free will

Have you ever refused to eat your vegetables, using the argument that they tasted “yucky”? If the answer is yes, did you later change your mind about vegetables when you learned about their superior nutrient content? Probably not. In America, we like to throw education at things because we think that will fix all our problems. “If only we educate them about the benefits nutritious foods, then they will all make appropriate lifestyle changes.” Right?

I think there is more to the equation than education. I have been pondering this thought for a few days, wondering how useful my book will be if no one actually follows the recommendations...

And then, the answer came to me. A serendipitous comment uttered by Daniel Faraday in this evening's episode of LOST...

"I’ve been so focused on the constants that I forgot about the variables," Daniel proclaims.
"What variables?" Jack asks.
"Us," replies Faraday, "we all make choices that influence the future. We can change our future..."

While not verbatim, the general idea is that we, as humans, have free will. We get the unique opportunity to create our lives in any way we want. This includes choices about food.

Maybe someone told you to “eat organic” and your immediate thought was “I can’t afford that.” Well, think again. What if it IS possible? In my life, I’ve found that, if I put enough positive energy into something, anything is possible.

Really.

If I truly want something and I do everything you can to make it happen, it eventually happens. To go along with the example: If I wanted to buy organic but didn’t originally think I could afford it, I would think about buying organic, talk about buying organic, share my plan to buy organic with friends… By making all my thoughts and words positive, I would, in turn, bring the experience to myself. Maybe my mom would buy me a bushel of organic apples. Or maybe a friend would give me the heads up about an organic greens sale at Grocery Outlet.

Maybe it’s not as simple as I make it sound, but I do know that eating with integrity means taking responsibility. Eating with integrity means not making excuses. Today you have the opportunity to create a delicious meal. You choose what to buy for dinner.