When eating lets try to remember to do so mindfully. Lets look at food as the miracle it is. All food is made up of life. It contains the miracle of birth and growth and the wisdom of death. We are on the receiving end of the cycle of life when we eat. Lets try to always take a moment to be grateful for everything and everyone that made it possible for us to eat at that moment.  Lets try to really appreciate the food with all of our senses and be present with it throughout our meal. This creates a respect no only for the food or other people but for ourselves. When we eat we are nourishing our bodies. We are being kind to ourselves and making ourselves strong enough to be there for others. 

My week continues to get more and more hectic. Things are not going to plan and that of course is creating a lot of anxiety and stress in my mind and the minds of those around me. Times like these are, I believe, are great opportunity to test all that you learned and practiced in your spiritual journey. I am sharing here one of my favorite quotes that comes from a somewhat unusual source - Bruce Lee...

“Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves. Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”

- Bruce Lee 

For more Bruce Lee quotes (not all would fit with the theme of this blog but all are wise nevertheless) check out this site http://www.bruceleequotes.org

     Our life is filled with fast decisions. With lots of outside stimulation. We are bombarded by images, sounds, smells and so on. Its overwhelming. The turmoil and noise starts to seep into our mind and all of a sudden we not only have noise outside but inside as well. Our memories, thoughts, and emotions can overwhelm us just as easily as the outside world. As a result of this chaos we react. We react without a pause and any prior thought about the consequence of our reactions.
      Some of the most common ways that such reactions get us in trouble is when we react in an angry way or when we develop a dysfunctional relationship with food. There are other times of course when reacting without thinking and without being present is dangerous but by far I encountered anger and overeating to be the most common negative consequence of it. 
      Here is a simple way  we can pause before acting on our urges to give ourselves time and space to react in a way that is most beneficial and compassionate to ourselves and others.