Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Raw Food Revenge

The more I doubt, the more I find reason to hope.

My interpretation of Ani Phyo's raw apple pie.
I cannot honestly recall a holiday season during which I felt so unbelievably blessed. Even amidst the stress and emotion of several recent drastic changes and potentially daunting challenges in my personal life, my healing progress continues. Despite a most current A1C of 5.4 (and falling) and an average daily insulin dosage now below 5 units per day (4.29 of that being basal), I've been so busy these days that I sometimes forget to applaud myself for how far I've come since beginning my Raw foods adventure earlier this year. What I cannot now ignore, however, is how much I am no longer alone in the journey.

I've alluded before to my own personal [we'll call it a... ] diabetic's dilemma - this fear I've had of somehow being ostracized or marginalized by my group of diabetic friends because I refused to place all my trust in someone else's search for a long-awaited, much delayed "cure" and instead dared to take my healing into my own hands, as much as possible. I had thought that perhaps the institution of illness might overcome the
average diabetic's desire to pursue real recovery. Put simply, it seemed more likely to me that the big food and big pharmaceutical corporations would succeed in their heavily financed and deceptively well marketed campaign to convince the average person that the condition of diabetes was both permanent and incurable. After all, my early conversations with random diabetic acquaintances seemed to reveal that some perhaps didn't want to heal from disease - that it is possible for a person to identify him or herself so strongly with a condition (or related cause) that they lose themselves to it. Instead of the diabetes being merely another experience, the newly acquired and necessary structures can actually take root as a powerful belief system, and even, at times, a rather shaky crutch.

Fortunately, for us and the revolutionary journey we're now on, my diabetic friends are not content with mediocrity. But I didn't know that yet, when I proposed what I felt sure was a brilliant idea for our next meeting - a late lunch at a local Raw food restaurant. I welcomed skeptics and hopefuls alike to come "get revenge on [their] diabetes" with raw foods. We would discuss the purported healing properties of living foods, and then test our blood sugar levels against those claims as we sampled the menu. It's true I had illustrious plans for the meeting, but secretly, I was most confident that it would be a perfect flop, generating little interest and even less of a turnout. How surprised I was, then, when immediately after sharing the idea, the message board exploded in enthusiastic reply! A grand total of eleven people (diabetics and friends of diabetics too) showed for the event a few weeks later, making it our largest gathering in quite some time.

Many were impressed with results of their raw food encounter, some were already familiar with and incorporating raw foods into their diets, and a few were as eager and hungry for more information as I was when I began. Truly uplifting! And fun... I felt like I could see little lights turning on in the eyes of my fellow diabetics, just as I felt my own mind and heart lighting up. Here we were, in a tiny little space in Santa Monica, California, having a discussion on self-healing that so many others might very well desperately want to hear. We were rejecting the idea that modern medicine had all the answers. We were rejecting the idea of having no other choice but to be sick and suffering for the rest of our lives. We were refusing to accept that real and meaningful healing was impossible or improbable. We were opening ourselves to a new way of thinking, a more vibrant way of being. We were connected by the energy of Life, and living energy was moving through us in ways that couldn't help but hold our attention.

In that extreme and quiet focus, my mind began to envision a new future... What might be possible from this tiny little nook of the world, here on Main Street? Could this be the beginnings of a more organized backlash movement against an Idiot Cycle of disease and so-called treatments and 'cures' withheld - a system perpetuated and defended by our own government-for-sale? Would we help to redefine health and illness for generations to come, while empowering them to demand and do better? If enough like-minded diabetics got together and shared our stories with the world, might we change lives in a positive and meaningful way?


It could happen. It already IS happening. Many of us have begun the great work of helping change the world for the better, starting with ourselves. I know some of my diabetic friends are digging in, at the same time a few of my work colleagues, as well as other friends and family, are beginning to ask important questions too. And then there's you - yes, you who are reading my story.

Maybe you are following my progress, educating yourself however you can and sharing what you learn with people you know. Whether you're an avid reader or someone who only happened upon my blog by accident... Thank you, thank you, thank you! I appreciate you more than you know. And especially if you've taken a moment to contact me directly or share your own story with me, I am eternally grateful. Whatever your situation - dear friend or total stranger - I am so honored and humbled to have your company in this journey. You help me feel more supported than alone. You continually show me that the pursuit of truth is a noble quest. You help me remember that healing is about the heart, mind and spirit, just as much as it is about the body. You inspire me to continue what I'm doing, against all odds, against all envy, against all attack.

And so it is largely because of you that I celebrate these holidays with more faith, hope, joy and love than I could ever contain. May you and yours be just as happy and blessed... for you feed me in ways that even raw apple pie cannot.

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