One Belief I Have That my Family Does not Have.

A post for Trust 30 … a 30-day writing challenge I’m participating in.

Today’s Prompt:

It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude. - Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

The world is powered by passionate people, powerful ideas, and fearless action. What’s one strong belief you possess that isn’t shared by your closest friends or family? What inspires this belief, and what have you done to actively live it? by Buster Benson

My Response:

(There’s a number of things I could write about here … but I’ve decided to go with something that could probably be called more of a choice than a belief, because I’m comfortable writing about this.)

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“You need to eat … your body needs nutrition.”

Those words were spoken with concern by a caring hospital dietitian. She visited me regularly wondering if there was anything I was hungry for. My world had been turned upside down, so I craved comfort.

I ask for soup. Soup is comfort for me.

She contradicted the popular thought that hospitals don’t serve good and healthy food with the colorful soup that was delivered daily after that. She visited me again, to tell me how happy she was to see my dishes being sent back empty.

After six weeks I was ready to go home, but I wanted to take her with me. She gave me some parting advice.

“How you eat will determine how you heal.”

I believed her and did my best to feed my body well … but I missed her care and her soup.

Fast forward a year or so … and I’m struggling. Struggling with the new normal I’m being forced to live with. I don’t like my body, so I don’t care about treating it well. I eat … whatever is the easiest, fattiest, sweetest, cheesiest and contains the most chocolate. I eat too much of it and gain weight. I don’t care.

Another year or so … a saint helps me learn how to live again. This is my life … whether it’s what I want or not. I can’t change the past and who knows what the future holds. I have today. This moment. NOW. What will I do to make it as good as possible?

Along with other things, I exercise and I  think about … how you eat will determine how you heal. I knew that if it mattered while I was healing, it matters all the time.

Fruits and vegetables fill the drawers of my fridge. Bowls of apples and bananas are within easy reach. I aim for whole foods … the closer to their natural state, the better. I eat more oatmeal and less ice cream.

I read, research and learn. I begin leaning towards not eating meat. I gain valuable information from others, especially Matt at No Meat Athlete. I make a choice to go meatless for one month (January 2010) to see how I feel. No one in my family is a vegetarian. None of my friends are. I’m not sure what they will say. I don’t know if I’m ready to defend my choice. So I keep it quiet.

I continue to cook meat for my family, … but I quietly make something different for myself. Rice and beans soon become my favorite. If we go out to eat, I have a salad and a baked potato or pasta and vegetables.

After the month is up, I feel great … so I continue.

As situations arise where it’s obvious, people around me slowly find out. I shouldn’t have been worried about their response … they are kind. Some have questions. Some pity me. Some think I’m crazy. But no one harasses or pressures me as I thought they might.

My boys say I am an odd vegetarian, because while I don’t hate animals, I’m not an animal lover in any sense of the word. I have no pets and hope to keep it that way.

But something inside of me rejects the idea of eating another living creature. I cannot do it and the longer I go without eating meat … the more I feel that way. Plus I question how healthy it is … and with all the other foods available, I don’t see a need for it.

The number one question people ask me is the same that it is for every vegetarian, “Where do you get your protein?” I find this interesting, because when someone says they don’t like broccoli or something like that, I never hear someone ask, “Where do you get your vitamin A or C or K from?”

I’ve discovered that I’m stronger than I give myself credit for … I can live with a different belief than the people around me and all is well.

As for the answer to the protein question … here’s a great post from Matt at No Meat Athlete:  Vegetarian Protein Foods.

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Your turn: What’s one strong belief you possess that isn’t shared by your closest friends or family?

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My first Trust 30 post.