Abundance

Caroline Knapp was an anorexia and put her struggles down in the book Appetites. She actually started her story with an observation of Renoir's paintings, and the fact that many women he drew were quite chubby, a symbol of lust, power and abundance. She never allowed herself that privilege and instead starved and punished herself. In her words, "I would make myself small, fragile, and non-threatening". When she psychologically analyzed herself she figured that she punished herself for the problems of her parents. She became a mirror of their unresolved struggles.

Princess Diana had a different eating disorder, bulimia. When she came out admitting her affliction,she said that during her eating binges she temporarily felt the feeling of fulfillment that is missing in her life. Diana replaced the missing love from her husband with food!
Amazingly, both women knew the root cause of their afflictions, yet how hard is was for both of them to change course.

It is not hard to see that the feeling of abundance would have helped both women. The affirmation that they already have: for Caroline, who had an superb intellect and a giant heart, the right to display all with a full figure, thus stepping out of her parent's shadow for once and for all. For Princess Diana, the realization that she had the love of her children and England; all she had to do was to end her love-less marriage.

What is your perceived area of insecurity? Are you pressed for time, do you mind something about your body; is something missing in your job or your love life? Remind yourself of the abundance of the universe. If the almost infinite universe accelerates with increasing speed, as some researchers claim, do you really believe there is something God is not willing or able to give you? Believe in abundance and peace will be yours.

Commitment

Caroline Knapp in her anorexia memoir "Appetites" describes the story of two women who struggled with their lives until one day they both found peace. One woman overcame her food addiction by channeling her love and purpose towards her love for God and became a minister, the other woman finally managed to end a loveless marriage and found her purpose by adopting a baby from China.

Traveling a spiritual path is exactly that, the realization that there is a purpose in life; some projects or some people who help you define who you really are. You build something with love rather than being driven by your restlessness, your artificial aspirations and your fears. Once you are committed to something that truly matters to you, your spiritual path will show you the journey that lies ahead to get your mission realized. Find the "baby" that is the source of all your energy, creativity and will-power and life will be happy to dance with you.

Walking a spiritual path doesn't mean though that you will not encounter monsters of your own making on this road as well. The fear that someone could be out to get you, the possibility that you are not good enough, or don't have the energy to get the job done. The minister in Caroline Knapp's example may face struggles in her new chosen profession as a minister, just as the new mother will probably have her realization how difficult it can be to raise a child as a single mother. Yet, these missions are real and they are creative in nature. Once you have the will-power to get something meaningful done every wall will crumble under your pressure.

Every problem that comes our way is a monster of our own making. Once we have the commitment for a mission in life solutions will present themselves. That is the Way. How about that as a New Year's Resolution, find the "field of dreams" in your life and stick to it. The Tao will do the rest.