Food for Thought~daily Meditations 02-25

[Pony]

Sunday, February 25, 2007
You are reading from the book Food for Thought

A New Place

After a slip, we do not go back and start again in the same place where we were before. Through the experience of making a mistake, we have reached a new place. Out of error, we can gain new knowledge and insight.

Often we find that wrong thinking got us into trouble. Perhaps we fell back into the old perception of ourself as the center of the universe. Perhaps we forgot to turn over whatever was troubling us and instead began to overeat. Perhaps we tried to depend on our own inadequate strength to get us through the day. Undoubtedly, we forgot that abstinence is the most important thing in our lives without exception.

Whatever the mistake, we can profit from it by growing in understanding and insight. We can mark a pitfall to be avoided in the future. We start again a few steps farther ahead, in a new place.

May I not be discouraged by mistakes.

From Food for Thought: Daily Meditations for Overeaters by Elisabeth L. ©1980, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the written permission of the publisher.

[Pony]

In reading this, if I have interpreted it right, I have realized that I have been thinking wrong. I have been down on myself about slipping up and gaining some of the weight back that I had lost and not being able to fit into some of my jeans since summer. Thinking that I am right back where I started 5 yrs. ago.

What I didn't take into consideration is that I have learned alot in the last 5 yrs. here. I have changed most of my bad habits. I have learned to recognize emotional eating....I just haven't perfected stopping that emotional eating...lol I do have some of my progress still intact, as I have not gained all the inches back that I lost because I am not the same size as I was 5 yrs. ago....I am just barely out of these jeans I have now and if I get back to doing what I need to I will be right back in them.

I have a whole lot more support then I did 5 yrs ago....so I am not in the same place as when I started. I do need to continue to more forward with my program.

[Neagrm]

Pony, those are significant changes. You are definitely in a different place, and have grown a lot. Those are big strides forward.

I have recently acknowledged my emotional eating, so I really identify with what you wrote. I also get very down on myself. Lately, I'm making one little change in an attempt to interrupt a mindless cycle. I am noticing when I'm eating OS's and rather than falling directly into self-judgment I'm trying to stay "in the moment" as long as I can and just observe.

Then I ask myself, What are you feeling? It is all I can do for now.

I am telling myself and want to believe it... even the smallest beginning is valuable.