I’ve been a foodie all my life. Even as a child I used to eat a lot. Years laster, when I first moved to England and people asked how I pronounced my name, Birgitta, I used to make it easy for them; Big Eater. Little did they know just how true that was.
My mum was a vegetarian for many years and back then, in Sweden, it was pretty hard core. We had sunflower butter, beetroot burgers (before they were cool) and wheat free bread which crumbled the minute you buttered it. Oh, how I wished we could have ‘normal’ food yet my palate must have got used to it as I enjoyed eating despite this.
Fast forward a couple of decades and I’m insanely grateful to my super cool mum who understood the value of healthy eating and of setting a good example for her food loving daughter. Today, having learned about nutrition and the importance of fibre, vitamins and minerals, my diet has radically changed and become much more aligned with my mum’s early way of eating.
I juice, eat more greens and veggies, beans and pulses, understand the value of raw, cold pressed, unpasturised and organic. In fact eating healthy and organic has become my hobby and interest. Something I search for when I travel to new places. It fits perfectly with my work as a hypnotherapist too, we are all holistic beings and what we think, feel and eat/drink has a big impact on our overall health.
But don’t get me wrong – even though I eat very healthy these days I still want it to taste good and the joy of eating has never left me. I’m still as excited as a toddler when I am about to eat something yummy. It is an important part of my life and it makes me very happy. It gives me a framework and focus too.
Which brings me to the importance of knowing what brings us joy. Happiness gives us a fabulous blueprint of what matters – which is why we ought to listen. Take hobbies…it is something we choose do despite not getting paid for it. It is there that we find answers. If you feel in a funk or worried about your life direction, try to get present and do something you like – for no other reason than that you like it. Forget about tomorrow, next week or year. Just get baking, gardening, reading, playing the piano, DIYing, singing, cooking, cuddling, painting, yoga, cycling or whatever it is that sparks joy in you. Being in the moment and enjoy the here and now.
The more time we spend in our happy zone the longer we live, the healther we are – mentally and physically. Feeling good aids cognition and it helps us to find solutions to life’s quandries. Taking time out to do what we like is not escapism, waste of time or lazyness – it is vital for our health and well being. Anyone saying something to the contrary can stick that in their pipe and smoke it! (an english espression that may not resonate anywhere else in the world 🙂
