(preface:
Yes, I was profoundly touched by a book I read a few years back, entitled "Eat, Pray, Love." At the time, I was spending good company, for intense weeks at a stretch, with a few "writers" and they were quite snobbish about Gilbert's work. "It's too formulaic," they judged. But I didn't care. I loved every bit of her stories, her travels, her structure, her creativity & her self-deprecation.
Then, not too long after I published my graduate portfolio, the architecture of which was inspired by Elizabeth's use of the japa mala for organizing her journey of Self-Discovery through the 3 I's of Italy, India & Indonesia, I posted a piece here about "5 Instant Tips to Be Happier Now." It's the singular piece of writing on this blog that has had the most "hits."
Today, I am revising my advice for Happiness and have edited it down to 3 simple words.
Yep, you guessed it:
EAT, SLEEP, MOVE!)
EAT
WITHOUT SHAME, & WITHOUT GUILT. EAT. WITH A SMILE & IN GIVING THANKS. EAT LOTS OF GREENS - THEY PROVIDE YOU WITH THE NUTRIENTS YOUR BODY NEEDS IN ORDER TO ABSORB THE WATER TO KEEP YOU HYDRATED. Spend $20 a week on purchasing fresh, locally-grown, organic greens from your Farmer's Market, or go to the store and buy organic Kale, Chard, Collard Greens, leeks, beets & more. Toss all of the greens into a bowl with sunflower & sesame seeds, with raisins, kiwis, persimmons (whatever is in season) and top it all off with a savory or sweet dressing. Or, toss all of the ingredients into a large pot with carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, and whatever else you fancy, and drink the broth and eat the stew. Keep it warm on your stove top. Serve it to friends during potluck meals.
And, Eat what you like ~ I LOVE ICE CREAM, PIZZA, Frijole, Arroz y Queso Burritos, & beer. I love chocolate and cookies - yum!
I'm an omnivore and it's a dillemmna, YES! And, I try to remember that animals are made up of energy too, so I want the energy I put in my body to be healthy - to have had room to run around and breathe, & to have enjoyed tasting the sweet fruit of this Earth during its short lifetime. So, I try not to consume animal products that have been factory-raised in inhumane ways.
Eat. Let your ass and your waist expand - in and out, out and in - like your heartbeat, like your lungs. You are not meant to be two-dimensional and of the same size and shape all the time. You are meant to expand and flourish and to contract and hibernate.
Eat. Your mass is the gravity that attracts others into orbit around you. Just as Elizabeth wrote about learning during her sojourn in India, "I arrived into Italy pinched and thin." Too many of my women sisters eyeball their food intake with, seemingly, a sense of external judgment heavy in their gaze. "Cast off these chains of mental slavery," I beseech them. Our very weight is the heart of the matter.
