One thing all challenges seem to have in common is timing, they always come at the most inconvenient (or so it seems) of times. Of course another thing they, challenges that is, have in common, is that on the other side of the challenge, over the crest of the mountain, is a vista with its own rewards. And not to mention that to get from the untimeliness of the challenge and over the mountain to vistas green, there is a journey to be undertaken.
And this is where the work and fortitude come in. Some hills we keep climbing only to slide back down and try again. Addictions can be like this, but keep getting back to climb and one day you might just gain traction to the top, you can’t do it if you don’t try, as my gran always said to me.
And here I am, at the bottom of that bloody mountain again, just when I thought I had a handle on it, my kidney function tests have come back and confirmed that oxalates are accumulating in my kidney. So I need to eat a low oxalate diet.
I will be sharing more about this no doubt but for now suffice it to say some of my staples are in the very high list, tofu, soy (my chai), nuts, black beans, potatoes, quinoa, chocolate, most flours…oh and many leafy greens and veggies, and some spices including curry.
You see, oxalates only occur in plant based foods. Meat, fish and dairy are fine, in fact some recommend increasing calcium, such as ice cream (suggested to be a lower sodium source than cheese) to bind with some of the oxalates.
To be quite honest it leaves me scratching my head. If you know me, you know I am pretty fussy eater, and this list contains many of my staples, but my body is asking me not to have them so I guess a change is gonna come.
As Heraclitus so wisely counseled, the only constant is change.
On the one hand I am reluctant traveler on this path, I want to go back to May when I felt so frigging good in body, mind and spirit, I want my kidney to feel better, it;s been through a brutal time and still is, but I am cannot go back, forward is the only way, and happiness is not found in feeling good when all is well but in finding all to be well when all is not so good.
And here I find myself, spinning away to the music that I’ve been singing along to but not fully living, and here it is, the ultimate invitation to take it and make the most of it, to rise to the challenge, oh I so don’t want a challenge, but here I am.
I am taking it one step at a time. I immerse myself in research (there is still a lawyer in me) and then let it go. I will be saying goodbye to many things but not all right now, and not all at once. Step by step, I remind myself, look for the blessings along the way love.
So here I am again, at the bottom of the mountain, staring up, change is in the air and its time for me to breathe it in, ready or not.
How has change knocked at your door? What mountains do you find yourself climbing over and over again?
Sending you buckets of love on this ever changing path.
Sat nam