Wednesday, March 5, 2014

ash wednesday

So today is Ash Wednesday.  The start of the Lent season.  I'm no Catholic, despite going to Catholic school for many years, but I do love the idea of having a set time to look at your life and your habits and spending quiet time evaluating what's serving you and the greater good of the universe and what's not.  I want to challenge myself, ugh this is going to be hard - it's hard to just type it, to not complain for the next 40 days.  I know that makes me sound like a whiny little girl, but I mean I want to stop the negative talk and thoughts.  I want to challenge myself to see every struggle or fear as an opportunity for growth.  I want to force myself, as hard as it may be, to replace the worst case scenario with the best case scenario....and I've been trying to do this in general with my fears and anxiety, but scratch all the description - I just want to give up complaining.  Because I do believe that I can choose to learn from everything and that a lot of times complaints are just another way for our psyche to protect us from the pain of rejection or fear of failure and so on.  So yeah, I want to stop complaining.

I also toyed (toyed? since when did I start using that word??) with the idea of giving up gluten or sugar..but I've been really mindful of my gluten intake anyway and sugar...well...that can maybe wait till next year.  Ohhh and giving up social media would be amazing but I am too weak.  But someone else should totally do it.

2 comments:

  1. DO NOT GIVE UP SOCIAL MEDIA! Who would read my blog? ;)
    One word - reframe. That one word helps me get through a lot of complaining. What can I take from this situation? I've had to do A LOT of reframing lately so... yeah.
    Also, if you decide to give up sugar or gluten, I'd choose one at a time. Otherwise you're setting yourself up for something really hard. Gluten is a pain. I have slowly been trying to mix it up. I use half quinoa pasta in with the wheat, just to try to mix it up. I figure if I have a few different kinds of flours/grains/whathaveyou, I am not completely in a monoculture. Of course I say that on the night I'm planning on making pizza, but...
    I am weak. I admit it.

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    1. Haha, I don't think I'm ready to give up social media. Like I mentioned earlier, my friends don't really live here so I like it as an outlet :) And yes, the word "reframe" and I have gotten very close this past year!

      And see, I would say I am about 75 percent gluten free right now...the reason I even care about gluten is 1. it interferes with the anxiety producing stuff in your stomach 2. my mom just found out she is allergic to it and has horrible arthritis. she's had bad health all her life and since seeing a naturopath this fall, she's been taken off gluten and corn and could instantly feel a difference. (this makes me so happy) I've also read a lot about how gluten isn't good for people with arthritis in their family, or if you already have it. I definitely have my mom's hands/body and her mom and her grandmother all suffered from arthritis..so I'm really trying to do my best to prevent it with my diet! (here's hoping!!) I know it's fine for some people, but I have an idea it's not best with my body. Although bread and olive oil is my favorite thing ever :(

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