Uncomfortable Fasting

Courtesy Pixabay - Geralt

I recently read a Becoming Minimalist’s article about fasting.  As this well-known (and worthwhile) writer explains, fasting is another way for each of us to become more aware.

When I read his words, I had to stop and think about the words “fasting from what would give me an uncomfortable feeling”? I’m okay without a cell phone (as every family member of mine knows), I wouldn’t notice if the TV was off for a day or two (it would give me an excuse to spend time reading one of the many books waiting on my shelf), I could even easily give up talking for a few hours (a privilege of being an introvert).

However, three scarier give-ups crept into my mind:

Chocolate – in any form! Cookies, cheesecake or tiny morsels straight from the bad. Yes I break up our large bar (Waterbridge - best chocolate ever) into 2 square portions. How harmful could that be? But the need I have to end many meals with those 2 squares of delight would be difficult to give up for a week.

Coffee – admission: I’ve only recently become a coffee snob. I was raised in a household where coffee came by the teaspoonful out of a Nescafé jar. Only years later did I realize how horrible that stuff was. My tastes and my budget have changed. Now it’s only Kicking Horse beans in our cupboard. This would be difficult to give up for a day.

Wine –And just to clarify, one glass is usually enough to make me see the world through rose coloured glasses. I have a little more money in my pocket as I did a few years ago, I no longer buy sweet 1.5l bottles and nurse them for the entire month. Wine is to be enjoyed, consumed in a healthy way and looked forward to over a weekend. But as long weekends come and go.. the wine sometimes starts on a Thursday night. Oh-Oh.

If these three things have taken away some of my control, where else am I wasting my discipline?

We all have our weaknesses. It’s when these flaws are acted on with little or no understanding that the problems can begin.

To make any kind of change in our life, we need to examine where we have given our focus, what we use as our crutch, and what this choice is taking away from us.

If we think about it, most of us might do something too much or too little: eat, sleep, watch TV, yell at our kids, spend the grocery money foolishly, work, time fretting about social media, exercise, complain, talk. Or eat chocolate, and drink coffee and wine.

My three things are not jeopardizing my physical or mental health, they are not ruining my dreams and my goals. But they have made me think about why they are important to me. They do not identify who I am. Could I give them up, yes of course. But what if I couldn’t? 

What if you can’t find your way out of a behaviour that is causing harm? They would have taken away our control, our discipline and that is indeed a problem.

So I agree with Becoming Minimalist, a Fast, for one hour or one day or one week will make us stop and think. And if the mere thought of doing this is scary, well that tells us that it is worth investigating.

And if you would like to share your three things, let’s support each other in our efforts.

Which three things, if you were going to limit, would make you uncomfortable?  (Tweet This)

When you think of three things that you are attached to, how "uncomfortable" do you feel? Tweet This)