are now, and that what they do now will determine where they will be soon.
It's tough work, but it's not magic.
Yet, I see how difficult that can be. Today, was one of those days when I just rattled off appointments. 9, 10, 11, 12, 1, 3, 4, 5. All kinds of shapes and sizes. But what I came away with today was how difficult it becomes once you fall behind.
You know, you have one of those days when you come home, throw the bills on the pile, open a beer and watch TV and just don't (can't) give a shit. But then those days become weeks and then months. The bills are piled up, the laundry is piled up, the dishes are piled up, the dust is piled up, the car registration is run out, the parking tickets are unpaid, your license gets suspended,and you don't have the money.
You would,(I no longer am) be amazed how many people fall into this. How many houses are falling down inside, even if the lawn is mowed. How many tables are piled high with ten years of US Magazine and losing lottery tickets.
Mostly, these people feel neglected and rejected and that if no one else cares, why the hell should they. It's sad.
But once the mess begins, no one is coming to the rescue. Well, maybe once or twice the family will come. But then they seem to vanish. It is very difficult to carry along someone who won't at least respond; get up and move.
You've got to start with the basics and stick with it. As the teacher said when he was asked by his student, now that he had come to the school, where should he look to learn the great insights. The teacher asked if he had eaten. When the student responded that he had, the teacher said: "then wash your bowl."
5 comments:
Thank you very much for posting this. You've given me a lot to think about.
The way I interpret the comparison you're making is that we are exactly what we eat, whether we eat it willingly, it's forced-fed or because that's all there is, the choice to eat it is always ours.
And if we eat junk we're gonna resemble it, and if we eat too much, we're gonna be too fat to see our own feet.
So what we put into our stomach's important, but enjoying the meal's the greatest joy of all...
Moderation good. Glutony bad.
It's called eating "clean" -- you shop the perimeter of the store and eat foods in their truest/most natural/cleanest form (without processing or refined additives). It's how body builders get down to 4% body fat. Avoid the inner aisles of the grocery store (as much as possible). Eat like the Vikings did (they didn't have cereal, chips, pasta, etc). Lean meat, complex carbs, things that grow on trees and sprout from the ground. Not to say you can't ever have the other foods on occasion (I'm having pizza on Friday). The article was quite long, but a good one. I agree completely.
This is a really great post. It's like two very pertinent but separate bits of information. The first one I'm trying to incorporate myself. It's tough to get out of the routine of eating out, or eating junk, but I think once you make a routine of cooking or making an effort to eat healthy, it becomes much easier.
The second part is me. I've been a procrastinator for as long as I can remember. There's always something I'd rather be doing than what I should be doing. I try to pull out of the nosedives at the last second, and usually do for the most part.
But I think the key is right there, in the last bit. When you're done eating, clean up. When you get the bills, pay them. When the hamper is full, do the laundry. It seems like a very simple idea, but what is it that makes the execution so difficult sometimes?
Nice
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