Is there something you’d like to learn more about on your path to peace with food? If so, here is a simple one-minute survey. I'd love to hear what you'd like to learn more about and in what form (classes? videos? more blogs?) I look forward to sharing what I have learned on this great weight adventure with you in a way that will be most useful to you. 

Recently I also shared news about a book called The Great Pause - Blessings and Wisdom During COVID-19.  This book is filled with stories of survival and expansion during COVID. I wrote Chapter 18 on weight gain during COVID and I think you might really enjoy Chapter 19 as well - How to Trust Your Body and Find Your Truth. (It's so good!) 

I absolutely love it when people, like the author of Chapter 19, have that lightbulb moment that it's time to start loving our bodies rather than hating them. It's such a powerful shift and is what my work is all about. 

As for the rest of the book, I imagine that for some people, it's hard to conceive of how something as frightening and ruthless as the pandemic could be considered a blessing or a good thing. 

What I have found while doing the work of spiritual growth is, nothing is all good or all bad. And everything is here to teach us something and is working FOR us.

It doesn't mean things aren't going to hurt us deeply and it doesn't mean there aren't things we will be angry about, but if we go even one step further, how can that hurt and anger lead us to meaningful change? 

It is in that spirit that I look back on my struggles with weight and I can honestly see the gifts that I was given as I worked tirelessly to figure this thing out that made me angry and sad.

For one thing, when I was younger, if I didn't struggle, I may not have tried so many different forms of exercise. From spinning, to Nia, to Qigong and yoga.  Even though my head was not always in the right place, at least my body was moving and trying new things.

If I didn't struggle, then I may not have read all the books that I have read, or listened to as many podcasts or taken classes or read blogs and articles. 

Some of my favorite books? 
Eating in the Light of the Moon - Anita Johnston
Outrageous Openness - Tosha Silver
Letting Go - David Hawkins

If I didn't struggle, I may not have met all the incredible people who have crossed my path as I have been trying to make sense of this issue. From healers to spiritual leaders to coaches to social justice activists, I am grateful for all the perspectives I have been exposed to that I may not have been otherwise.

Favorite teachers? 
Abraham Hicks
Marc David (I'm a Certified Mind Body Eating Coach)
Joe Dispenza
Kim D'Eramo
Eckhart Tolle
Be Nourished (I'm a Certified Body Trust Provider) 

If I didn't struggle, I would not have learned so much about myself. I may not have pursued my own self-evolution with such fervor. I may not have been as open to new ideas. 

If I didn't struggle, I may not have ended up on the spiritual path, looking for answers and finding so much more.  

This path has opened me up in ways I never thought possible. I could not have planned this if I tried and isn't that the way it all really works out for everyone?

I love the quote in the movie Parasite - "You know what kind of plan never fails? No plan. No plan at all. You know why? Because life cannot be planned" – Ki-taek. 

Did we plan to have a pandemic? Do we plan for natural disasters? Do we plan for the nation to be going through one crisis after another? Do we plan to experience violence and oppression and racial unrest? 

Do we plan for illness or loss? And on the flip side, do we plan for "good luck"? 

Life is always unfolding in a way that is magical and mysterious and the more we can embrace our lack of control and trust the process, the easier things can be.

Does this mean that we still won't want what we want? No - it means we surrender to knowing it's coming to us if that is what we are meant to have and we practice being equally ok with a different outcome.  This can seem very paradoxical. It's not until you really experience the letting go that it sinks in.

Usually, the more we want and NEED something, the more uncomfortable we are - solely because of that need. IF we HAVE to be a certain size, weight, or shape - just HAVE to be, well, we end up causing our own suffering.

But when we can connect with WHY we want what we want and allow that ease, freedom, and joy to percolate and infuse our everyday actions, and we let go of NEED, we often find we get what we wanted or something better.

It's in the letting go that we receive ideas and inspiration and support and it's our struggles that often help us to go. When we get to that point of frustration where we just don't care anymore as long as the suffering stops - that's when our options actually open up and more possibilities become available.

I have experienced this over and over again. Letting go of the job I thought I was supposed to do, letting go of dieting and the expectation that I need to look a certain way, letting go of how I think my kids need to live their lives, letting go of trying to control everyone else and be "perfect".

It can be scary to let go - and that's where the struggles come in handy- to show us what we want and what we don't want.

What do you think your struggle is trying to tell you? How is it trying to get your attention? What messages and gifts does it have for you?

If I can assist you in any way on your path to peace with food and the inevitable impact it will have on the rest of your life, please let me know. 

Photo by asma Alrashed on Unsplash