Balance

A friend of mine has devised a product I just adore: Bliss Mix, www.transitionnutrition.com. The first time I tasted it I had been on a longish airplane ride to Montana, the van taking us to Feathered Pipe Ranch had not arrived, and as usual I was starving. Erich Schiffmann and his brother Karl produced this bag of the stuff, it has little nubs of raw cacao, Gojiberries, Mulberries. I loved it, but because we were all sharing it, I ate in moderation.

Later, I discovered it on the shelves of Whole Foods and now I'm a Bliss Mix fanatic. Note the word fanatic - therein lies the problem. Bliss Mix is good for you - full of organic, raw protein and fiber. Yesterday, this time quite alone, I gobbled down an entire bag of the stuff alone. I was trying to cut down on calories, I'd been fine dining, (again to excess,) with my husband on a romantic weekend in Sonoma. My idea of romance includes large amounts of coffee and wine with dinner. Do you see the pattern emerging here?

I have a history of migraine headaches; coffee can be helpful - it shrinks the swollen blood vessels, (caused sometimes by wine, chocolate, and ironically, too much coffee.) Yesterday, after the binge on the Bliss Mix, the effects of the coffee wearing off, and my instantaneous desire to "fast" I got a doozy of a migraine. My migraines aren't normal headaches - they consist of a debilitating pounding on the right side of my head, shakes and body spasms that look like a stroke, followed by vomiting like there is no tomorrow. Yesterday it all hit and I was sorry to have eaten seven servings of Bliss Mix - felt good going down. It always feels good going down.

Today its helpful to remember the importance of balance. Even stuff that feels great to an extent can hurt us, throw us off, if we over indulge. Balance is a tricky concept for me. I tend to go over board when I love something. If it's a book, I read it straight though without stopping for air and water. If it's a lover I tend to allow myself to be consumed right then. Flirting, waiting, patience: those concepts don't sit well for me. I'm realizing it may be helpful to learn to sit in the in between more moderately.

Balance leads to harmony. Today I pour patience into all I am. Today is a good time to be less concerned with the doing as the being - to float in a harmonious state with all around me instead of grating through in conflict, after some goal.

There is only shining being today - and believe me after last night I am clear. Today I allow myself balance between the here and there, the now and always.