Sweet Peace #34: Breaking Through

Break on through 

(Thanks for joining me on this 52-week journey toward peace which began with sugar and food and now reaches out to every aspect of my path. 

May it sweeten your own journey. -- Joyce Wycoff)

With the Doors hit in my mind, I wonder what it’s going to take to “break on through to the other side.” On the 34^th week of this journey, I can recognize the progress made as well as some of the steps yet to be taken.

For the first time in my long life, sugar isn’t actively in charge of my mind. However, yesterday as I hung out with my 17-year-old granddaughter, we found ourselves in front of a pastry counter featuring a most gorgeous lemon curd tart (as well as many other stunningly beautiful pastries). I felt little other than visual appreciation and joy at the sweetness of the moment. I also knew I was but a choice away from falling back into the gravitational pull of sugar. 

    Processed carbohydrates are infrequent and I should be a dietitian’s delight … except … except my blood sugar is still running slightly elevated: 111 this morning. A bit of googling confirms the thought that age could be a factor. So, what now?

As the rhythm and lyrics of “Break on Through” play on endless repeat in my mind, it makes me wonder if I need to define what the other side is. At this stage of life, it could be death, but since I’m really not in control of that event, it’s not a helpful metric. What makes more sense is how to live the rest of the years in front of me. My body will never again be like my granddaughter’s (actually never was like hers) but it is relatively healthy and energetic, for which I’m extremely grateful.

There are many things left to do and enjoy in the years left … continuing to be healthy is a prime motivator, even if the results cannot be guaranteed. 

So, perhaps I’m back to sweet peace … now defined as mind/body peace. Decades of dieting created an adversarial playing field pitting body against mind in a struggle of deprivation, guilt, and shame. I’ve often thought there was a rebellious teenager deep within me who demanded the right to consume whatever she wanted whenever she wanted without consequences.

Now I believe that my wisdom woman is breaking through, knowing that everything is related and the laws of the universe are always in play. Whatever it is that I am lies within the dance of mind and body, swirling through the uncontrollable Universe around me. While I can’t control my outcome, I can respond to everything that comes my way with as much physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health as possible.

Breaking through to Sweet Peace is a journey of choice.

Simple as 1-2-3

I like simple and felt the need to articulate some guidelines for the journey ahead of me. 

1. Practice gratitude daily

2. Maximize active engagement with the beauty of the world

3. Understand and share my authentic self generously 

Trust the Path