An attitude of optimism is a revolutionary act. It has the power—through imagination—to introduce miraculous transformation and change. Just as a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, a journey into our best possible reality begins with a single question: “How good can it get?”
Optimism is a rebellious act because this attitude often flies in the face of adopting an attitude of fearfulness that is typically encouraged by our governments and societies. Optimism is perhaps the most rebellious when adopted even when situations truly are looking genuinely scary, and clear and present danger has arrived.
Optimism as Ultimate Survival Skill
How is it possible that an attitude of optimism might be the ultimate survival skill? Author Jeff Bollow tells us that yes, that’s exactly what optimism is. He adds that when you start to deliberately improve your optimism skills, the rewards will be phenomenal. There…
When your body is full of energy, you might be inspired to move it (a.k.a. exercise). Going for walks, swimming on summer nights, meeting friends for a yoga class, playing the drum with your neighborhood drum circle, or _______________________ (insert your favorite workout here) will sound and be rejuvenating if you’re energized.
Here’s a suggestion for when you want to move your body more, but time and energy aren’t lining up. I saw this video where Rosanna Pansino reviewed the Desk Cycle , giving it two thumbs up. This gadget, sitting under your desk, would be a convenient way to move your legs. The Desk Cycle part is found 3:07 into the video. Please note that this post is not sponsored.
Or you might not have any interest in exercising. And that’s okay, as long as you aren’t under medical direction to.
As beneficial as exercise is for improving circulation, keeping muscles active, increasing endurance, etc., forcing yourself to do it for any reason may not benefit your body or your emotions. Yes, exercise is a favorite to burn calories for what you ate or what you want to eat, or because you think you should, but there are healthier reasons. Especially if you’re forcing yourself. Who likes to be forced?
Another way of listening to our bodies is by resting when we need a break.
You’ll find alignment when you allow yourself to do what’s best for you, which can be as simple as trying what feels good and seeing how it goes. Maybe horseback riding is intriguing, but you haven’t tried it in a long time. If it interests you, do it. You may find that riding once a month energizes you in ways that a stationary bike never will.
I love to dance and go for walks. Usually every day, but there are days when I take a nap instead. That works for me, for now. The feeling that I am bursting with energy, music playing in my head, can lead to a ten-minute dance party. I get my cardio and sweat on. Or there’s a more mellow feeling when the outdoors is calling me to enjoy fresh air and say hi to neighbors. Either way, at the end, I am energized and happy. In the past I did more neck and shoulder yoga because I was in pain. Yoga videos, a couple of classes, and advice from my medical massage therapist combined into a custom yoga practice. I’m now pain free.
Tell me below how your body lets you know it wants to move. I’d love to hear about it.
Gina
P.S. Food As Ally group support meetings happen every Friday evening on Zoom. Click here for details.
In the past, if I saw tasty new food at Trader Joe’s, I had to buy it on that shopping trip. Now, I can pass on them until timing lines up. Like the gluten-free double chocolate muffins. After watching a taste test showing how tender and decadent they are, I’ve been to the store and seen them on the shelf three times. Fact is, finishing a four-pack of giant muffins takes too long, so I’ll wait until I have company or an event to bring them to. It wasn’t a struggle. I didn’t feel deprived. Did I buy my favorite crispy gluten-free chocolate chip cookies? Totally.
Recently I started working part-time outside my business, which means I needed to adjust when, how much, and what, I eat. This means revisiting step five to learn my new hunger cues. My body doesn’t like to eat early in the morning, but if I don’t, I can’t eat until mid-afternoon. I’ve been asking my body what it wants and what it will handle. Step six, learning fullness cues, has also been revisited because I have a few minutes to snack mid-morning. If I don’t eat then, my stomach lets everyone nearby know. Finding the right snack and eating enough to fuel me until I have a relaxed lunch was another adjustment that was smoother because I’ve been practicing listening to my body since November.
The new job means a different activity level. As I’ve settled in there, my body showed how much to eat to match that, which is less than before. Now my weight is adjusting. What I’m still figuring out is which foods will sustain my energy in the amounts I can eat early in the day. Mainly foods with a satisfying amount of protein, fat, and carbs in small amounts, like an egg and a piece of toast. Maybe a protein bar on my break. Lighter foods like fruit are eaten when I’m home and can go back for another serving in an hour or so.
It’s coming together, as delicious and fulfilling as I could hope for. Not having emotional cravings is so freeing. I still love food, but it’s no longer an obsession.
What I did that led me to create Food As Ally was…
I turned clean eating into a cross between dieting and food snobbery.
What I learned is…
My body tells me when it wants salad and that I can trust my taste hunger or emotional hunger when it is asking for cookies because I know that my body will tell me when enough is enough.
Who doesn’t like cornbread, right? There are plain versions or ones which are loaded with ingredients such as cheese, jalapenos and such. This recipe is on the simple end of the spectrum coming from thespruceeats.com. The molds do limit the use of ingredients tbat might stick like cheese but they have a fun shape to serve with your meal. My addition of minced orange zest added a slight citrusy taste to the cornbread sticks.
Regardless of the version they make a nice accompaniment to hearty stews, soups, bean dishes and I especially enjoy them with pork products like ham.
When you decide to do something, who does the deciding? When you see through your eyes, who does the looking?
Perhaps the most essential aspect of life is awareness of who we are–yet it is typically also the least examined. While we speak in language that implies we presume to know that we have causal agency, and free will, the specifics of how this operates is seldom discussed or described.
I received a fascinating email question this past month:
In November 2019, I was preparing myself to travel to London on December 2019. During November, I was looking at some YouTube videos and one video came up randomly. The video is about stochastic processes. They lecturer won the Fields medal few years back. I very much enjoyed the theory, it is still simmering in my head to this day trying to connect it to other multiple theories:) When I got…
This is one of my all time favourite dishes of mine, the flavours are phenomenal and the textures are perfect, the crunchy bits on the cauliflower, and the sticky cloves of garlic and the pop of the chickpeas…I can wax lyrical about this one for hours….!
The marinade/sauce is sharp and spicy. If you need to take the edge of the sourness, or to add some sweet stickiness, add a spoonful or two of honey to the mix.
I love it freshly cooked, cold the next day, reheated, or whizzed up into a dip if there’s any left (it’s a rarity!). If you try it, I hope you love it too…
www.foodasally.com 