Day Ten - Couldn't Resist...

In an effort to be kind to myself during a very tough week, I said that I wouldn't post again until Wednesday.  However, a friend sent me a link to a health website where I found a wonderful article on happiness - and what stops us from getting there. 

What does this have to do with eating vegetables as medicine?  I tend to see the world in a very integrated way; and I truly believe that there's a multi-directional relationship between self-care (of which vegetable consumption is now forming a key part in my life) and happiness.  Times of stress --like this week-- make me reflect on both topics.   

The enclosed link starts off as saying some basic things that I've heard many times before (e.g. simplify your life); but other ideas are somewhat novel.  Once you get through the full thing you may start to think of happiness in some new ways.  I found the comment on despair particularly insightful.  It reminded me of a conversation with a friend who spoke of despair as a sin.  At first I was puzzled by her remark, since the word "sin" wasn't a typical part of her vocabulary.  But then she explained that she considered despair a sin because it's a huge insult to yourself and to God / the Universe/ whatever or whomever you believe to be the root of all creation.  Despair essentially means that you aren't appreciating what you've been given (in terms of your own talents and who you are as a person), because you have let too much negative external stuff crowd out that understanding.  You're essentially refusing the gift of yourself.    And as I write about despair, it makes me reflect a tiny bit about the gifts of myself that I am refusing whenever I despair about my eating habits and just give in to eating garbage for instant pain relief.  Hmmm... something tells me that I have some fodder for another post when I have time to be more philosophical...

Anyway, enough rambling.  Here is the link--hope it's helpful!

http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/why-youre-not-happy?ecd=wnl_wmh_092809

ps.  Three vegetable servings today so far, four more to go for my current target of seven.  Think I'll have a vegetarian stir fry for dinner tonight...