The Mirror in Healing
If you want to heal yourself, you need to pay close attention to emotional triggers in the world around you.
My husband and I were out to dinner with some friends the other day when I had to perform my regular spiel for the server about my allergies to gluten and dairy.
It used to be so hard to eat out, but now we make it a point to choose places that are willing to work around my allergies.
The couple we were with were floored that I couldn’t just eat off the menu. The husband (let’s call him ‘Sal’) kept pointing out how hard it must be for me.
However, I don’t think of it as ‘hard.’ I think being sick for days after eating the allergens is hard.
The ability to avoid those things is actually a gift.
Then, Sal proceeded to take some pills and made a joke about washing his meds down with alcohol.
Well, that opened the door for me to question. I didn’t necessarily want to, but when the door is wide open, I can’t resist walking through it!
I asked, “So what are you taking meds for?”
It turns out that Sal was just diagnosed with type two diabetes.
I then asked a few more questions about seeing a dietitian or making certain lifestyle changes that often go with that diagnosis. Instead of answering, his focus was still on me; he couldn’t get past the idea that I had to go without gluten and dairy.
I just kept saying that it doesn’t bother me because if I were to eat those things, I would be very ill. It’s like poison to my body, so I really don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything.
I wish I could show you the puzzled look on his face!
After a long back and forth, Sal was not ready to give anything up because the doctor had given him a pill to take. And my inability to eat certain things on the menu was more than he could process at that time.
He was not ready to see his truth, so he was fixated on mine. Like so much of the population, he was not willing to make any changes in respect to his health - even in the light of a new diagnosis. For his sake, I hope that will change with time.
This is what I call ‘the mirror in your healing.’
It was placed there just for him.
This is a classic example of a moment in time that you should reflect upon and see how it applies to you.
If something is happening right in front of you, and you have a strong opinion or emotion regarding it, that would be your mirror.
So let’s mirror.
Many people have varying degrees of food allergies and sensitivities. Maybe you are one of those people.
A food allergy is a true allergic reaction (i.e. anaphylaxis) that is tracked by science.
A food sensitivity is something you may have to determine on your own.
Although food allergies are typically more aggressive than sensitivities, they both make you ill. And they both wear your body down over time if you’re not careful.
Despite those facts, I see people with allergies and sensitivities continuing to eat the food that’s bad for them, just like Sal was drinking alcohol with diabetes.
Let’s use a different example, like heart disease. You may think if you take the statins, you can eat the food, always saying things like, “I’ll start my diet tomorrow.”
I always ask my clients, “If it doesn’t make you feel good, why do you eat it?”
Here are some typical answers:
“Because I like it, and I don’t want to go without it.”
“It’s not like I’m allergic to it. I’m just sensitive.”
“It only makes me sick for about a day, so it’s no big deal.”
“Nothing else tastes as good.”
“No one else in my house will eat it that way, and I don’t want to cook for myself.”
“If I just take my pills or enzymes, it’s not that bad.”
The list of excuses goes on and on, but I think you get the picture. We all have an excuse why we can’t commit to our own healing.
If it’s not diabetes, it’s food allergies or high cholesterol or obesity, or high blood pressure…
You wouldn’t drink poison, right? So why would you put poison in your body just because it comes in a food package?
How many times does your body have to get inflamed, swollen, ache-y, rashy, sniffly, wheezy, gassy and weak before it’s too much?
How many times does it take for your body to start breaking down, resulting in illness or unhealthy aging because it is under that constant attack?
Well, funny you should ask. (Technically, I asked, but I want you to pay attention to this part anyway!)
Right now in the U.S….
More than 34 million people have type two diabetes.
CVD (cardiovascular disease) claims more lives each year than all forms of cancer and Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease (CLRD) combined.
42.4% of Americans are obese, and this number has increased by 26% since 2008.
6 in 10 adults in the U.S. have a chronic disease, resulting in an estimated healthcare cost of $730.4 billion in 2016.
I guess it doesn’t take long at all for those poor health choices to catch up to you…
Ironically, we’re still spending…
$30 billion on complementary health.
$12.8 billion on natural product supplements.
$33 billion on weight loss.
It’s interesting to think about how much money we spend on health as a society when all we have to do is look in the mirror.
A mirror is cheap.
They’re everywhere. They tell you the truth.
Your Body Within is the mirror you need.
Maybe it’s time to take a look.
For more guidance, shop my library of courses to learn on your own time.
Can’t find what you’re looking for on my site? Click here to contact me today, and I’ll be happy to answer your questions.