July 8, 2008
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Good, Better, or Best
I've had a love/hate relationship with my food for years. I like food, I enjoy excellent preparation and fresh ingredients, and I appreciate the artistry of fine dining. I really only discovered that last bit when I was in Chicago. In my entire life, I'd never eaten at a truly FINE restaurant until then. (Although there was this one Steakhouse in Denver that came pretty close.)
My dinner consisted of four courses and took over two hours to be served, savored, and consumed. The portions weren't large by any means but neither were they so small that I felt unsatisfied at the end. And it was just so beautiful. Dinner was a production not unlike a clever theater show.
I've had two weeks to contemplate the experience and I have a new resolution. I will NOT buy a gallon of bland ice cream when what I really want is one of those little tiny cups of Ben and Jerry's. I will NOT consume a pound of potato chips when what I really want is an ounce of excellently prepared soup with my sandwich. I will not settle for what is cheap and plentiful at the sacrifice of that which costs a little more in expense and effort.
I drank in Chicago with big gulps. I walked, I looked, (okay, I gawked like the tourist I was) and I enjoyed myself immensely. I was so busy drinking in the sights, sounds, and experiences that than once I realized at the end of the day I'd only stopped for one meal all day long. And I wasn't hungry.
Okay, maybe a little hungry, but not starved.
So I learned something about myself that I've read and heard in all kinds of weight loss programs and never really grasped this way before. I have been eating for reasons other than physical hunger. I've been eating to try to satisfy my spirit. My spirit doesn't need food. My spirit needs art, literature, beautiful things to look at and to engage my imagination. My spirit needs companionship, laughter, and hugs. My spirit doesn't need a cheeseburger! Not even one.
My rash continues to thrive. After lunch today, I asked Michael to please nurse me by applying a soothing lotion to my back. The relief was so immediate and intense that I fell asleep and dreamt for two hours.
It was a strange and wonderful dream of an angel trapped in a cave. The poor angel had taken refuge there after being injured and during the long sleep required for healing some people had unknowingly sealed the creature in by building a barn on top of the cave. So at long last the angel wakes and begins to reach out for help communicating telepathically with a child who lives nearby. The child is understandably disturbed by the "thing beneath the barn". And through many trials and errors an understanding is achieved and the angel is released in all it's terrible glory.
Isn't that a cool dream? Way better than the one last night that involved racially motivated murder.
I hope your day was good.
Comments (13)
Aside from the foot high pile of filing, it was a grand day.
sounds good all over!
This is wonderful! You describe your discovery so well. The dining, the reasons for food, the dream. *hug*
That dream sounds like a good book idea. You know the author Stephanie Meyers who wrote the Twilight Series got her idea for the books from a dream she had.
You had a great vacation.
i was going to say that the dream sounded like a great idea for a book.
someone beat me to it! great minds and all that.
beware of rash examiners who might come to your door for an inspection.
Sounds to me like a book in the making.... consistent with other comments here! Are you working on the draft yet?
I am glad you got the job , Terri and you are right to control your diet . Probably you are sensitive to something and you had allergic reactions . Cheaper food is not sure, indeed . Better a good choice .
Love
Michel
if there is a fight at work or something is fixing to happen like hubby's surg. tomorrow -watch out cause I crave Snicker bars.
hi rash girl
So, I guess you are still not able to go to work. That must be some awful rash.
I have discovered that when I eat quality I eat less as the taste is satisfiying
What I think is deeply encouraging here is that you KNOW not only that you often get what you pay for, but also that you deserve the best!
We had a good day, thanks. Saw "Kung Fu Panda" with Barbara and Joan. First movie I'd seen in months. Very cute. Animation and music were great. The story, not so much.
Dreaming about an angel can't be all bad.