Feeding my soul

I'm always willing to talk to people about anything going on in my life, and some people have asked me about my intermittent fasting. I started - and nearly finished - a long blog post about what I do to stay healthy, and then I had to stop. Talking about my health food plan I wrote, "Evening can be painful - I stop eating at 6pm and if I'm still hungry, I'm outta luck. I have to just keep my hands busy, have a cup of tea and hope bedtime comes soon!" And I got an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. It wasn't hunger...

It was guilt. I realized I had to check my privilege. Dieting really is a first world problem, isn't it?

In my county alone, it's estimated that 128,620 people are food insecure, meaning that they have limited or uncertain access to nutritionally adequate food. (Feeding America.) $75M are needed to meet my county's food needs. Just my county. Check yours here: https://map.feedingamerica.org/.

The pandemic has put a laser focus on hunger in America and in the world, but it has opened our eyes wide to all the inequities of our country in every facet of life. I sit here typing from Minnesota, where a police officer is currently on trial for killing George Floyd and where, a week ago, another Black man, Daunte Wright, was killed by police for no reason. Health disparities are everywhere also, as Black Americans are less likely to join drug trials because of past white intolerances, lies and negligence, and Latinx Americans are 1.5x as likely to get Alzheimer's disease. 

I've talked about my anxieties and worries on this blog. I've talked about the emptiness I feel when I have no outlet, when I have grief that seems insurmountable, when I feel like I can't solve all the pain and hurt in the world. 

It feels very silly to write about my dieting plan. I know that everyone has their own struggles and that each obstacle is still an obstacle to the person crossing it, but it still seems very inadequate. 

So instead of writing about how you, too can lose pounds, I'll give thanks to the Lord, who has blessed me with such bounty and abundance. I'll continue to nourish my body with healthy food and watch it grow stronger with exercise so that I can be as successful as possible in life. I'll fill my mind with encouragement and love and fill my network with support and grace. I'll forgive. I'll pray. I'll be grateful.

And I'll donate to an organization that fights inequities. This month, it'll be Feeding America.