Resolution > Revelation > Revolution

res·o·lu·tion: a firm decision to do or not do something

rev·e·la·tion: an act of making something known, an act of revealing something in usually a surprising way

rev·o·lu·tion: a sudden, extreme, or complete change in the way people live, work, etc.

Yes, it’s a complete play on words that begin with the letter “r”.  However, with the New Year upon us, I was curious about the act of resolution and is it really enough?  Words and our language are extremely powerful in how we act, so I turned to the good old dictionary to shed light.

I found it interesting that we focus so heavily on resolutions, but it’s really a very small part of the process.   Maybe this is why most resolutions are not lasting, life changing phenomena.  RESOLUTION is simply the act of making a decision.  Sounds great, simple, right?  Well if it only were that easy, we would all be our ideal weight, eating the perfect meals, hold the best jobs and be in mind-blowing relationships!  A resolution is a bit lonely and hard to achieve without more digging.

Over 4 years ago, I had resolved to loose my last 10 pounds and get on track with a healthy diet.  I was always interested in health and wellness, but I was in constant temptation of sweets (the gummy kind that stick to your teeth) and cheesy pizza (of course the healthiest version blotted with a napkin to soak up the grease).   So the decision that lay in front of me was to stop eating junk food to lose the weight and be healthy.   Sounds like a traditional resolution that fails less than a month later, right?

The missing link here was the underlying issues.  The why’s and the realistic how’s that connected to this resolution.   A resolution cannot stand on its own, so I started the inquiry process.  It looked like a lot of reading, watching documentaries and talking to whoever had an opinion about food, health and wellness.  All in an attempt to self-teach about the food I was eating, where it comes from and what it does inside the body.   I had to discover for myself, on my own terms, how food worked for me.  Why I ate the junk – not only because it tasted good, but also because I was sad, stressed, overworked and overwhelmed.  I had a REVELATION: surprising facts were made known to me!  I not only learned that many of the foods I was eating were poison and hardly should be classified as foods; but I was over eating them from an emotional state.  Ah Ha moment!

The next stage of the journey begins with experimentation from the revelation.  The more I learned, the more I became disgusted by certain foods.  Within 8 months I was a plant-based eater (aka vegan).  The food I was now eating was ripe, beautiful food, full of vibrant color and nourishment.  I never felt more awake in my life.  Coupled with this timing is when I quit my job and started working for Cleveland Yoga (reference blog: Living a Life You Love).  Underlying issues were not only identified, but as the light of revelation grew brighter, the emotional eating was crowded out.

Through the discovery process, I was able to successfully live out my decision of loosing the last 10 pounds and be healthy.  This brings me to the final “r” – REVOLUTION: a compete change in the way of living.  This is lifestyle change.  Not fad diet, not quick fixes, but lasting, nothing-can-mess-with-you change.  This is where life is really lived, in the personal revolution, the mastery of being a certain way.  In my case, the mastery of my diet and the related actions now flowed through me without effort.  Is it perfection?  No.  I still enjoy a glass of wine (or 2), chocolate and my coconut bliss mint chocolate chip ice cream!  It is a constant, but not consuming, awareness.  A sense of balance where the body signals of overindulgence are so apparent, it’s like a slap in the face.

This is one, of many examples, in our lives where true change cannot simply come by the act of decision.  A lot of people comment on how much discipline it must take to live as a vegan with so many temptations all around.  It’s a perception, but in reality, it takes zero discipline because it’s more than a decision.  It’s an unfolding way of living based on self-discoveries and facts.  It’s my own personal revolution that is a lived experience in every moment.

By no means is this blog preaching or pushing any type of diet – I am a firm believer that we are all individually programmed for a diet that will best suit our biochemistry.  What I am putting out there is a call to further action.  A call to go beyond the resolution, whatever it is you are looking to resolve: diet, relationships, career, education, spirituality, etc.   We are a collective community and when one succeeds, we all succeed – the ripple effect!

My hope for all of us, starting today, into 2014 and beyond, is we take the steps to live into our best self.  So let’s roll-up our sleeves, decide what we want in life and get to work on a personal revolution!