Wake Up!

There you sit in the dark, tub of Ben and Jerry’s almost devoured, mouth hanging open, nothing but the blue glow of the television lighting up your face. You are completely entranced. From the well worn canyon in the sofa which cradles your butt, you heave yourself forward so you can read the number flashing on the midnight infomercial. “A MIRACLE CURE TO END YOUR WEIGHT TROUBLES!!!!” Maybe it’s a pricey powder with exotic South American berries that will magically melt the fat away if you sprinkle it on your tater tots. Or perhaps it’s a spring board, “used by the astronauts on the space shuttle to zap your flab in just 8 seconds or less a day!”

“I have to have that! That’s what will fix me,” you think. You scramble for your credit card, fumble with the phone, but suddenly you pause as you look at the dial... “What am I doing here?” asks another voice in your head - a moment of clarity alights.

FREEZE! You just woke up, my friend! This instant, this moment of clarity is precious, for it is only now, in this very moment, that you can set yourself free. There are many, many other things you can do to take care of your painful feelings than numbing yourself with food or torturing yourself with another diet. In the present moment, you can breathe in and breathe out. In the present moment, you can have a conversation with your body about what it needs and listen quietly for the answers. In the present moment, you can step back, survey the big picture of your life, and ask what’s the most important thing you want to be doing. In the present moment, you can marvel at the magic of your own authentic self awareness. In the present moment, you can feel your feelings, tend to them, then let them go.

When you wake up you claim your power to live your life the way you can only dream about when you lull yourself to sleep with distractions. Life unfolds all around us all the time. It takes courage to stay present with feelings, to be with the ups and downs of the flow of life, but an authentic life is way more satisfying than any tub of ice cream. Wake up!