Today I said something that once upon a time made me cringe and shoot daggers out of my eyeballs. “The present is a gift!” Anytime this cliche has ever been uttered to me (AT me) I immediately thought “let’s hang on to the receipt.” But today it danced out of my own mouth with no negativity trailing behind it. Who am I?! Rather.. who have I been? A so fuhcking cranky and so purely angry human being. That’s who. Thinking back on how angry I’ve been for so much of my life I feel a few things. 1. What a waste of time.. 2 I feel like laughing. Because well, laughing is never a waste of time. Huzzah! 3. I have a lot of empathy for past Bonnie. I like to say she was provoked but more than that she was just scared and oh so very sad. 4. I am mildly concerned about the toll she may have taken on our liver. Between the drinking and the simmering rage it may have left a mark. In traditional Chinese medicine anger is the emotion associated with the liver. It makes sense. Your liver has over 500 functions. I, myself, have maybe 7 functions that I am aware of and I often feel vexed. I can’t imagine a to do list that’s 500 deep. It detoxifies our bodies around the clock. That is dirty work. It sorts out our cholesterol and keeps those troublesome hormones in check too. I imagine my liver to be the Marie Kondo of my body. She’s in there trying like hell to tidy up and for most of my life, instead of helping, I kept dragging things in that did not truly bring me joy. I was just like “Yo, Marie! Did you know wine comes in a box?!” My liver had every right to be pissed. In the present moment, in this total gift of time, I am eating a meal designed to help her function at her very best. It is bringing me joy.
Day 129: Quinoa, kale, chard, garlic shoots, sprouts, mushrooms, kimchi and grapes. I drizzled coconut oil and ume plum vinegar on top. Your liver likes sour stuff. It also likes green stuff, fresh stuff, fermented stuff and whole grains. If you feel angry or are easily agitated check in with your liver. Beyond changing what you eat, changing when and how you eat will make a big difference. Cut out snacks a few hours before you go to bed so your liver has less to clean up and repair while you sleep. And whatever you do… do not over eat. It causes stagnation. And if your liver is feeling stuck it’s likely you will feel stuck in your life too. Take it from one who knows.