I just read an interesting post from Dream Garden Coaching entitled "Why is Ma Ingalls Happier than You?". It is a fairly long essay but worth the read if you have the time. The short version and my take on it is this:

The author posits the reason Ma Ingalls was happier than many people today was that she was productive (what we must do to generate energy for our survival and comfort). Essentially, she spent a great deal of her time creating (creating food, clothing, homes, etc). Today, we spend a great deal of our time maintaining (what we do to preserve the body and its possessions).

**the definitions in parentheses are from Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's book Flow**

It is human nature to create -- a drive we are born with. It fuels us and drives us -- it doesn't really matter what the medium of the creativity is, as long as it is meaningful to the person who is engaged in it.

However, who among you gets really stoked about maintaining? Sure, I like to mow my lawn (a lot, really) but for me it is more than just maintaining it -- it is all about creating a beautiful yard. I like blogging -- the posts I feel really good about are the ones that are creations -- not posting just because it is a task I need to complete by 7am. I like to run but don't enjoy it as much when I know I "should" do it to keep healthy. I really enjoy it when I am in the mindset that the running time will be used to create an elevated mood or used as a time of peace and quiet.

How are you approaching your eating? Are you creating? A healthier relationship with food/a healthier body/a greater awareness of your habits?

Or...

Are you using mindful eating as maintenance: something you have to do in order to keep you from falling apart?

It is hard to keep slugging it out if you are just trying to maintain. The job never ends -- there is always more eating behaviors to be mindful of -- you can never stop and if you aren't mindful then you are one step behind.

But...

If you are creating, you are moving forward. You are never a step behind because that step just hasn't been taken yet. You are working toward something (becoming more mindful) and you are tapping into a basic human drive and harnessing it to get you to where you want to go.