a liberal sprinkling of compassion...

Feeding ourselves involves so much more than just the food we eat. The mind body connection works both ways, our minds can be soothed by the foods we eat and our bodies can be soothed by the way we think. We are not broken because we can't eat gluten, just different!

For me gluten free eating has been one part of path from pain. I feel younger now than I did 20 years ago. I had everyday experienced body-wide pain, I used to single step down the stairs every morning holding on to the banister, just happy to achieve each new step. I had been hit by a car and was thrown about twelve feet while crossing a street in my twenties. I always assumed that I was still feeling the fallout from that event and would carry chronic back pain with me for the rest of my life. Luckily that was not the case, after going completely gluten free and building myself back up nutritionally, I am now relatively pain free!

Letting go of the thought and fear of pain was, for me, more difficult than letting the physical pain go. I would catch myself being very tight, feeling clenched in my body, as if waiting for the other shoe to drop. I now remind myself to breathe, to imagine the cells of my body rejoicing, to smile. I realize now that I am responsible for honoring and caring for my feelings instead of stuffing them and experiencing them as they blossom into pain in my body. A book that helped me a lot was The Divided Mind by Dr. John Sarno. In it Dr. Sarno talks about the mind body connection, the way our minds will try and protect us from difficult emotions like anger, by giving us pain and physical symptoms in our bodies as a distraction.

For me this journey is about more than becoming gluten free, it is about celebrating being gluten free. Feeling lucky instead of burdened, curious instead of scared, feeling empowered instead of helpless. Living compassionately is a simple way to help ourselves, each other, our environment, our fellow beings and the whole planet.

Have yourselves a beautiful gluten free day!