The Cost of Overweight

In keeping with my current theme of the never ending practice of renunciation, this quote from this monk, whose wisdom I love in general (I’m always saving screenshots of her teachings) really resonated. Essentially, anything big or small that blocks our spiritual health most likely(definitely) needs to be released. This work isn’t complete without looking at the flip side of renunciation; what can I now add/continue that encourages me along on my spiritual journey? What a great lesson in impermanence. I see myself as a bucket, always filling up then pouring, repeating this cycle over and over. What a gift it is to be able to pry the unproductive and unhealthy elements from our lives, however excruciating this can be. What torture it is to have to force open our hard held habits of clinging. Can I renounce talking about the thing from 2 weeks ago in exchange for sitting outside for ten minutes? Yes. Can I renounce the need for a certain person in my life in exchange for the bigger picture? Yes. Can I give up a brief sensory experience (insert here) in exchange for discipline? Ugh, yes. Can I let go of the urge to call my friend and bitch about someone in exchange for choosing where to direct my energy and integrity? Yes. Can I give up extra hours of sleep to get up and meditate? Usually. Sometimes the sleep is more important, in which case I’m letting go of what it means to be a “good meditator”. Can I renounce this thought in exchange for the gift of peace of mind? Definitely.
Renunciation can be huge, like giving up meat or cigarettes, but it most often presents itself in our moment to moment choices. It is an intention that can feel like getting a car unstuck from thick mud. It’s crucial to not beat ourselves up as we practice renunciation, that is certainly not helpful in any way. Renouncing the need to self punish and self criticize is a beautiful and kind decision in the way of how we function in relationship with ourselves. Self criticism is self harm. It’s abuse we inflict on ourselves. It feels nicer to be objectively aware and accountable of how we dropped the ball, and firmly decide to do better next time. We can skip the part where we berate ourselves and list the reasons why we are failures. The universal spiritual endeavor is called a “path” or “journey” because it has movement. It has no destination, hence the word “practice”. We are all fellow travelers, and one thing I need to constantly remind myself of is that the trip feels lighter and more enjoyable the more I put down. Holding a ton of heavy packages makes getting anywhere pretty impossible.
One of the most stunning and loving questions we can ever ask of ourselves is, what can I put down right now? The more I practice this, the lighter I become by inquiry alone, since the very question points to a part of me that already knows the answer.