Transformative Nutrition Practice of the Month
February: About Love
Within every human being, beyond the basic need for food, water, air and shelter lies the deep core desire to love and be loved and to experience ourselves as being lovable. In Harlow's famous study of the Nature of Love, baby monkeys were studied to determine which was more important, nutrition or comfort. In one of the experiments, when presented with a soft, warm, stuffed "surrogate mother" without food and a wire mesh "mother" with food, time after time the monkeys chose the soft, warm surrogate over the food. This illustrates perfectly the power of our basic need for warmth, affection and comfort, even over food; emotional over physical nourishment.
Often in a world where community, family connections and marriage are downplayed in favor of independence and self-sufficiency, the basic nutrient love is lacking. The compulsion to overeat, though originating from other sources can be viewed not as an expression of a hungry body so much as a hungry heart; a human heart desirous of love, affection, contact, intimacy, partnership, touch and connection.
This month focus your attention on satisfying this basic human need for love. Rather than turning to food when you are not hungry, turn directly to love, in its many forms.
- Spend more time this month with friends that provide mutual adoration. Call a good friend to talk. Invite your best friend to spend the weekend, take a trip together, get out to a show, dinner, museum together and really enjoy the company.
- Spend more time with your partner or spouse. Get out without the kids. Spend a romantic evening together. Fall in love again. Or find a new crush. Go out more, reactivate your online dating profile and send someone you like a message.
- Spend time with your family. When family is a source of love and pleasure, it can be greatly fulfilling to spend time with people who know you as well as they do.
- Spend time falling in love with yourself. Take yourself out on a date. Do something loving for yourself; buy yourself flowers or a gift as a token of your self-appreciation. Paint something for yourself. Write yourself a love letter, etc.
- Feed yourself and those around you by creating and spreading your love even with strangers. Smile at people on the street, in the subway, on the bus. Toss a wink here and there. Touch the shoulder of a homeless man when you give him a dollar. Be generous with your love. Vitamin L for everyone!
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