Today was DAY 1 of my cleansing experience. I had no idea it would be so difficult. (Looking at that picture of me holding the chocolate assortment is making my mouth water!) The day started early with a refreshing 32oz salt water breakfast. It took me 45 minutes to get this salt water concoction down the hatch. Feeling as if I were back underway, with my stomach slighly queasy and the lingering taste of sea salt on my lips, I thought, "Oh well, only 9 more mornings like this and I'm done." Perhaps not the most upbeat way to start my 10-day journey; but, who can really remain upbeat when salt water is flushing through the system, finding a quick and determined exit at the other end?
It took a full two hours to recover from the flush. I still can't believe this is to become my morning ritual for the next 9 days. Man I miss my coffee! Salt water and the morning paper just doesn't have the same appeal!
When I finally started into the lemonade drinks, I found that they are actually quite tasty! Who would have thought a blend of freshly-squeezed lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper could be so good? Good enough, I found, that the cravings for them occurred about every hour-and-a-half throughout the day.
I called my girlfriend Amy, who initally turned me onto this idea, numerous times throughout the day. "Should my tounge be turning white and fuzzy ALREADY?" I asked. It just seemed too soon. To her credit, she fielded these questions and continued to check in on me throughout the day. Her quiet confidence ensured me all is normal and my mouth is supposed to taste icky at this point. "Your body is detoxing itself" she said. "Give it a few days." The website says the tongue is supposed to return to bright, clean pink after the body has fully detoxed. Some people take longer than others to reach this nirvana. With my luck, I am looking at YEARS, not days!
Going without food for this entire day was tough because it made me begin to understand how much of our culture, our lifestyles revolve around it. We get together for drinks. We go out for dinner and a movie. The kitchen is the hub - the HEART of the home. I am not saying this is a bad thing. In fact, I think it's great! The part that is disturbing is how PROGRAMMED we all are to it. How much we take simple things such as eating, or our lifestyles which revolve around it, for granted.
In these next 9 days, I resolve to get back to my roots. To achieve a better sense of GRATITUDE for the simple things. As I am struggling to get through tomorrow morning's sea salt delight, I will focus on the positives - on the fact that it is a new day, a new morning, a new opportunity to do something I have not done in order to help make the planet a little better, a little brighter, one sip at a time.
No comments:
Post a Comment