When Eating is Protection
Updated: Feb 9, 2018
There is safety in the familiar.
Eating a tub of ice-cream is not threatening, or scary, or nerve wracking.
It numbs all thought, halts depression, leaves the pain or discomfort or the to-do list in a world far away from the cold spoon in your mouth.
Boredom is solved. Insecurity vanishes. Fear is gone. The moment is peaceful.
The intent is positive. It's frightening and paralyzing to not know the next best step. Instinct tells us time and again not to go too far outside of our comfort zone. Who knows what's lying ahead, what may be waiting, out there.
But when we're eating to release the pain and discomfort of being, trading in momentary pleasure in an effort of self-preservation, then what we're really doing is holding ourselves back from experiencing who we're truly capable of becoming.
Eating to numb yourself from your reality will not protect you from the past. Eating will not protect you from pain or sadness that life may bring in countless forms in the future. Eating just adds another layer of struggle, something to muffle your true voice or fears or discomfort when you put the spoon down and sit again with yourself. Eating is a way to avoid doing the hard work- learning how to be still.
Eating for protection is a thinly veiled attempt at healing the discomfort you feel. But the truth is that there is no way to run away from the experiences of life. Dulling your inner voice with food is resisting the part of you that is waiting for kindness, compassion, and attention.
To truly create peace you must surrender. You must be willing to walk through the confusion and fear and pain, instead of going around it. You must practice feeling your emotions, and become familiar with their stories. You must be willing to listen, instead of drown out.
It takes a brave, brave soul to go through this world open to what is, what was, and what may be. It takes courage to accept that you are the only one who can walk your path, to accept that there is no escape. And when you find this bravery, the future is yours.