All the truths in the world don’t matter unless and until we discover them to be true for ourselves. Journey to the Heart (Jan 21).
This passage from Journey to the Heart would not stop running through my mind after hearing it at a yoga class. We seek truths, unknowingly come upon them, and often wonder why we didn’t know them in the first place. But, it's because our life’s journey is to find our truth. The passage says that while books, lectures, and friends can help us find truth, they can’t provide the 'answer' because it is within us. Yes, we must believe the truth, but that is not enough. It is not just knowing. It must feel right in our consciousness for it to be true.
truth in wellness
The message from this passage can be tied to everything in life, and may resonate with whatever it is you are struggling with right now: career, love, family, etc. For me, my instinct immediately associated this quote, the passage, with the path to wellness that so many are on.
This idea, that ‘truths don’t matter unless and until we discover them for ourselves’ really got me thinking. We want to find truth - the truth to feeling good, looking good, and longevity. We read magazines, watch TV, listen to our friends successes and failures, and experiment with our bodys’ in an attempt to find the answer, once and for all, to what we seek.
This is why we start diets, and don’t stick to it. This is why we are eager to find out about someone else’s new workout or way of eating that led them to body changes we desire. We are drawn to the promise of results because we want the answer, truth.
As a dietitian, I sometimes wonder: why doesn’t someone want to be healthier or want to eat well, why isn’t someone motivated by the potential of their own mortality? I wonder what knowledge they need, but most of us know a lot of things about health and wellness. It is not lack of knowledge, but lack of truth. Perhaps we don’t believe something will work for us so we don't even try, or it has yet to work for us and we have given up, or our attention is elsewhere at this time in our life.
For the many who do have a focus on their health and wellness, it can be an insatiable search with a lot of trial and error. But it seems our focus is wrong. We look outwardly for results and to others, instead of inwardly to what feels right in our body.
That is the missing piece, looking inward. Until you feel good, a way of life won’t ring true for you. I believe this is why people push their diets or way of living on others - not because they want to be obnoxious, but for them, it has become their truth. They have trouble recognizing that it may not be a truth for everyone else.
So I am encouraging you to try out a new way of eating, a new food, new exercise - experiment. But vow to listen to within. You will know if its feels right for you, if it lights you up and excites you or if it weighs you down and burdens you.
Like the passage says- we are on a journey to find our truth. When people ask me for meal plans, or what to eat to ‘be healthy’ and lose weight, I tell them I don’t know. Because I don’t. I have knowledge about food, metabolism, the body, but I don't know your truth. I can’t give you that truth, no one can. If they promise they can- they are lying (hi, diet industry).
But, don't feel hopeless, you will find your truth if you are open to it.
Here is how I can help: I can inspire you to try something new (food, exercise or way of thinking). I can encourage you to evaluate your thoughts about yourself and how you measure success. I have tools to help you discover what works for you. I have guidelines not rules, suggestions not prescriptions, and compassion not tough love, because it can take us time to find our truth. We should keep searching for what wellness means for us.
Are you taking an active role in your health, in your happiness, in your truth? We are here to learn from within. If you live in the Baltimore area I hope you will join me on Saturday Feb 10th for an amazing workshop at BreakAway Yoga in Parkville. This Galentine's Day Brunch event will include discussion of using internal cues for food making decisions and introductions to intuitive eating. You can sign up here.
Remember: 'a truth isn’t yours until it rings true for you'.
