I’d like to tell you about the time I sat still as part of the journey to heal my relationship with food.
7 years ago I visited Plum Village for the first time.
I was looking to spend my holidays differently and seriously craving some quiet time from the busy world of the city and my even busier mind constantly chatting and projecting me into a worrying future or a painful past.
At that time I was heartbroken because of a recent breakup and feeling lonely and disconnected from the people around me but first and foremost myself.
Mindfulness was already something that I had the pleasure to explore before.
However, visiting the Buddhist monastery and learning in the presence of the zen master Thich Nhat Hanh himself (who recently celebrated his 95th birthday) was an experience out of the ordinary. In hindsight, I realise it was a life changing experience and still today I believe I came back from it being not quite the same I was before. And having made great progress in the journey to heal my relationship with food
What made such experience so extraordinary?
It’s hard to put it in words but I guess it was the experience of being still, slowing down and feeling connected to the community of the village.
It was the sharing of our struggles and vulnerability.
It was the practice of BEING PRESENT to the most basic moments of the day, from washing the dishes to eating and walking.
The simple act of making time for myself and face the pain inside, the uncertainty of the future, the self-doubt, the urge to run away from the problems. By simply BEING STILL.
Little I knew this experience and it’s benefits would have helped me immensely to face the hardest life challenges that where waiting around the corner the following year.
Today I thank myself for making that choice to sit still with myself and my demons.
I thank myself for starting that lifelong journey of taking care of myself with more kindness and compassion. For not believing that my troubled relationship with food would have healed on its own, without me putting any work in.
You might be out there struggling to make time for yourself or thinking it’s a selfish act, it’s vanity or that you’re not allowed to focus on you now.
I challenge you to take 10 min to sit still, every day. JUST 10 min without distractions.
Notice what happens, what’s in your mind. There’s no right or wrong. It’s only a moment for yourself.
A wonderful moment of presence!
With kindness,
Dona 🌷
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