Your Challenge Today:
Food for the soul.
By Bernadette Kathryn, LMT, IHLC
Food for the body is not enough.
There must be food for the soul.
~ Dorothy Day
At the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN) we work with a concept of Primary Nutrition and Secondary Nutrition. I have to admit this was a new concept for me at the time and now, I think it’s brilliant … makes perfect sense.
Primary Nutrition – is all about food for the soul, filling up our well. Primary Nutrition is all about our relationships, our career, our fun factor, our education, our home, our communities, all the places that we go to feed our soul. When we have food for the soul, and we fill our well with love, friendship, pleasure, education, adventure and meaningful work ~ we are not looking for food the fill a void in our life.
Secondary Nutrition – is the food we need to survive. We need far less food for our body than we need food for the soul. It is when our lives are spinning out of balance that we find ourselves reaching for food to fill a void. When we see ourselves spending too much time at work with our home life suffering, we might grasp for comfort in food and drinks. When we are at odds with our careers and uncertain about how to make a meaningful change, we seek solace in comfort foods, familiar places that may not be in keeping with our Living Fit Lifestyle and SMART GOALS.
Have you ever been there? Have you ever been on the other end of a cupcake knowing that you were violating a commitment that you made to yourself and not able to stop because you were sad, upset or depressed? I certainly have … I told you about my cookies and ice cream. I am allergic to dairy; I get this lovely rash on my face when I eat conventional ice cream and dairy products, it looks like dandruff — on my face. I grew up with that outbreak, and didn’t mind when I was younger but, by the time I was 13 (maybe) I decided that I had to give up the dairy if I was ever to have clear skin. So, you know that I must be in an “I don’t care” mood if I am going to actively choose to eat something that would do that, ewwww.
Now is a perfect time to think about this concept and ask yourself —
What are you doing to take care of yourself honestly?
How do you refill your well and keep your spiritual cup full?
What part of your life needs a little extra something-something to feel nourished?
There must be food for the soul #LivingFitLifestyle Click To Tweet
Boy, do I resonate with this! I work on being “Selfful” which is different from “Selfish”. Many people cringe at the idea of being selfish, or putting themselves first. We are taught to put others first, or even to put God first; this is belief leads to burnout, resentment, lack of fulfillment and confusion. What I am really learning is when I consistently take care of my my own needs, then and only then can I truly be present for someone else. I see this with my patients and students, and I see it with my son and I see it in my relationship with Sam. What a blessing. Last night I actually pushed away half of my yummy dinner because I was (self) Full!
so well said Pamela — self – full — I love it and it’s a practice that I need to work on too…. you are my inspiration!