Staying Raw For The Holidays
by Victoria Jordan, CSW
Originally published in Raw Dish! monthly newsletter, December 2003.
Choosing to be raw separates us from our families and cultures. At no other time in the year is our separateness more apparent. The pressure is on. The holiday music, décor and events, the chill in the air, the sidewalk Santas, cozy fires, and the filling foods and feasts of the season carry us back to our childhoods.
The sometimes overwhelming desire to give in to these pressures is strong. We all want to belong. We all want to enter carelessly into these festivities. After all, we work hard all year long. How can we deprive ourselves? How can we bear to miss this once a year opportunity to feel warm, fuzzy and safe? How can anyone give that up?
FOOD IS POWERFUL. The sight, smell and sensations of food evoke strong emotions. And so it is not unusual for us to equate food with love and happiness. The sad truth, however, is that food cannot provide us with these things. Food should be a form of nourishment that enlivens the individual with energy and a zest for living life in the here and now. Cooked food does the opposite. It burdens our bodies and dulls our minds and spirits.
The big question is how to live raw despite these pressures? How does one attend a traditional holiday gathering of loved ones as a raw foodist? The last thing that we want is to be interrogated over the holiday table by some well meaning (or not so well meaning) relative or friend on the reasons for just eating a salad
in the presence of such bounty. Or trying to cope with questions like, “what is that other stuff (nut pate) you’re eating, chopped liver?”
We must understand that by choosing to be raw we are supporting our RAW PSYCHE and RAW BODY, the most alive and spiritual aspects of our existence. The source of life that urges us to live life in the present, not regress back to childhood conditioning (cooked food). We are in essence forging a new identity for ourselves. We are learning to disconnect the “food = love” equation. We have choices to make. One is whether to live out the (dead) blueprint of our past or live in the moment of life that creates healing
experiences for our minds and bodies. This choice represents a shift, moving away from the old habitual patterns of limited life to remaining loyal to what we know from within to be right for ourselves as individuals.
So as we enter into this time of jubilation, unions, and resolution, remember that the opportunity to RE-BIRTH OURSELVES is a gift from the source of life within us. To choose to remain raw at this time in our lives represents an enhancement and strengthening of ourselves at the deepest level. To feed ourselves raw in life is the greatest tribute we can make to the true inner source of our holiday spirit. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Victoria Jordan, C.S.W. has been a psychotherapist in private practice for over 24 years. She and her husband, Dr. Tom Jordan, a psychologist, maintain a consultation service dedicated to helping people remain faithful to their inner wisdom in all areas of life. Victoria and Tom live and practice on the upper west side of Manhattan. They can be reached at (212) 875-9483 for consultations.