A Renewal of Life, Spirit and Energy

HAPPY EASTER!

There are certain times of the year when one is filled with a renewed sense of life, hope and faith.   Easter is one of them.   More than any other date on the Christian calendar, Easter signifies a renewal of life and joy.   It is probably not a coincidence that it takes place in the early weeks of spring, which is also a season of renewal of life.  Winter in many parts of the world is a gray, cold and dark time of the year.  This year, winter seems to have taken its toll on several friends and family around the world where cold and icy weather prevailed for several weeks/months.  But spring is finally here and when the season of spring makes its grand entrance, how the world changes! Not only does the world become more colorful, but there is a sense of joy as we find the first budding flower, or once again hear birds singing...or as one friend noted, seeing the ducks once again in her yard.  Spring has definitely sprung!  Walking in the warm sunshine is so much nicer than when one has to bundle up against the cold.  My own favorite physical activity is swimming.  Truth be told, on cold days, my desire to don a swimsuit and go to the pool greatly diminishes!  Now that spring is here, entering the dressing room both before and after my swim is not as much of a challenge as it is in the winter.

Both our physical environment and spiritual nature tend to affect our feelings, our energy level, and our whole outlook on life. This brings me to the topic of our attitude towards ourselves and the effect it has on our efforts to lose weight. I have been reading a lot lately about the mind-body-spirit connection to weight loss.  Authors such as Jon Gabriel, Geneen Roth and Marianne Williamson focus on how our attitude towards ourselves plays into the whole scenario of weight loss and the fact that we need to be uplifted spiritually in order to believe in ourselves.  We can be our own best friend, or our own worst enemy - and the latter can cause us to sabotage our efforts.  There is even a case for "self-love" vs "self-loathing".  One has to care deeply about oneself in order to believe that he or she is worthy of becoming healthy.  Marianne Williamson in "A Course on Weight Loss" also brings into focus our connection with God, and how we were created to embrace a healthy, self-nurturing lifestyle.

I think back to the "darker" periods of my life - and I will say that there was a time when I had very low self-esteem.  It was also a time of my life when I gained a lot of weight.   It was as if I completely stopped caring for myself.   I am happy to say that I'm no longer that person; I'm a much happier person now and becoming healthy has indeed become a priority in my life.  This journey has led me to a renewal of my own life, spirit and energy - and it is a great feeling...so much so that I am looking forward to the continuation of my journey, especially now that I've found "the keys" to better physical heath (or at least, what works for me!) - i.e. juicing combined with healthy eating and adding more physical movement!  This journey is tranformational and is truly turning into a way of life for me!  It's also been quite a revelation as the more I read and the more I've shared insights with a friend who has done the same,  the more I've been inspired to delve more deeply into all the issues and aspects of becoming healthier - physically, mentally and spiritually.