Soul Food Alert!!!

Have you ever watched something you wished you had not? I had this experience recently. It was a reminder that I need to be discerning about what I “let in” to my inner world via my eyes and ears. If I want to be healthy and at peace within, I need to guard and nurture my soul. To feed on images and words that bring life, hope, peace, joy. Predominantly. I don’t bury my head in the sand to life’s harsher realities. But there are limits to what I can (health-fully) digest. Some images are better not consumed. Some I can take in certain measure as long as I balance them with others that are more life-affirming and health promoting. Some I can consume freely and abundantly. A bit like my physical food diet. The images in the movie I watched last night (with my hand over my eyes in many instances) were graphically violent. I should have stopped watching but I was with a friend and I didn’t want to ‘make a fuss’.  It was a poignant reminder to listen to my gut and take responsibility. I am the gatekeeper of my soul. I am the one that determines what passes and what does not. I’ve bounced back because I generally have a good ‘diet’ but those were images I did not need to see. They were not helpful in any way. They were not informative or entertaining. They were disturbing. I mention this here because fear and anxiety are ‘LARGE’ in the ED space, and if we’re feeding on words and images that aggravate these things, it’s good to be mindful of this, and to intentionally direct our attention to think on things that are good, noble, true, lovely, life-affirming… “Summing it all up friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious – the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.” Phil 4:8 (MSG)