Eat to sustain yourself for the Journey. Not to Satisfy the Moment.
We have all heard it before, “You are what you eat.” Figuratively and literally, this is true. Our bodies have proven to have a complexed assimilation process where things that are consumed go in and either contribute to or disturb the Life process. Here, we find it imperative to consume (eat) healthy foods and nutrients to prolong this process as much as we can. But feeding ourselves food is not the only obligation to sustain a healthy life. We must also feed our minds, our mental and emotional appetite. Appetites accompany cravings. Food. Music. Imagery. Social Media. News. Companionship. These are the helpings that satisfy cravings of the mental and emotional appetite. We have fed these appetites since birth, so much that all these appetites combined create habits that shape who we are; they create character.
So, if we are what we eat, then eating food with malnutrition lends to poor health – sustained. But consider the consumption of bad news, dampening imagery, regressive lyrics in music – routinely craving it at times? What affect could it possibly have on contributing to or disturbing our Life process?
A substantial one.
A Lifestyle change is Not a Diet, It’s a Lifestyle.
Pessimism is the tendency to subconsciously expect or see bad in situations, even if the situation seeks to bring about Good. Sound familiar? This is the effect consuming malnourishing media has on our Life process. Remember, these cravings shape character, they become you. Desensitizing is the latent effect of pessimism. When this happens, we can no longer feel or amass relevant emotion to things going on around us or to things that have an impact on us. Emotion is a sound checkpoint of your existence – where you are and how far you still have to go. It is good to feel. If we get to a point where we are no longer critical of our own existence due to the overindulgence of cynical thinking, there is no more room for growth.
Sadly, the number of Good News stories squeezed into the 24-hour news hole are easily missed or their affects are minimized due to the overload of bad news that normally follows. In turn, we have become a Nation grown to expect bad News. This is not an attempt to persuade you to shield yourself from touching stories, questionable lyrics, or even shady social media entertainment. In doing so, this would require one to turn a blind eye to the happenings of the world. Do not desensitize for the sake of survival. The answer is not to be ill-informed.
Simply, dissect, do not digest. It is okay to tune in. Catch the news. Listen to your favorite artists’ most recent album. Post. Leisurely scroll and occasionally Like. This is the dissecting process. In doing so, you are sifting through and filtering to identify what is and what is not. Digest only what You find nourishing, but be mindful, those cravings shape and reveal who you are. Everyone’s diet is different. Let’s be okay with that.
