'Tis the Season to be a Raw Foodie

It is a cold, windy and overcast day in Tulsa, Oklahoma. However, this weather somehow doesn't fit my feelings on the inside. Recently I've been aware of this warm humming deep down in my solar plexis. That grand feeling that something wonderful is happening, yet I am not exactly sure what it is or how to define it just yet. Maybe it's the feeling like one has when they are pregnant...that expectancy of knowing the baby is coming, but there's no idea of how everything will ultimately go or what the baby will look like or how he/she will be, once delivered and in your arms.

As many of you know, I am not 100% raw in my daily life. I eat a high raw diet, but I still continue to eat a bit of cooked here and there. That's just my life and I have a level of comfort with that, yet there is always the elusive, full blown, hard core commitment that I see in others I've admired. You know, those special ones, the 100% raw food elite club, the members of the raw Admiral's Club, you know those I speak of, right? I watch them....I study them....I am impressed by their level of commitment and discipline. I ponder this group with high respect and honor, yet, there I go again, a hand full of potato chips into the cake hole before I realize what I've done. Just lost my membership into the inner sanctum once again.

I know....Dhrumil says this, "People fail on raw when they look for it to define their Being. You are much greater than any diet could ever be. Go 100% raw if you like, treat it as a game or a challenge, not as reflection of who you are. Don't find or define yourself in your diet." The raw guru has spoken. Even though I could technically be this hipster's mother, I respect his wisdom and his experience with this whole raw game. His success in life is merely fueled by his raw diet. My new friend Justine adds, "Raw is alive and living and supports the life choices I make...definitely doesn't define me though!" Amen to that. Finally, Jennifer adds, "I am a flame burning by Divine Inspiration, My spark is fanned with nourishment alive & vibrant. I am the fire, the food is my fuel." Enough said.

So, here is my deal.....I will give up my attachment to being 100% raw for the sake of saying it. That whole percent issue is probably overrated because it is not about the food. And it certainly shouldn't be about a competition or about being holier than thou. Raw food is NOT a religion. It is only about the food choices we make for our health. The only reason those members of the Raw Admiral's Club are so amazing is because raw foods, full of enzymes and life, recreate the body, mind and spirit on a deep cellular level. When you give your body the best fuel possible, the body responds and is capable of doing and being more than if could ever be on a heavily cooked, processed, chemical infused food diet.

I've been circling the airport and now I am gonna land this plane....here's the deal - I am making a commitment, to myself and anyone that maybe reading this, to go 100% raw for this final month of December 2007. I am not doing this to earn my gold winged club pin or anything like that. I am choosing to do this because I want the next level of optimum health. Although I've been on that road, moving in that direction already....I want to start 2008 with the court advantage. I want to reduce the inflammation that comes from dabbling and tasting all of the treats that come around during the holidays. I want to wake up fresh and alert every morning...not partially hung over from overindulgences and foggy brained from one too many toddies. I would like to lose these lingering pounds that have clung on like a leech to my hips, thighs and stomach. I want to have my spirit clear and free from the attachments to wrong foods for the sake of tradition.

Many who read this may already be where I am going because you are living the high life and dining on a diet that is 100% raw. If you are there, save me a seat....I'll see you in January. And for any of you who would like to come along with me for this ride, hop on. Let's encourage one another. If we stumble, we can scoop one another up and get right back on track. Let me know your thoughts....I'd love to hear from you.

Photo Coutesy of Ancestry Family Blog