I gazed longingly at the key lime tart in my sweetie’s hand.  I salivated a little as I imagined what he was tasting as he bit into the tart.  A glance over at my sister-in-law’s plate revealed a collection of mouth watering sweets that she was sharing with her husband.  Then I looked down at my empty plate and sighed.

“Do you want a bite of my tart?” my husband asked.

“No…you know I can’t have that,”  I replied, “I can’t have anything good,” I pouted.

It wasn’t true, of course.  My inner drama queen had just decided that she wanted some stage time (throwing the back of her hand across her forehead….poor, deprived me!)

 It’s been more than four years since I gave up sugar, gluten, dairy and several other foods in order to support my body in healing.  I am a believer in the concept of food as medicine and intuitively I knew that I could help my body recover from the cancer by making different food choices.  I am very used to not having the classic desserts and treats that my friends and family have so I wasn’t sure why it was bothering me so much to watch them indulge this time. 

 Several days later, it was still bothering me as I talked about it with a good friend of mine.  A few years ago I had the realization that I was afraid of food – afraid that if I didn’t eat exactly ‘right’, the cancer would come back (and that I had a belief that I could control whether the cancer came back or not!). So I began to relax my approach to eating but in talking with my friend, it came out that I was still afraid of food on a more subtle level.

“What is the balance between food as medicine and food as pleasure,” I mused out loud. 

“How can I stay committed to protecting myself from cancer and at the same time enjoy a wider variety of food?”

Then my very wise friend asked me a really good question (and you know how I love a good question!).

“What if it’s not ‘how can I stay committed to not dying’ but instead ‘how can I commit to living,’” she offered. 

The question landed in my heart and I immediately felt the power of the reframe – it is about living from a place of love instead of fear.  My choices now become about the actions, people and activities that make me feel alive in my body, heart, mind and spirit, rather than the choices that help me to merely exist – it’s about thriving instead of surviving. It’s a commitment that I am very willing to make!

What are you committed to?  Are you living and choosing from a place of fear or a place of love?  Which place would you rather be in?  As we move into the second half of our summer, consider aligning with the expansive, juicy energy of summer.  There’s nothing like summer energy to make you feel fully alive!

Love,