raw food jitters

Tomorrow I start my Raw Food journey, again.  I first started eating a raw food diet a couple of years ago, when I was working at a healing village in Central America.  

Of course, there in that small rural village, the diet was not referred to as a Raw Food Diet with all the percentages of Raw vs. Cooked that exist here.  Nor would you find any 'Raw Food Experts', (a phrase that still makes me laugh out loud).  It was simply eating what was given from nature to nourish us all...plants, fruits, sunshine, and clean air.  There were no high powered blenders to make cheese from nuts, or dehydrating ovens to create uncooked breads.  And yet, I thrived on this way of eating.  My stomach shrank and I basically ate one meal a day.  For a chef to realize that eating was just about unnecessary, well, it was a bit shocking to say the least. 

I remember the moment when the depths of this new level of health really hit home for me.  I was walking up a hill that leaves many people out of breath, it used to leave me a bit winded when I first arrived.  But on that day my legs moved up the hill with almost no effort at all.  My arms moved as if riding invisible waves that carried them. Every muscle I had seemed in perfect synch with the universe surrounding me, supported in every way as it carried me up the hill.  This diet puts me in synch with my surroundings.  Living off of nature fulfills an ancient truth.  Support nature, by welcoming with gratitude the gifts nature has to support and nurture you.  Total balance. 

And the food is delicious to boot! 

Then I returned to NYC.  And old habits crept back in as they sometime do.  Before I realize what's happened, I'm back in the belly of this beast.  This food matrix.  Yikes!  It's no fun in here.  So tomorrow begins my long planned escape.  And I'm armed to the teeth with medicinal herbs to support my cells, long cherished activities like swimming and yoga to engage my body and mind, and my companion in life, love, and work to accompany me.

So why do I still feel jittery?  Is it fear that in spite of all this support, I'll find a way to slip up?  Or is it fear of letting go...letting go of the immediate comfort that comes from consumption.  Well, I'm jumping right into this adventure. Cold feet and last minute jitters in tow.  I'll keep posting on how it all goes. 

RawChefNess