Junk food for your soul is
anything that robs you of the ability to experience unconditional
love and joy
Junk Food for Your Soul
by Lori Radun, CEC
My teenager's act of
rebellion is listening to rap music. Personally, I cannot stand the
music. The beat is okay on some songs, but the majority of the
lyrics are horrible. Now, of course, this is my personal opinion,
but I don't think there is much positive to be gained from lyrics
that are centered on cussing, sex, drugs and gangs. Rather than take
the irrational approach of throwing away all the CDs and his stereo,
I choose to talk rationally with him about his choices.
I use the example of junk
food because teenagers understand and love junk food. It's no secret
that too much junk food is bad for your body and your health. Just
like cookies, cakes, chips and candy do nothing to fuel your body;
there are many things that do nothing to feed our soul. I call these
things junk food for your soul. Junk food for your soul is anything
that robs you of the ability to experience unconditional love and
joy. Let's compare the junk food versus the healthy food for your
soul.
Junk Music, Movies and Books
vs. Inspirational Music, Movies and Books Now remember, we are
talking about healthy food for our soul. Have you ever walked into a
movie in a good mood and walked out feeling down and out? That's
happened to me several times. One time in particular was when I saw
"Magnolia" with Tom Cruise. I was on a date with my now husband and
I remember leaving that movie feeling very depressed and angry. To
top it off, it caused a fight between us because my husband thought
the movie was great. Movies, music and books tap into our emotions
and have the ability to fuel the love in our soul or drain it. By
choosing inspirational forms of art, you will lift your spirit and
experience the love that is naturally in you. I'll never forget
listening to this beautiful love song with my best friend in her
media room. The power of the music, the words and the singer's voice
was enough to drive both of us to tears. At the end of the song, we
both just looked at each other with tears in our eyes. We could do
nothing but hug each other because of the love we felt in that
moment.
Complaining vs. Gratitude
It's much easier to focus on all the things we don't have or the
things we don't like. Complaining that you don't have enough money
or your husband doesn't help enough around the house keeps your
energy at a very low level. If you can rise above and practice
gratitude, you will raise your energy level and begin to experience
love. Play a game with yourself. Keep an ongoing list of the top 3
things that happened to you today. I had a nice hot shower this
morning. My husband kissed me goodbye before he left for work. I got
to listen to some great music on the way to work. Throughout your
day, try to replace one of the three things on your list with
something even better. This will keep you focused on having an
attitude of gratitude.
Negative Thinking vs.
Positive Thinking Your thoughts determine your feelings and your
feelings determine your behavior. So what's going to happen if you
think negatively? You will experience negative emotions and your
emotions will fuel negative behavior. If you want to feed your soul
and experience unconditional love and joy, it all starts with your
thoughts. How do you see yourself and the world around you? Do you
see yourself as a beautiful child of God or do you beat yourself up
with negative comments like "You're so fat" or "You'll never be
successful"? Is the world around you filled with loving and trusting
people or cynical and shady people? Your thoughts are very powerful
and have the ability to shape your entire life. If you don't believe
me, watch the movie "What the Bleep Do We Know"?
Guilt vs. Grace If you
struggle with guilt, you know it is hard to feel good about yourself
when you feel guilty. Guilt implies that you have done something
wrong. Sometimes we take on guilt that doesn't belong to us. Other
times we experience guilt because we make mistakes. Making mistakes
is part of being human. It is the way we learn more about what love
is and what love isn't. Go easy on yourself and others. God gives us
grace, and by extending that grace, we feed our soul and the soul of
others with love.
Anger vs. Forgiveness
Unresolved anger is like poison in your soul. The other day, on
Christian radio, it was explained that anger clogs your spiritual
arteries. If you want to do a triple bypass on your spiritual heart,
you must learn to forgive. It does you or the person you are angry
at no good to harbor resentment. Forgiveness is like lifting a huge
weight off your shoulders. It frees our heart and soul to experience
the joy we deserve to feel.
Victim/Martyr Attitude vs.
Empowerment Attitude A victim or martyr carries around an attitude
that she is wounded and uncontrollable circumstances happen to her.
A victim feels she has no power to change her life. This kind of
attitude is so damaging to your spirit. It will shut you down and
absolutely rob your joy. When you have an empowerment attitude, you
are taking control of your personal happiness. You give yourself the
power to choose how you are going to feel. You believe you can
create whatever kind of life you want. To experience love and joy in
life is a choice we all have. It is given to each of us at birth.
Isolation vs. Connection As
human beings, we need other people. It is through relationship with
others that we learn about love. Community provides a place for each
of us to give and receive love. If you spend a lot of time in
isolation, your soul cannot be fed by the love of others. I remember
when I was younger and most of my life was spent alone. I was an
only child for a very long time and I learned to be independent and
self-responsible. This carried into my adult years in a way that was
unhealthy for me. I did everything alone - I counted on no one for
help. When I went on a women's retreat, my tendency to isolate was
pointed out to me. I remember a therapist asking me where I was
going. I told her I was going to work out. She looked at me and
said, "Alone?" I was a bit taken aback. Was there any other way? I
have since learned that fellowship with loving people does wonders
for filling my soul up. Isolation is lonely and loneliness is
draining.
Fear vs. Faith Your soul
cannot breathe when you live in fear. Fear is crippling and will
stop you from fully experiencing the joys of life. To be bogged down
with worry and anxiety is like that sick feeling you get when you
eat a ton of junk food. You can't move. Faith is like that fresh
fruit salad that nurtures your body. It's light and refreshing. It
enables you to move around freely with energy and love. One of my
friend's children is battling a very rare disease called Langerhans
Cell Hystocytosis. Through this struggle, they have been challenged
with fear. They shared something that I think is very profound and
speaks to the importance of faith. They once read that God's plan
for us is like a piece of embroidery artwork. We only see the back
side with all of the ugly knots, frayed strings, and twisted
stitches that seem to make no sense. But God sees the front side -
the side that is perfectly planned and executed - the finished
product, so beautiful and clear.
So what do you want to feed
your soul? Junk food or healthy food?
Lori Radun, CEC -
certified life coach for moms. To receive her FREE newsletter and
the FREE special report "155 Things Moms Can Do to Raise Great
Children", go to
http://www.true2youlifecoaching.com
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