Cravings

In the Feed Your Soul, Feed Your Body workshop one of the homework assignments is to come up with a list of at least 10 treats that you can give yourself--a treat being anything that when you think of it makes you smile (thanks to the great Martha Beck for the terminology and definition). The rest of the assignment is to do one of the things off your list each day. The thought behind this is that if you’re overeating or bingeing consistently it’s because you’re using food as your primary source of pleasure. Many of us have gotten so used to dieting and depriving ourselves that we have equated eating certain foods to experiencing the ultimate pleasure when in fact eating that food ends up being just another binge because we felt so guilty about what we were eating that we didn’t enjoy it. So part of the point of the workshop is to get in touch with other things that bring us pleasure and to put more of that into our lives. The other concept that I’ve been toying with lately is the concept of cravings. As an eater, I always associate the word cravings with food but I’ve started to broaden that concept for myself. I’ve begun to ask myself what are some of the things that I crave emotionally, because I know that 90% of the time, those are the things that are driving the craving for the ice cream or pizza or whatever it may be at the moment.

Some of the things that I came up with are:
emotional connection- a lot of the time I’m craving being seen, heard and understood by others. Making a deep connection with someone else is its own kind of nourishment that goes a long way. It’s the feeling you get when you have someone in your life that really “gets” you.

a connection to myself- for me this means being connected to my creativity whether it’s through writing, creating a workshop, or performance piece. When I’m being creative I feel connected to the deepest part of myself. Unfortunately it’s not that easy to access that place in my psyche and it’s so much easier to think that I want a kit kat.

Trust in the natural order--for me this means trusting that everything is in perfect order in my life--there’s nothing that has to be changed or fixed or improved upon. It is all working and it’s all good. Faith that everything that is is just as it should be. Just thinking about this makes me let go of stress.

My own approval - I would say that in terms of what’s listed here, this one is the biggie. To let go of trying and striving and just feel that I’ve already arrived at that ideal place that I see myself “someday.” Because we all know that the “someday” place keeps changing so we end up being like the motorized rabbit in Bugs Bunny that has the carrot hovering over him--he keeps chasing it but it’s always just out of reach. It feels like such a luxury to allow myself the feelings of relief that come with finally arriving. I used to have a painting on my fridge that was done in kind of expressionist lettering that said: I Already Am All The Things I Want To Be. What if all those things I feel I’m lacking in myself and in my life had come to me in one fall swoop: In this moment, I am perfect just as I am and I have everything that I need to be happy. Wow, what liberation.

So my wish for myself and for you, dear readers is to answer your true cravings as best you can whenever you can...because no amount of oreos or ice cream sundaes can feed those deep cravings. Only you can do that.