There are a great number of reasons why working on your relationship with food matters. And multiple lenses to observe eating through! Yes, we want to be good examples to our children. Yes, we want to support local growers and farmers and the local economy.
However, in this post, I'm offering a psycho-spiritual bent:
Working on your relationship with food is a way of doing "shadow work":
How?
1.) You can watch your judgments in action as far as other people's behavior and choices with food goes and observe your projections onto other people,
2.) Delaying any addictive impulse (in this case any kind of compulsive action with food) can allow for unconscious material (often bigger feelings, emotions, or an activated complex) to move into the forefront of awareness. This can be intense but you can do legitimate healing work this way, getting to the crux of things.
Working on your relationship with food helps you build a tolerance for being here, being alive:
The more a person can expand their window of tolerance for sensations and emotions, and cultivate skills to move intense
energy through the body, the more HERE a human being can often be. This reduces the need to medicate unpleasant experiences through stuffing oneself with food or restricting food to escape life.
Working on your relationship with food creates space for desires and causes outside of food, allowing you to participate in life in a deeper way:
If you've ever struggled with eating, you know the fixation can take up a considerable amount of energy, time, and attention. Healing and improving one's relationship with food (i.e. giving it its proper place in life) liberates energy for things that are deeply meaningful to you, whether relationships, family, causes, creative works, etc...It's often wise to start doing what you care about NOW, not waiting until your health, body, or eating is perfect. Life itself is food and nourishment if you allow for that.
I hope these considerations speak to you in some way!
With love & respect,
Laura
[My 1-Day Eating Psychology Retreat is coming up very quickly, on Saturday, January 20th from 10am-5pm. Details here. Join us!]