It has musings, poetry and little interesting things. I like it over there - so I spoke to David on twitter and we decided to do a blog swap! This means I set him a topic to write about, and he sets one for me. I was thinking to make him write about penguins or something - maybe penguins wearing hats - but then he set the topic for me as "Why Am I Doing This?"
This is a valid question. So I have set him the question, "Why Did I Do That?" Haha, my friend!! That's even harder. So there.
Driving to work this morning I felt I understood this question. This became perfectly clear as I ate my second donut for breakfast, while driving and thinking about twelve things at once. This isn't a regular occurrence - well actually now that I consider it - it probably is. My eating habits are bad, bad news. I am vegetarian, which is all well and good, except for the fact that potato chips are vegetarian and so is pizza. In fact, with a little creative thinking, all good food can be made into vegetarian food. . ...Yay.
I have no mindfulness when it comes to eating. It pushes me to a panic sometimes - I put snacks in my backpack "just in case" and start thinking about lunch about 10am. I think to myself, yes I could drive there and get that task done, because it's next door to the pie shop that I love. I rush my choices and eat bad things rather something that takes a while to prepare. It has led to me being overweight. It has also lead to me being tired, stressed and unhappy.
So as I ate that donut this morning I thought, "Why The HELL Am I Doing This?" Which means I had the awareness that what I was doing wasn't helping my body. But Did This Mean I Put Down The Donut? ALAS NO. I STILL ATE THE DONUT.
There is that split second moment where I can have power over what I am doing. Where I can recognise that by using food this way I am simply grasping and holding on to something - to avoid the feeling of uneasiness that I am harbouring. So I can identify that moment. Now I need to refrain buying in. I need to put the donut down.
PUT THE DONUT DOWN.
This will become my new mantra. PUT THE DONUT DOWN. I am going to try and increase my mindfulness about the way I eat. I am not expecting that everything will change. But I need to ask myself the question, "Will this bring me happiness - or short term relief instead?" I relate it to Pema Chodron's excellent teachings on shenpa. If you haven't heard about that concept, you can have a look here: Pema Chodron on Shenpa
So there it is. Even donuts have something to teach us. I'll keep you posted on what happens next!
Please check out David's lovely blogswap post here: When I Fell You won't regret it.
I love the new mantra - will you be chanting that while you meditate? Make sure you link to Snow Branches so we can see how he met your challenge.
ReplyDeleteI struggle with eating mindfully too. The pull that food has for us when we identify it (even subconsciously) with relief is astounding.
ReplyDeleteHey bookbird, another bullseye! Your writing from the heart makes it really nice to visit over here. Thanks for pointing out Pema Chodron's teaching on shenpa - what a valuable piece of work!
ReplyDeleteIf you haven't heard it already, I think you will like the Brene Brown's TED talk on The Power of Vulnerability at http://bit.ly/ebpMHt
And thanks again for all your kind words - I'm still blushing _/\_
"PUT THE DONUT DOWN" LOL
ReplyDeleteWhat a great mantra for myself! Thanks!
can also be translated into 'put the self hatred down", be it external or internal doughnuts!
ReplyDeleteRather than eat when I felt hungry or just like eating something, I put it off until I could no longer stand it anymore. (I also learned how to make things that took FOREVER to prepare to keep myself busy in the meantime)
ReplyDeleteIt really became a kind of practice similar to sitting then. You wait a little longer and only then do you realize how weak the pull to give in really is.
Good luck, unlike most other addictions, we can't just quit eating cold turkey (mmm... turkey. pun SO intended)
I enjoy your blogs, a moment of 'deepness' every now and then. I find myself lost in your world for a few brief moments feeling the emotions as you write them. Today a word springs to mind which I came across in my recent studies.....mens rea - a consciousness of guilt. Just thought I'd share, from your christian friend.
ReplyDeleteheheha...i loved this post!
ReplyDeleteHey there! I'm so glad to have found your blog since we 'sat' together in the OMCru! Lovely work here! I'm not aware, yet, of your level of practice so forgive me if this is a silly question for you. Have you read about "Dependent Origination"?
ReplyDeleteI've read about it often, but Noah Levine put it in food terms in his book "Against The Stream", specifically about Ice Cream. Check it out, and the part where he talks about the steps. Specifically between 6-8 being where we can take control using mindfulness.
Really, really good information! Anyhow, LOVE your blog!
Mondo Samu
I read Snow Branches this morning and it led me back here to this post. My mantra could be, "Put the cigarette down." A nasty habit that I sometimes engage in, particularly when I'm stressed. It is not good for me and brings no happiness -- in fact, it brings me more stress because I know I shouldn't be doing it. But I still do it sometimes. How is that for crazy?
ReplyDelete