A Commitment to Resilience

This week I have been resisting and wrestling with something.  My boss/friend/chiropractor has decided to do and offer a three week cleanse starting at the beginning of the new year (January 4^th to be exact).   I had not been thinking that I needed a weight loss or cleanse program and she did not ask me to join her, but as I heard the details of the plan . . . 10 days of veggies and some grains, and then 11 days with some chicken and fish added. . . all while drinking these healthy protein shakes 2 to 3 times per day and having classes. . . it sounded so transformative that I started to consider it.  Then I became really frustrated.

It is really strange to consider doing a cleanse when I do already put quite a bit of effort into watching what I eat.  (By the way, after a fun, tasty, and slightly painful Thanksgiving, my friend and I have started another week’s commitment to no sugars, soy, corn, dairy, and wheat again.)

Maybe I am struggling with the impermanence with some of my seemingly Herculean efforts related to diet. (OK, only at certain times are they Herculean.  Other times they are actually very easy.)  It seems that I need to move towards acceptance and tap into that bumper sticker on my car, “The Only Constant is Change,” and apply it to digestion and my eating efforts yet once again.

Our health and digestion are based on continuously changing inputs and outputs.  We have to eat to live (some people would argue, but for the general masses this is a fact.) Therefore, we introduce the potential for bodily change everyday, every time we eat.  Because my digestive system is sensitive, every time I eat, multiple times per day, I influence not only how my body physically acts and feels, but my mental, emotional, and (I believe) my spiritual capabilities. 

When I eat poorly for my body, it hurts.  The typical thought that goes through my head is something like, “Oh, I try soo hard and then it still hurts when I eat just one thing off my diet,” or “Why do I even try to eat well?  When I eat poorly I get used to the stupor, but when I eat well and then eat one ‘bad’ item, I really know how uncomfortable it is.”

Where am I going with all this?  Well, since I want to find something to hold onto amidst the sea of self-supportive and self-deprecating thoughts, I want to know why this effort is worth it.  For me, it comes down to resilience.  There are two interesting definitions of resilience in wikipedia, the first is more scientific and the other is psychological.  If you have a science background, the first one is pretty applicable, but the psychological one really seems to hit the tongue on the tastebud. It says that resilience,

“refers to the idea of an individual's tendency to cope with stress and adversity. This coping may result in the individual ‘bouncing back’ . . .  Resilience is most commonly understood as a process, and not a trait of an individual.”

Just change the phrase “an individual” to “ an individual’s gut” and it speaks for itself.

I can really appreciate the process part.  I believe that over time, by giving my body what it burns best, I am helping it to reach more optimal health.  People with healthy immune systems generally do not feel the effects of disease as much.  I have noticed that many of the colds that come through and really knock my friends and housemates out, generally tend to hit me less.

Focusing on resilience, does not mean ignoring the problem.  After working in the field of wilderness therapy for 6 years, I have thought quite a bit and interacted with individuals and families with amazing capacities and abilities to be resilient. 

So, I am deciding to continue to commit to building my digestional resilience.  This leaves space for occasional setbacks because they always prove to me the need for more resilience in the future.  AND, I like being resilient.  I like paying attention to the journey, as well as the results.  I want an elastic and resilient digestive tract.  I want to be able to bounce back, rather than be unbreakable. 

Whether I do the cleanse or not, I know that my gut appreciates me every time I take one more bite of something that helps it regulate our flow.

Found this photo under 'resilience' on this website.
Seemed like a very applicable picture and website.