Deeper Cravings

For so long the prospect of losing weight was the illusive solution to every problem. I was convinced that having that thin body of my dreams would offer better relationships, more success, more opportunities; to me it was like the holy grail of happiness.  I no longer see weight loss as carrying the power that it used to for me. I have been miserable at some of my smallest sizes and most joyful at some of my largest. I now know that losing weight is actually irrelevant to happiness.  However, I believe that happiness is relevant to sustained weight loss.

There are those times when we arrive upon something that is so clear, so vivid, that it stirs us in the deepest corners of our being. We then know, beyond any doubt, that it is true. The Buddhists call this “deep insight”. This is how I feel about my discovery that losing  obsession with weight is far more important for my well-being than losing the weight itself. Once I really got that sweet taste of how living in a truly present and mindful way allowed me to connect with and accept my body I began to see that if I could practice that way of being more then I wouldn’t need to care so much about the weight, because everything associated with it (the isolation, the separateness, the shame, the wanting) disappears. I know health complication related to obesity are a reality that we all face so I do still see value in losing weight for the purpose of becoming healthier; however, the importance of weight loss is now in perspective.

When we become alive and awake to the moment we lose that layer of judgment and grasping that keeps us in a perpetual state of dissatisfaction. We are able to be, to feel, to see and we experience the true beauty of our being. When we shift our focus to living a more present life in a sustained and committed way, we begin to heal our deeper cravings. When we do this weight loss is a natural outcome because we are no longer feeding the emotional and spiritual hungers through food. We nourish them through drinking in the present moment.