Coffee: A controversial herb!
I've made a lot of changes to my health since moving to Hawaii. For example, I've lost 12 pounds, I'm eating fresh fruits provided by the Island, I'm swimming most days and I quit drinking coffee. But, quitting coffee is what is teaching me the most. The majority of us LOVE coffee but it's an over used herb and let's face it, a slightly addictive herb. We start with a cup in the morning and slowly work our way through a pot of coffee a day.
I got sick a few weeks ago and my body didn't want to drink coffee but letting it go while sick I experienced the worst headache I've ever had before and that says a lot because I've endured 5 concussions in the past! So after my body returned to health I realized It's not in my best interest to drink coffee again yet I woke up each morning craving a cup of coffee and venturing outside in the afternoon amidst shrubs of local coffee growing, my first time living in a place where it naturally grows.
The positive of quitting coffee was that over the few weeks without it, I was sleeping better and waking up with energy that I hadn't had while I was routinely drinking at least a few cups a day but most days a full French press full. But my morning journaling was also featuring a segment on coffee most days. I found myself writing questions like "Is coffee a mood enhancer?"
Throughout my life I've been someone who has tested out extremes. This morning I sit down to my writing with my first cup of coffee in weeks because life doesn't have to be all or nothing. I’ve lived so many extremes in my life time and now I can slip into balance with ease. A healthy balance. Because one cup of coffee can be healthy balance; depriving myself of one is not. I can prep my body for coffee by having at least 16 oz of water and supporting my adrenals with herbs or energy work before having a cup of coffee. And that is balance. It’s not a pot of coffee a day, It’s simply one aligned cup. And in this cup of coffee I remember that nature can take over the extremes of life in the form of the sun with its sometimes harsh rays or cloudy yet warm days, storms, the turbid ocean or calm bay; nature can be what shifts the personal extremes in energy without me having to change nature/the outside world through my own extremes.
I will note that after only a few sips of coffee, the typical effect of having the drive to be productive kicked right in and led me to share this story with you all before even finishing the cup! We can all laugh at that. And now I leave you with a journal prompt of your own- Are you playing out any extremes in your own life right now and if so, what changes need to take place in order for you to feel back in balance?