Have You Read the Label?

Many of us have learned to pay attention to the labels on our foods. In the past 20 years or so, labels have been improved and now include more information than ever before. If we choose to know more about what we are eating, we at least have some of the information we need to get us started.

When it comes to our down time, though, I don’t think most of us want to read ‘the label.’

“Wait a minute!” you say. “There is a label?”

Well, no, not the way you think. But there are online sources we can use to get the facts about our entertainment choices before hit play. But, I don’t really want to consult a detailed label before I read, watch, or play. Do you?

Can you imagine sitting at the dinner table with a dietary advisor analyzing each of the foods we’ve chosen to put on our plate or in our bowl? Ha, who needs New Year’s resolutions to lose weight. I’d never want to eat again if I had to listen to someone extoll the negatives and positives of my food choices before each bite.

Well, we really don’t want to know exactly how many body parts will be showing up and when or how many ‘F bombs will be dropped. In this way, food and entertainment are much the same. Food is meant to sustain and strengthen us and it is meant to taste good and to bring us joy. Our times of relaxation and entertainment should also strengthen and refresh us, and bring us joy.

If you’ve ever binged on junk food, you know how you feel about half way in and how you feel afterwards. Yuck. Well, I’m going to just say it. I think we are all suffering from a bit of ‘garbage gut’ when it comes to what we are putting in our brains and more important, what we are putting into our hearts, into our souls.

Most if not all religious traditions have scripture of some sort. Let’s say I read scripture for 10 minutes each day. Surely this helps me connect to God. But is it enough to keep spiritual garbage gut from leaving me literally sick and tired? If it were, I would definitely begin eating a 3 oz serving of broccoli before binging on popcorn, chips, soda, and chocolate donuts.

In the early 1990s, the Food and Drug Administration or FDA in the United States introduced the Food Guide Pyramid. The basic foods like breads, cereal, rice, and pasta formed the base of the pyramid. This was intended to show that people should eat more of these than the other groups, in ascending order. The vegetable and fruit groups formed the next layer, followed by dairy and protein groups. Finally, the fats, oils, and sweets group was at the top, the smallest group of course.

What would the common spiritual food pyramid look like if we were to be honest about it? I’ve included a graphic that shows what I fear our common spiritual ‘food’ pyramid might look like. As a society, I think we have a few things out of place.

I don’t want an entertainment nanny anymore than you. Our children don’t want one either, frankly. So, if we don’t want to be told what to watch, what to play, what to read or listen to, what do we do if our entertainment diet is literally killing us spiritually?

For our children, we could chide, chasten, rant and rebuke. For ourselves, we could continue with guilty indulgences or haughty rationalizations. These approaches will never be enough to save us or those we love from the effects of inadequate choices.

If we are to walk away from unhealthy food or unhealthy media and entertainment, we must walk toward not only healthy but also delicious choices. I once had the opportunity to watch a healthy cooking demonstration by professional chef and cookbook author Alan Roettinger. He talked about how he had radically changed his diet to improve his health. He said he intended to back off his new diet after his health improved. But, he continued with the ultra-healthy lifestyle long term because, as he said, “It doesn’t matter what you’re not eating if you love what you are eating.”

That’s the best advice I’ve heard for changing any habit, but it is not necessarily simple to follow. Our spiritual tastebuds might need some preparation. I think sometimes we need to reset our physical and spiritual desires before healthy eating and healthy relaxation ‘taste’ good. Each of us will need to find our own way of doing this. I might choose a little at a time. You might choose to go cold turkey. But how to do this is surely a topic for another post. . . .

This I know. Things far beyond the average are possible if we are willing to go beyond our everyday boundaries. When we learn to enjoy healthy eating, the way we feel changes for the better. We must also learn to flip our normal spiritual food pyramids upside down and with divine help balance them that way on their very tip top points. Then we must make changes to shift good choices to a foundational position and less desirable choices to a place where they become limited instead of nearly limitless. If we do this, we will not only feel better, we will ‘feel’ more of the inspiration we secretly or not so secretly desire. We need all the inspiration possible to help us solve problems, ease pains, and take us to the very places we dream of going. Start today by choosing more of the good stuff. As you do, the inadequate choices will be gradually, steadily squeezed out. Do it for you and then become the quiet, confident example your loved ones need.