Does Digestion Have More To Do About Life Than About Food?

So often we struggle with the idea of what choice to make. In terms of health, there are many factors and today the focus is digestion. It has been discussed in spiritual circles that disease is often dis-ease over one area of life or another.

Many years ago I was taught that digestion was about the breakdown of food. There were a few references to absorption of nutrients but that was not the focus. It seems to me that since the digestive tract in the human system is quite huge and involved, that it is a good metaphor for life.

I have been shifting the intake of my food for several years. When I was younger I was quite taken with dairy. Even though I was raised on a farm with lots of fresh produce and little pesticides, I really seemed taken to the comfort I felt when I consumed dairy. This was many years ago before the quality of dairy was as compromised as it is today.

My husband was raised in the city and was given what his mother decided was healthy nutrition. Although she provided lots of veggies, there was a large percentage of legumes and processed additives. Sweets for him offered a rush of energy and a feeling of being alive.

I lived in a rural community which was slow paced and he in a city which was not. It’s interesting to me that his environment encouraged a push of energy in his eating. My setting guided me to comfort. I wonder how often our current settings affect our choices in eating.

I’ve often heard that digestive complaints correspond to what we cannot process or “digest” in life. In those early years, life was harsh for me and dairy presented what I thought at the time was soothing. I sought foods which helped emotionally balance out the sharpness of life.

My husband felt drawn to sugar so he could push himself to do more and feel “up” to doing things. Sugar for him was the driving force to get through life.

How often do any of us use our choices in food to digest or process that which surrounds us? Is the coffee going to help us “digest” the business meeting or family gathering? Does our “heart burn” when we evaluate our days? Does our food just stay stuck and become heavy just as our spirits are pushed to yet another deadline?

For me, healing has been a real journey into what brings me pain and what brings me joy. As my surroundings and friends have changed, my eating has as well. I no longer seek comfort in dairy. It has played its part for me. I now find myself enjoying comfort in nature, romance, friendship, and my animals.

What comforts do you seek? How have food and life choices caused you difficulty in digesting life?

My husband has found that as his lifestyle choices change so does his appreciation for life. Life is no longer about driving through. It’s about appreciating now.