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The Emotional Side Part 12: Acceptance
A Mountain Worth Climbing
This is the final post for my 12-part series: The Emotional Side of Gluten Free. There is so much more that we all go through than what I shared, but I hope some of it resonates with you. It is a constant climb, but acceptance is so important. If you have celiac, you need to be gluten free. Period.
Acceptance. It takes work. It takes effort. But it is worth the climb.
I’m not saying that you won’t slide backwards. But accepting certain facts about how things are enables you to move forward in life in more joyful ways. Ask yourself, How can I make this better for myself?
This has been an amazing journey for me. Through writing, I’ve learned a lot about myself. And I hope, through what I shared, I was able to help you discover something about yourself.
And I hope that you have been able to gain strength through this thing we have in common: the need to be gluten free.
We Can't All Fit Into A Neat Little Box
So what is this final emotion? Honestly, there isn’t really a final emotion to discuss. I’m sure there are many, many emotions I didn’t write about that can fit between post #1 and post #12. But I feel this finale emotion that I am writing about is ultimately what we all strive for. It is the one that will ultimately allow you to move forward with more grace and fulfillment with all the other things life has to offer. Because truly, life is more than glutenous French bread, Chicago style pizza, and Krispy Kreme donuts.
Accepting the fact that our life no longer includes these things that we struggle with having to let go of, allows us to see beyond what holds us down.
Acceptance
In order to move on in life, we need to take a given situation and either change it or accept it.
Our Lives Are So Much More Than What We Can Or Cannot Eat
Life is a journey. It’s an amazing, scary, tumultuous, treacherous, beautiful, sad, joyful, journey. It’s a journey where our lives (yours and mine) have crossed paths. Our lives have crossed paths simply because you are reading what I have written–and more, because we have this gluten-free thing in common.
It’s a shared journey. But only a very small part of your life and a very small part of mine is shared. YOU are so much more than a person who needs to be gluten free.
Outside of a small dietary thing we have in common, we are different. We may both need to be gluten free, but there is NO ONE like YOU and there is NO ONE like ME. No two people share all of the same ingredients.
And even though we may be walking one very small side road together, even that journey is not the same. What we see, as we walk along, can be so very different. You might see that one leaf, still hanging on a November tree, appreciating its strength as it holds tight against the winds. I might see the bare branches and think it sad that only one lonely leaf remains. You might see the clouds. I might see the patch of blue sky between them. You might find the crisp cool air invigorating. I might shiver from the cold.
Making The Best Out Of It
This is your life. It’s your journey. Your goals are your own. But take a moment and wonder, What is my goal? Do you want to be happy and healthy? If so, (whether it takes two months or two years) you will need to make acceptance your goal when it comes to the gluten-free part of your life.
