Awareness

[Denise P]

I'm working at doing something I've never done before: enjoying the journey. Honestly, I'm not yet at a place where I'm really enjoying most of it, but I'm noticing it and accepting it. When my life was swirling around in the insanity of eating foods that were addictive to me, I didn't notice much of anything.

So, what I've been noticing recently is that I'm not feeling as content with raw foods as the weather has gotten colder. We went to the mountains last week and as soon as I arrived, I was struck by the crispness of the air and the beauty of the mountains, covered in reds and oranges and yellows. The house was as peaceful and relaxing as always. I took all of this in...and my mind went straight to food! I wanted to wrap my hands around a toasty warm mug. I wanted to sip a big bowl of comforting soup. That's what I've always done when it suddenly got cold, and it's definitely what I've always done at the mountains.

Instead of acting on it, I just noticed it. It wasn't always comfortable, especially when everyone else was eating warm comfort foods. I worked on focusing on other warm, cozy things: my soft, thick socks or wrapping myself in a thick comforter...

Another thing I encountered was a lack of the foods I needed. I'd prepared some foods before I left, and my husband forgot to pack some of them. He also left my cashews behind. The refrigerator up there froze all of the lettuce I'd taken. We were in an isolated area, and I wasn't too happy. I ate some foods that weren't raw. I've pledged to eat vegan foods only and to avoid sugar and wheat. I stuck with that, and I didn't beat myself up for eating foods that weren't raw. I did, however, notice how I felt after eating them. I was sluggish, felt kind of down, didn't have much energy. I noticed that I was very thirsty, probably because I wasn't getting as much water since I didn't eat as many fruits and vegetables. I also didn't lose much weight this week.

Now that we're home, I'm back to eating raw. It's nice to accept that last week was just part of the journey, as is this week!

[Sassafras]

Hey Denise you did a great job making it thru and discovering things about this raw journey we're on. I do drink hot herbal teas and I warm my blended raw soups up some in the dehydrator. Takes longer so I must plan ahead, but it works. Happy Raw Journeying!

[Vegan♥for♥Life]

"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson