Reflecting on life and the environment

Small Footprints has been at it again.

It’s not unusual for her to challenge us to do something I’ve either been thinking about or need a good kick up the backside to get into gear.

This week, however, I’ve already started!

This week’s Change the World Wednesday challenge is a fabulous one. We’re stepping out of doing something hands on and practical and into a more spiritual week.

The lovely lady came across “Grounded in Gratitude” which explores the idea that apart from living with an attitude of gratitude, we could take the idea one step further by considering how things, attitudes and our very existence came into being.

Phew!

To expand, if you think about showing gratitude for the meal you are about to eat, you realise that someone sowed the seed, watered the seed, nurtured the plant, harvested the fruit, packed the food, transported it to the shop, filled the shelf, served you at the checkout…Through this our gratitude becomes expanded and ripples out into a huge overwhelming sense that we are all connected.

One of my personal beliefs is that loneliness is one of the worst conditions of 21st century living. We all live under the illusion that we are separate – we’ve been forced to do so from religions that separate ‘God’ and man (please note, I’m not making a judgment on people who follow a religious path, this has been MY personal experience), (my truth is that God resides within all of us) to the nuclear family to the idea that if we’re emotionally hurt we can eat, shop or sleep our way out of it.

To bring this challenge to our awareness, Small Footprints has asked us to reflect on our life, the environment and nature. She writes “Think about the path that brought you to this point … the people who taught you life lessons, the folks who developed Eco-friendly versions of common household items, the engineer who makes sure you have clean water and “Mother Nature” who shares so many gifts. Then, begin developing gratitude for these events. ”

As I said at the beginning of the post, I’d sort of started doing this. I’ve been ill and there is no better time to reflect on your life when you’re unwell. My stomach was rejecting food and I realised that I’ve been letting things slip in the ‘healthy eating’ area of life.

It’s not that I’ve been eating junk food, but I’ve been eating without awareness. I’ve been eating in a hurry, when I’m stressed, in front of the computer or standing up in the kitchen.

So I’ve been taking a moment to bless my food, give gratitude for it and eat in a more mindful way. I’ve been doing a white light meditation which I use over my food before eating – yeah I know, how woo-woo is *that*!?

And of course I’m rewarded ten fold because my food tastes SO much better …