Day 38 of Juice Feasting - teaching by example versus preaching

From the airport, we drove up to our horsey friends' s farm and spent the weekend there.
Yesterday Sunday, we played in the sun, got into our swim suits and attempted to teach the horses to swim while we were on their backs. Did you notice the attempted part? Lots of splashing around, cavorting, and lots of horses less than convinced that swimming across the pond actually made sense. I can see their point of view. It doesn't make sense at all, since the only exit from the other side is to swim across one more time.

They went in, after a lot of coaxing, swam a few lapses if you insisted like crazy, and turned around sharply to get back to all their buddies, at which point, since you are swimming above them, hanging on to their mane, you can't help but be swung to the side, and effectively dismount into the water. I was very happy I had kept my waterproof sandals on! I ended up being the official guide of the party, wading in the water to try to get the horses to follow me. Yeah, that didn't work too well, but we had fun and the horses too. We made sure we ended in a good note for all the horses, so that they will want to go back in the water again.

That's the most important part of any training, really: make it fun and engaging. If you are new and just starting out in raw foods, exercizing or cleansing, find a way to make it fun, engaging and supportive to you, to train your mind and body to look forward to the process of getting healthier. At no point should it be a torture, otherwise you will end up resenting yourself, and either go into "righteous mode" or fall off the wagon.

I swung by my favorite farmer with the teenaged girls and stocked up for the week: chard, kale, a few zucchinis, cucumbers and tomato... all for $30 only!! This cleanse is getting to be cheaper than ever! Even if I have to drive down mid-week to restock, it will still be only 1/3 of the cost I started with when shopping in supermarkets, or even at the wholesalers. Much to my surprise the girls insisted on helping me juice, vying for the priviledge of chopping veggies and squeezing the bag. For dinner, they wanted a salad and stir-fried veggies. I guess you really teach and inspire by example, not by lecturing! Last year, I had taken care of them for a month, while their parents went off to Mongolia to teach other horse vets, and my attempts to convert them to a healthier lifestyle had resulted in a tearful fiasco. Now that I am having fun and not trying to convert anyone, they are naturally more open and curious as to what I am doing. I'm also glad to report that I am out of the "freezing zone" and that my body temperature has normalized once more, and my energy is coming back up.

We made an extra batch of mixed juice so that I would have something to sip during "cocktail hour" which is the one time of the day when we all chill and relax, and snack on hummus, roasted pepper dips, cheese and crackers. I had been dreading that moment, to be honest, because of my major cheese addiction. Much to my surprise, it took very little transformation with Source to be completely relaxed in front of the tempting platter of cheeses. I even went so far as to sniff the cheeses (in a lady like fashion of course), taking tiny pieces and tasting them to see if I could re-awaken the temptation, and clear further. I really hope all this transformation is getting to the root of my food addiction and that I will be just fine once I get back to solid food. Stay tuned! I don't have a date for when that will be, as I plan to Juice Feast until my body tells me to stop, or until the 92 days are over. The crazy thing with this Juice Feast, is that I feel like I AM eating solid food. I hang out with my friends, they enjoy their foods, I enjoy my juices, and somehow, it feels like I'm eating by proxy. If I've had enough dark greens in my juice, I will be completely satisfied.

We also had to take care of one of the elderly horse, who had an obstruction in his oesophagus. That is not a pretty procedure: stick a tube down his nose, pump water into it to release the blockage, until the tube reaches the stomach. A horse can die from such a blockage. And he wasn't a happy camper, and we had to reinsert the tube a few times to get it all done. Yuk. I guess it is an appropriate metaphor for my cleanse too: keep things moving, that's the most important thing!!