Take the Parking Lot Challenge

Here is a simple challenge that you can do the next time you are running errands. I want you to stop, park your car and look around at your environment. Look at the state of those around you, and observe any themes in your environment. What do the people look like? Are they mostly overweight, or thin? Do they look healthy and vibrant, or sick? Are they happy and boisterous, or do they look sad, irritable, and withdrawn? These are simple cues that send you a signal of what the current environment is creating.

An easy way to do this is to watch people in the parking lot arriving and leaving a grocery store or restaurant. Go to Hometown Buffet, a restaurant known for its glutinous survey of foods, or any fast food joint, like Taco Bell, McDonalds, or Burger King. You will notice that the people that dine at these restaurants are usually overweight, sick looking, or have skin disorders.

Then, go to a raw food restaurant, an organic deli or grocery store, and compare. The people that shop and dine in these places look very different. In fact, a male friend of mine commented on this, saying that organic grocery stores are the best places to pick up beautiful women!

Have you ever thought that your decisions are on autopilot based on your environment? Have you considered that if you change your environment, perhaps you can change as well? I am a firm believer that what we surround ourselves with, be it food, people, or elusive places, we become. If you frequent places with people who accept lower levels of health and vitality, then you may second guess your own right and ability to develop a more attractive and vibrant version of you. Food is not the only part of nutrition. Nutrition is what we consume in body, mind, and spirit. We must be aware of what we are exposing ourselves to, to truly understand why we continue destructive habits.

A great rule of thumb is to observe and honor those people who you aspire to become. Even if you are eating in a fast food joint, watch the woman who is thin and radiant in the room. What does she order, and how does she eat? It is not always 100% effective, but overtime you will develop the skill of objective awareness.

This is not about elitism or petty judgment. There is nothing less important about a person who is exhibiting extra weight or disease. They have just as much potential intellectually, emotionally and physically as any one else. It is not about looking down on those who you do not want to become. They are just as important and beautiful in engaging you in your journey back to health. Discernment and awareness are tools to use to excavate the inner workings of your reality, and find what may be influencing you on a subconscious level.

When you can learn this simple skill you will find that the places that you choose to go will change, and so will the tone and ease of your path to well being. No longer will you feel that the local co-op is a nervous and unknown territory, when you realize that something good may be rubbing off on you while you are there.

Whether it is in a restaurant, shopping mall, or grocery store, take a picture in your mind of what it is that you are seeing. Take the challenge and let me know how it goes!