The Hint Dropping Begins

I once heard a wise man say something along the lines of, “sometimes God gives you little hints in life. If you’re not listening sometimes he’ll give you a tap on the shoulder”. This struck a chord with me, even if that wise man was Dr Phil, there was something that made me stand to attention. We need to listen to that little inner voice and pay attention to what we need or it might be too late. I’ve witnessed these little hints in my own life.  I really do believe I’m quite intuitive, but I’m so busy and so frantic that I often put these little hints aside and get caught up in the busyness of life. I’m a mother, I’m a teacher, I’ve got shit to do! Yes the migraines are a hint, but I DON’T HAVE TIME to stop. The odd early morning panic attack- hurry up and go so I can get on with my day. What a luxury, to actually have time to listen to your inner voice and take action.

So last year I decided to make some changes. I was eating well and I’d kept off some significant weight I’d lost a couple of years before and I was busy. I was happy, or so I thought. I could wear clothes that I wanted, I was active and loving life but I felt like I needed to do better. A whole heap of reading and a genuine interest lead me to make some changes for my family, the main focus was around food. I hated the way my children ate and I set off on a mad mission to eat better. Better meant that I was up til all hours cooking every single morsel my children ate by hand. No packaged foods- I cleared cupboards and frantically searched for the best and freshest products. We were full blown Paleo and I was finally happy with how we were eating, and our philosophy on natural products in all aspects of our life changed. I was trusting my instincts and it all felt right, except that I felt so unwell. I looked great, my skin was great and I’d lost even more weight. But I was suffering with headaches, ocular migraines and crippling anxiety.

This lead me to an amazing naturopath who did some testing and informed me that although my body was responding well to what I was eating, I was most likely in adrenal fatigue and my body was basically a hot mess. All of the research, cooking, worrying and stress was taking its toll. He wanted me to stop running while I was like this, my body needed me to stop. He suggested meditation instead but my fear of getting fat again won and I continued to exercise every chance I could.  I couldn’t keep it up and again, I was surrounded by big fat hints, but I desperately wanted this for my family. I wanted to be one of those mums I’d read about who only fed her children the most nourishing, organic food with not a package in sight.  I had failed.

Fast forward a few months, and we’d made some more changes. Some packages had wormed their way back into our lives, but overall we’d made some better choices. As I reflected on the whole journey I realised how my life had always been a massive swing from one extreme to another, particularly around food. Upon reflection I came to realise that my instincts were telling me what I should do. I needed BALANCE. I still wanted to eat well and be active, to nourish my family and use natural products in my home. But I didn’t want to do this at the expense of my own health. These changes needed to be for life and they needed to fit into our life in the modern world. So I claimed 2016 as the year of balance. Yay! Balance! Sounds easy enough. Let’s go 2016! Balance, balance! If I say it enough it will happen, right?