When people hear how I developed food allergies (or at least was diagnosed with them) in my mid 40’s and how many foods I am allergic to they usually tell me how horrible it is and how sorry they are. There is nothing to be sorry about. When you going from eating a “normal” diet to being as sick as I was you are happy to have relief any way you can get it. So I was and remain grateful that my naturopath took the time to figure out what was wrong and put me on the road to a regular life again. Before she diagnosed me I was unable to function or eat without getting sick for a long time. I was still in the corporate world at that time in a position with a lot of travel and long hours so I was on heavy doses of meds that enabled me to work and take care of my family responsibilities.
Sure, when she told me that I was allergic to most of the top allergens and then some I was devastated yet relieved at the same time. I already knew I was having bad reactions to milk and to anything with caffeine in it. I had had an anaphylactic reaction to lobster 10 years earlier so I knew that shellfish was forever out of the question. Now I knew I could not eat any wheat, (or gluten I soon learned), soy, peanuts, tree nuts, milk, corn or eggs. I honestly did not know what I would be able to eat, but she put me on a very strict diet that got me back on the road to health. It started with putting protein back in my diet, cooked vegetables (raw veggies can be hard to digest and my digestive track was completely decimated) and selected fruits as well as herbal teas, water and lots of supplements.
I was scrupulously careful for at least a year. I lost over 25 pounds. Even so my gut was so bad that I would get sick regardless of what I ate for some time. But I finally started to heal and get back my health and strength, something that I am ever mindful of and grateful for. It’s been over 6 years and I’m doing great in spite of the occasional setback.
This is the first in a series of blogposts I have started about what it’s like to live with food allergies. Next time I will continue with how my family coped (or not) with my food issues. I plan to discuss recipes and lifestyles too.
I welcome any comments and sharing of experiences and ideas.
No matter what you believe about what happens after you die, everyone can agree that you can’t take your “stuff” with you. As we clean out my dad’s apartment it reminds me that so much of his “stuff” is just “stuff”. There are lots of old pictures – those I find valuable because of the sentimental meaning – there were lots of old articles, magazines and papers that had dust on them and hadn’t been read in ages. There were many books: some contemporary and some very old. Many “chachkas” – little knick knacks. Some artifacts from his earlier life when he travelled the world with my mom. We took many of those and split them up among us kids.
So yes, while “stuff” matters, for me most of it has to do with its sentimental value. There are some valuables too. But what is valuable? And what do you do with these things? Keep them, show them, sell them?
We live in a society that values “stuff”, that values “things”. We are told that we do want, should want more, more, more. That what we have is never enough. The wealthier we are the more things we should have and the happier we should be. But do all those things make you richer inside? Do they make you happier? I don’t know about that. And when is enough enough? Is it ever enough?
In the end, when you die, you cannot physically take it with you. It’s impossible. You get buried or cremated or vaulted. But your stuff stays behind. Think about it. How much of my “stuff” really matters? What will happen to it all? How much of your “stuff” and my “stuff” really matters in the end?
From The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran:
You would know the secret of death. But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?
If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life. For life and death are one, even as the river and sea are one.
For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun? And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing. And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb. And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then you shall truly dance.
