Mary Poppins has a lot to answer for....!

I have a list of things to write about.. stories to tell...tips to offer... Yet I've found myself shrouded in foggy thinking and have been trying to figure out the cause. Fortunately, deep-sea diving into those mirky waters within has offered me yet another solution to reconfigure my internal jigsaw.

I have this theory that my mind is a jigsaw... It started life as 4 basic pieces (like the first jigsaw a child might play with) and, as life grew more complex, each piece divided into smaller and smaller pieces to reflect life experience, beliefs arising from this, expectations from family/wider society and, of course, self.

Somewhere along the way, the odd piece didn't fit right with the whole picture - it was out of place and, no matter how and where my mind tried to place it, it still didn't fit. Each of these 'odd' pieces, I believe, are the bits which are not part of my authentic self. My authentic self is whole, healthy and is a comfortable fit, as it's aligned with my values. Whenever foggy thinking occurs, I believe it's time for another piece to be revealed.

And so... another dark piece has been uncovered. Thankfully, I was ready to look at it. My dependency - yes, it's a strong word - on sweet food. As a child, my mother's delicious home-baking helped remove the bitter taste of difficult emotions and, as someone who's had to learn how to mature emotionally in sobriety, it occurs to me that I've been continuing to use sugar to dumb down and help me swallow some of the difficult stuff. Mary Poppins has a lot to answer for :) Actually, I must take responsibility for this. I have many techniques and tools to help me deal with the hard stuff... Yet I'd forgotten to take my own advice. Look within. Thankfully, a powerful session with my coach helped me do just that and uncover some rather strange notions attached to sugar.

If each of us has our own unique jigsaw puzzle... are there any parts of you which don't seem to fit with who you really are or who you really know you can be? What step might you take today to bring your self into balance and restore the natural, authentic jigsaw puzzle that is you...? Be gentle with yourself... compassion offers the space for health and well-being to grow exponentially. That's my message for myself today :)