It’s the close of Day 4.. and today has been relatively simple.. The sun came out and for some reason that makes everything easier. Also I was out a lot of the day and distraction makes for less hunger and less antsy-ness around wanting to eat. Today I stuck to my favorite blend, the IntuitiveBody Green Juice.. See Day 1 (cucumbers, celery, fennel, romaine, green apples, kale)
But here is what I think is the most important piece in all of this, in terms of success, or ease, or commitment around making it through this or anything else. And I’ve known this to be true many other times and yet it’s always stunningly clear when I get up close to it and see the power that this particular principle holds.
The most essential principle of success for me, whether it’s sticking to a juice fast, or something else, is to set a really clear boundary. When you know very clearly what’s in and what’s out, and know exactly where the line is.. life gets easier or at least simpler.
So for example right now fruits and vegetables, put through a juicer are on one side of the line.. with every other kind of food and beverage on the other. I know what to do. I know what not to do. And all day long there is a part of me that wants to break the “rules”. I watch with mild amusement as my mind finds ways to try to make things on the other side of the line, be on this side. I watch myself go through all sorts of rationalizations and excuses and scenarios about why I will eat or drink something other than what I committed to eating. And even though I clearly stated in my initial blogpost of this series that I reserved the right to change my mind if I felt my body or mind was not thriving, so far I’m doing fine. The mental and emotional acrobatics around trying to make the rules be different from what they are come up, get processed by me, and then subside. It helps that I have given myself a choice or an out, but what really helps is that I know where the boundary is and that it’s crystal clear.
There’s great safety in clear boundaries. Almost everything I believe in somehow relates to this belief. Everyone thrives when the boundaries are clear, when everyone knows where the lines are. And what the consequences are or might be.
In this scenario.. my little juice fast/detox.. there are no major consequences if I step over the line. The biggest ones for me would be disappointment in myself. And having to publicly admit that I did not see my way through to my goal. That would be hard and I would probably feel badly. And that has definitely kept me on this side of the line, for 4 days now.
Maybe that’s part of what appeals to people about fairly strict detox/cleanses/fasts…the choices are limited, the lines are clear, life gets super simple in at least one way in our over complicated and over-stimulating world where we are bombarded by choices all of the time.
I definitely crave simplicity. I create it in much of my life.. a separate topic for another time.
I bid you all a delicious peaceful uncomplicated evening for now.. Until tomorrow .. to your health and mine.
With much love from my heart to yours..
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