We live in a world of people searching for the next best thing. The best new gadget, diet pill, super food, career, relationship, handbag, fashion trend, start up or investment.
Whether we want to admit it or not, we want the “new pill”.
We are reaching, we are betting, gambling and craving.
Today I’m talking about 3 ideas that I trust will fill you up like the most delectable meal would with your favorite friends around a candle-lit table.
And yes, it’s a play on words from the classic literature by John Steinbeck.
MICE
I was in the midst of my sugar days and I was making regular stops to the pantry to reach into the dark chocolate almond container.
I tried to switch to raw almonds {without the dark chocolate}.
I put a bowl of raw almonds on the counter because I knew I would see them prior to hitting up the pantry where the good stuff was sitting.
Later that week, I sat in the sunroom on the couch and I saw some almonds under a pillow.
Puzzled, I asked my then husband about them. He assumed a guest we had in the house dropped them. I put them back in the bowl on the counter. The next day I found some more. Again, I put them back in the bowl.
And then later some more… you know where I’m going with this don’t you…?
And then I found tiny poop…Yes, from mice!!!
I had mice in my kitchen and under my pillows!
I went to the pantry to pick up the bag of almonds. When I lifted it up, I saw that it was no longer a plastic bag, but a whole covered and shriveled piece of plastic with no almonds left…
I look down to the floor and I saw mouse poop. More proof.
I’m ready to vomit now. The worst thing… I had eaten all of those almonds in the bowl on the counter that were transported to my couch cushions.
{After Googling for an hour to make sure I wasn’t going to ‘die’, I realized that this was my last straw}
My lesson:
The mouse infestation taught me that I wasn’t trusting and I was trying to numb with sugar. The sugar provided a false sense of safety and it was really a crutch. I was overanalyzing life and not looking at the big picture. I was living in fear. I also was neglecting my body, my health and the organization of my home.
Your lesson:
Pantry makeover. Stat. Get rid of the junk, organize well and put in the good stuff. You don’t need mice to motivate you! Get started this week.
#####################
I bought jars. I tore apart my pantry. I sanitized. I threw out the junk food. I replaced it with tasty health food (in sealed jars) and I began a new lifestyle.
The MICE woke me up. They were my catalyst.
In addition to cleaning my couch, kitchen and home, I also caught every last one of those mice… Just in case you were curious.
MEN
I’ve failed lots in my life. At sugar, at Economics class the first time around. I failed at playing basketball and learning to speak proper French.
I’ve also failed at Men. Hard for me to admit, but when you get a divorce you are forced to look at all of the deep emotional stuff you have. You are forced to tear yourself apart and really look at YOU. I did that and I realized I had a lot to learn.
If there is one thing I’m really good at… it’s that I learn from my mistakes and I’m quite competitive. Let’s just say that it pissed me off to find myself so naïve with the opposite sex. Setting the emotions aside, it pissed me off to fail at my most important relationship. For a while I was embarrassed. For a while I tried and felt defeated. For a while I pretended. For a while I was in process. Wait, I’m still in process… and I have come a long way.
I’m currently reading book #4 written for the Man. I’ve not shared this with many (until now) but I’ve made it my personal mission to understand men on every possible level. I’ve had countless coaches; therapists and relationship expert’s advise me. I read lots of blogs, books.
I can say that I understand men now and I’ll always be a student.
My biggest motivation… I’m raising a man. His name is Manny and he’s 3 as I type this. The way he thinks, acts, reacts, views the world and desires respect is the absolute opposite of me.
If I want to raise a hero, I needed to learn the language of the man.
My lesson:
Whatever gender you are, learning about the other is like learning a new language. It isn’t easy but it’s worth it (and necessary). Don’t give up, keep stepping forward.
Failure doesn’t really exist…. Each experience is an opportunity to grow more. Yes, it takes some vulnerability and courage. I’ve become much more feminine and have learned the balance necessary between both the ‘feminine’ and ‘masculine’ that has helped my relationships, career, physical body and spirituality to blossom.
“Failure is the price ambition pays to reach its excellence”
~ Robin Sharma
Your lesson:
Learning about Men {or Women} will ultimately allow you to learn more about yourself. When you make an effort to truly SEE someone and focus on whom he or she is and what he or she ultimately desires, you are forced to completely fall in love with yourself too. You have no choice.
I love men. I love women. I appreciate humanity and the unique roles that both genders play in life.
MILLIONAIRES
There are different types of millionaires.
We have a food industry that has made a fortune and many of millionaires.
Genetically our bodies are not much different from the way our bodies used to be back in the hunter-gatherer days. Our food industry is what has changed the body.
This is why we are craving cheap big gulps, sugar, value meals, and empty carbs like they are our last meal on earth.
There are humans making millions off our obesity and diabetes epidemics. These millionaires can show up as a dentist or doctor who lobby’s for the sugar industry because their book deal is being supported (yes, this is really happening). The majority of our great docs are not this way, thankfully.
These millionaires are the CEO’s of our fast food restaurants and soda company’s.
There are millionaires who are leading the sugar industry, winning public relations awards for their “skillful” ability to cover up the fact that sugar is something that is aiding in the obesity epidemic for example.
There are millionaires who are selling the pharmaceuticals to you that you are hoping and praying will help you.
{Meanwhile they are omitting any of the obvious nutrition advice needed to really help you}
I see a bunch of millionaires getting richer because they are promoting the “New Pill”. The ‘new powerful drink” that is going to shave off 10 pounds fast without you having to lift a finger.
I have no interest in these types of millionaires.
There is another type of millionaire and it is where I focus my energy.
Our wealth is really a mirror to our health.
The more you value your money, the more you value yourself (and vice versa). Don’t believe it…? Track the food you eat and the money you make each day for 1 month and get back to me. Tell me what you notice afterward.
I’m going to talk a lot more about this idea of wealth = health on a future blog.
The millionaire I’m interested in is the one who is teaching lifestyle education and lifestyle change. The one who isn’t just touting the right herbs and fad tonics but the one who is helping you to understand your body.
One of the millionaire mentors I look up to:
“Explore this next frontier where the boundaries between work and higher purpose are merging into one, where doing good really is good for business.”
~ Richard Branson
My lesson:
Look for someone to guide you who will not just focus on the end stage of your health… the disease, but instead, what has created the imbalance in the first place. Then they are doing you a service.
Your Lesson:
Don’t be a “wise fool”. You can have a lot of knowledge on nutrition, the latest fad supplement or super food and although these can be super powerful they will do no good to you if you don’t understand YOUR body and emotional, spiritual and physical needs.
I look forward to coaching, teaching and mentoring you around an understanding of your body that will give you tools to tear down the walls within you that have created imbalance, dependence, inflammation and emotional distress.
Cheers to long-term service that will last a lifetime.
Love,
Renee
xo
PS. Please comment below. I would love to hear your thoughts on Mice, Men and Millionaires…
Source:
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2012/10/sugar-industry-lies-campaign
