Finding freedom from food stress through Japanese gratitude
How to navigate mindful eating for beginners
The holidays used to be a very complicated time for me– it’s a confusing time where we are simultaneously encouraged to indulge in desserts and treats, but warned to watch what we eat.
Enjoy pies (but watch your sugar!)
Have some gravy (but tsk tsk, that’s a lot of saturated fat!)
Take some mashed potatoes (but carbs!)
Even if the people around us aren’t saying these things, it can be a tough inner voice to shake off. Eating can feel stressful during this time.
But when navigating the worry we sometimes feel around food (especially “non-healthy” holiday food), instead of just trying to ignore the inner voice, maybe we can try practicing gratitude– a solution I found effective after learning about the seven gods inside my grain of rice.
Finding freedom from food stress through Japanese gratitude
There is a Japanese proverb that translates to “in a grain of rice lives seven gods”. It’s a proverb someone may admonish you with, should you leave a plate with food still on it or a particularly messy bowl of rice.
一粒のお米には七人の神様がいる —…