December 04, 2024

Why We Stay Bright

19 minutes

I’m five years from my last slip with sugar and flour and eating outside of mealtimes, and two and a half years into being 100 percent immaculately Bright. I’ve been doing this for 21 years, with good and bad times, and I can testify that consecutive, sparkly Brightness confers a lot of gifts.

If you’ve never had a stretch where you’ve lived like that, I want to give you some ideas of why it’s worth striving for; and why it can be a good idea to work your program strongly enough to achieve it.

We always say this is not a diet. That we need to focus on “non-scale victories.” That it’s about so much more than the food. But why? What does that mean? These are my top eight answers to that question. These eight factors are the reasons why I am grateful to be strongly and consistently Bright.

I have a feeling of outrageous joy, a bursting of gratitude. I’m not alone in this. A Bright friend recently told me how she felt like the luckiest person alive—she felt this same kind of amazing joy. It comes for no reason when I’m driving, or in the shower, or doing chores. Just a burst of gratitude. It’s the feeling of truly being alive.

I can be the best version of myself. This is about knowing that I’m achieving my potential and being the best steward of my gifts and capacities. I’m playing the cards I was dealt, and playing them well. It used to be I didn’t have that feeling, and when I tried to address it, the first thing on my list was: I’ve got to lose weight. My relationship with food was holding me back from being my best self.

I get to fulfill my purpose in life. Everyone has their own purpose, whether it’s caring for their family or painting a masterpiece. For me, it’s to help ultra-processed food addiction become a recognized disorder in the DSM-5 and the ICD-11, and to help as many food addicts as I can along the way. I know that if I’m not Bright, I’m not doing as good a job at that as I can do.

I’m available to do God’s will. If you don’t like the word “God,” feel free to substitute another word. When I’m Bright, sometimes, miracles happen. Sometimes, a coincidence that seems beyond that, happens. Being available to do God’s will is a privilege and occurs when I am at peace with food.

I get to be an example of what Bright living looks like. That gives people hope. Hope is optimism—the belief that things could be better—plus a pathway showing how things might get better, plus agency, or the belief that you could walk that path. It’s hard to have real hope without a living example—someone who has walked the path you hope to walk. When I live Bright, having suffered as much as I have in the past with food, it gives you a reason to hope that you can do the same. As a bonus, you then become that hope for others.

I live Bright because I love the peace. I meditate for 30 minutes every morning, and peace greets me as I breathe in and out. It is so worth it. I’m at home in my skin.

I stay sparkly Bright because I want to grow. I love growing. Not being mired in addictions is the result of 30 years of commitment to addiction recovery. It’s a long process, marked by growth. When life gets lifey, and others are stressing out, it takes growth to stay centered. I don’t have any tattoos, but if I did have one, it might be “meliora,” Latin for “ever better,” a constant state of growth.

I am so grateful to be Bright because I can be available for others. For example, one of my daughters was done with high school despite being 15. We found a college program that would give her a high school diploma with college-level courses. So she’s doing it. And I can be there for her, and she can lean on me, and know that I’ve got her back. I can be there for other friends, too. When I was young, I needed so much support. Today, I am the one who can be of service to others.

I hope that none of this sounds like bragging. I hope it sounds like inspiration. If you are suffering with your food, I get you. You have so much to give in this world. So please, come all the way in and sit all the way down. Let go of the foods that make you crazy. Weigh out your meals and eat with gratitude. You are on the path, and there are good things ahead. And know that I love you.

FOR THIS EPISODE and MORE: https://ble.life/tcrjhx
Why We Stay Bright | Bright Line Living | The Official Bright Line Eating Podcast

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By Susan Peirce Thompson