Junk Food for the Soul

A client of mine in his early 60s was frustrated with his body. He can't run any longer due to pain in his knee.

When we look at our frustrations, we’ve always got great reasons for them.

Reasons for our frustrations are junk food for the soul. 

We use our reasons to judge parts of ourselves, others, and the world. And what do they give us? More of the same - a stomach ache and a life that hasn’t improved.

My client was attacking his body with his judgment and frustration. He was drinking the poison of judgment and condemnation, and he somehow expected that to help.

Reasons let us feel justified and right, but we end up feeling crappy about it. Reasons are empty calories.

Then when we’re feeling down, we attempt to make ourselves feel better. We complain to friends and family, we scroll on social media, we watch Netflix or read some fantasy, or we indulge in some actual junk food.

More junk food for the soul.

Those behaviors don’t resolve the underlying source of our problems, they just distract us from them.

I aim to bring a compassionate, open listening to everything my clients share with me. And then we explore what’s said and what’s unsaid, and what’s underneath and energizing it all. 

By the end of that brief conversation, my client had fallen in love with his knees. For over 60 years they’ve served him pain-free. They’ve moved him, they’ve supported him, and they did so with just about no acknowledgment or noticing. 

His knee pain had transformed from a source of frustration and sadness to a gateway to gratitude and love.

Our conversation tilled the soil of his mind and heart, and he now feeds his garden with gratitude, compassion, and love.

Now that’s some soul food.

Much Love. ❤️