THE LABYRINTH METAPHOR

A great metaphor for what confronts women in their quest for freedom from emotional eating is the labyrinth. It’s an image with a long and varied history in ancient Greece, India, Nepal, native North and South America, medieval Europe, and elsewhere. As a contemporary symbol, it conveys the idea of a complex journey toward a goal worth striving for. Passage through a labyrinth is not simple or direct, but requires persistence, awareness of one’s progress, and a careful analysis of the puzzles that lie ahead. It is this meaning that we can apply to our journeys. For women who aspire to emotional eating freedom, routes exist but are full of twists and turns, both unexpected and expected. Because all labyrinths have a viable route to the centre, it is understood that goals are attainable. The metaphor acknowledges obstacles but is not ultimately discouraging.

If we can understand the various barriers that make up this labyrinth, and how some women find their way around them, we can work more effectively to improve our own situation. What are the obstructions that women run up against ........

I found this piece in a leadership article aimed at women and played around with some of the wording so that it applied to the journey we face when we work towards emotional eating freedom. It really struck a chord with me as the metaphor was so relevant and applicable to my and many others' situations. The final sentence about the obstacles we face will have a different answer for each individual although many will share the same challenges.

It sort of boils down to each of us having our own individual journey, working out what works for us. I know this has been especially relevant to me and the work I did with my SP a couple of years ago really pinpointed MY issues. Where I fell down between then and now is that I didnt practice what we discussed. I swanned out of there on cloud nine believing that understanding the problem = fixing the problem when in fact knowing and doing are 2 completely different actions with different outcomes. (Duh sometimes my inability to see the obvious just amazes me).

Anyway enough of the heavy analytical shit for today. I'm feeling good and embracing this week as one of positive thoughts, positive actions and positive outcomes. And none of those are based on how much I weigh or getting my headspace right to "diet" again - no matter how pseudo that diet might be.

:-) M