Most People Suffer and Eat to Feel Better

I think it is a sign of the times that people are not realizing their expectations.

Yes, we have had a meltdown that affected everyone. We are a prosperous nation and as poor as people think they are in relation to their rich Ferrari driving friends, most people are eating and have shelter.

People are often more poor in not reaching the expectations they have for themselves or their families. It has continuously cost more to do everything and labor does not buy what it used to.

Even a man with four great children, a beautiful wife, a nice home, and a good job has pressure. He has to provide equal to the most affluent examples his family is exposed to in their circle. He has to provide cars and higher education. He will have to pay for some weddings and eventually save enough for a golden year’s retirement.

Having enough is not clearly defined. It is always more than we have.  Getting there is never easy. There is always lots of resistance. Everyone we know wants to do and have lots of things. Every budget is strained regardless of the level of income. More income means higher aspirations.

One of the few pleasures we can have is eating. No one judges the silent secret pleasures of satisfying the mind that creates so much yearning. Food is the one thing that buys respite for a few hours.

The mind is devious. We know what is healthy food and what is not. We have all sorts of excuses why we can’t create good meals instead of the often fast ones. We know that certain desserts and snacks are not what makes our body strong, but they make our mind happy.

It begin with the fact we are not happy with what we have. We do not have enough connection with nature and gratitude that we are here to celebrate the bodies with which we were born. There is more pleasure possible in the yield of our minds and the strength and stamina of our bodies than in any great car. Things are temporary and lead to the desire for more things.

Gratitude is happiness and leads to the desire to make other people also feel happy. This creates a circle of eternal feed back. The better we can make ourselves feel, the more likely we are to be gratified that we have been blessed with all we need.

Eating healthy and exercising to make our body fit, makes our mind happier than any other gift. If we also have a few passions that require peak performance leads us to living in the “flow” as defined most recognizably by Daniel Goleman.

Pursuing activities that we love and that create a challenge, but because of our practice are not above our capabilities, we and enter into “flow” or “being in the zone”. So if we find and pursue passions, we have a target for our minds.

If we want to reach peak performance in these passions we often need minds, bodies, and spirits that are developed to our greatest potential. Seeking to push ourselves requires vision, ambition, courage and discipline. Nothing speaks discipline and courage like self control in eating and exercise.

So a nation that wants to flee the culture of obesity and pursue productivity with  passion and discipline must learn not to use food as a drug. Develop a love for our body and minds as gifts to be developed for the pursuit of achieving our highest potential and leave the Twinkies behind.