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I learn so much from people at meetings. A month or so ago we were talking about intentions, and a woman said she “found the results of her intentions in her crisper bin.” We all burst out laughing, because we all know that drawer in the fridge—the one with exotic vegetables: celery root, kale, mustard greens, varieties of eggplants large and small, unnamedwizened mushrooms and fungus, as well as the traditional salad-makings and snacking carrots. I buy them in a passion for healthy eating, preparing new dishes and tasting new flavors. I get them all at once, not realizing there is no possible way to consume them all before they become limp, pale shadows of their previous snappy, robust selves. The worst case is they all get purchased, put away, and then forgotten until they dissolve into a hard-to-discern soup or paste. I toss them out in shame, another good idea gone bad, another set of resolutions forgotten or ignored.

life in bite size morslesSo frequently I have embarked on a plan to change something in my life. This had led to the gym memberships, the facial scrubs and protocols, the potted plants, and the purchased food. Most often this desire had come from a deeper longing to feel differently, to make acceptable something I found unacceptable, or to make whole some feeling of disintegration.

There is that moment of internal discord when I know I need to change something, get frustrated, land on the superficial, and then try to implement a plan. I start on the outer layer, the physical, and try to change everything: my looks, weight, hair, face, and skin—the obvious and external. I also try to do it all at once.

If I strive for too much too soon without really feeling my way through the process, I over-promise myself and set the path to failure, as I had done in active addiction: “I want it all now.” Instead, I could get one new vegetable per week, make one small change per month, to try it on, see how it works, practice the commitment to the intention as much as the intention itself.

The next time I set an intention, I will start with an empty, clean crisper and take my time to fill it. In lieu of a resolution to eat healthier, I can bring the intention of one new vegetable a week into my life. Instead of pledging to start running again, I will take meditative walks. In making the plan to treat myself with respect, I will move in the direction of health, not appearance. Rather than making a promise, I can have a goal. I will investigate the landscape of “some” rather than finding only happiness in “all.” Here’s to you, new crisper bin—may we make new friends this year.

Author

Kyczy Hawk; author and E-RYT 500 Kyczy has been teaching recovery focused yoga classes since 2008. She is also an author having published several books combining the philosophy of yoga with recovery principles. Her most recent books are “Yogic Tools For Recovery; A Guide To Working The Steps” and its companion workbook. She is also the author of “Yoga and the Twelve Step Path” , “Life in Bite-Sized Morsels” , and “From Burnout to Balance” as well as five recovery oriented word puzzle books.You can also join Kyczy and a host of other people in recovery every Sunday morning at 8am PT (11 am ET) on In The Rooms at the Yoga Recovery meeting. She currently holds online Y12SR meetings combining a full 45 minutes of all paths recovery meeting and 45 minutes of all levels yoga.It meets Sundays 4pm PDT (register at wllowglenyoga.com .) Kyczy is very proud of her family; husband, kids, and grandkids, all who amaze her in unique and wonderful ways. Join her mailing list for other information and links to free classes at www.yogarecovery.com.

2 Comments

  1. Kathleen Russell Reply

    I love this from your book! I love your message and will buy your book 🙂 The best of intentions taken to the next level. Shopping frenzy and filling the crisper only to throw most of it away 🙁 When we slow down just a little and use the pre-planning meals tool~ ONLY 3 days in advance helps to keep it simple and not be in over our head.

  2. That is the secret isn’t it- to slow down and plan a little. Your work can help us do that from what I have read.

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