Winter time has been a more challenging time for my body experiencing fibromyalgia and the foods that are readily available during that time of year, are not the best for my wellness. Spring and Summer bring so many more opportunities for healthy eating. Last year, my husband and I changed our eating habits drastically. I had known, for a few years, that caffeine, sugar, gluten, dairy and a number of night shade vegetables wreaked havoc on my system. Many of these foods caused inflammation, which turned into some painful days, some affect my capacity to think clearly and make sound decisions (brain fog) and some stopped my digestive system completely. I tried many times to change my eating habits but found it very challenging when I was shopping and cooking for four other people in my household who loved to eat what I couldn't have. My will power was directly connected to my energy levels. When the chronic fatigue was acting up, my body would want the quick energy foods like carbs and sugar to try to bring up my energy. That all changed when Ray and I were at a seminar together and a food documentary was shown. He got the message immediately. He was someone who would eat instant oatmeal for every meal, always have an extra large Dunkin Donut's tea in hand and think nothing of eating a bag of chocolate chip cookies as an evening snack. After the documentary was shown, he walked straight to the trash and threw away his XL tea with extra sugar and hasn't had caffeine since. Through the winter, we've veered off our healthy eating track, just a little. Now, we are committed to getting back on track and with some additional research, I know even more about what foods will help me heal, not just keep my pain at bay.
Yesterday, we started a 30 day juice fast. I've read, watched documentaries and researched the benefits of juicing and have wanted to get a juicer for months. Again, Ray saw a documentary with me and the next day, we were out buying a juicer. This is our second day and I can already feel the benefits. I admit, this early in the game, it may be the placebo effect, but I'll take feeling better any day. I'll write more about the progress as we go along in the next 28 days.
The natural enthusiasm I mentioned earlier is popping up in areas I never thought I'd be enthusiastic about. Politics has never been one of those areas I've been very interested in. Lately, I've been curious about what I can contribute to do my part on a bigger scale. I've created a daily practice of self care, I am contributing in areas where I can, locally and I feel a pull to help on a national and global scale. I see the protests by everyday people, who just want to be treated fairly and I wish I were there with them. I can feel an uprising of personal advocacy within myself and a kinship with those who are putting their heart and souls into making change. One small thing that I was introduced to is an app, called Buycott, for my phone. I can scan food barcodes to find out if the company is in alignment with my values. This gives me a choice to support them by purchasing their products or not. I'm finding this information very powerful. I feel as though I have a say in what I feed my family and what I put into my body. I find comfort in the truth and being able to make my own decisions based on the truth and not based on the marketing ads we are flooded with everyday.
Choice is huge when it comes to our healthy lives. It took me almost 40 years to realize that I could choose who I spend my time with, who I learned from and who I would allow into my inner circle. I was conditioned to think that if someone was in my life for a very long period, I was obligated to stick by their side. People change, and sometimes in those long term relationships, people grow in different directions. Priorities may change or something that had been tolerated for years becomes a huge obstacle to try to stay true to yourself, the longer you choose to tolerate it. I feel the pull to be my divine self and I've lost some important people in my life because of it. I see this as a clearing. Sometimes things, towns, jobs or people just don't fit into the divine plan any longer and to continue on my path, I must allow the changes and sometimes make difficult choices. I am grateful for my faith. Without it, these changes would have been impossible, but once a decision was made, someone or something else came through, and lifted me to a new vibration.
Health, being my number two value in life, poses some challenges as I experience fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, IBS, and the list goes on. I'm committed to extreme self care, which includes my whole self. Mind, body and spirit. This 30 day fast is another stepping stone of learning how to heal my body, mind and spirit.
I'm happy to have you be a part of my journey and I hope there are some nuggets you can take with you to grow and allow your divine self to burst through.
Thanks for reading, forwarding and following my posts!!!
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