I was working as a greeter/brand ambassador at a tradeshow when I saw their CFO, this slightly older, but extremely glamorous and successful woman walk between the two showrooms drinking a glass of green juice. This was my second season with them and so I felt a little more comformatble speaking with the higher ups of the company. She walked by again snacking on something.
“Lane, what healthy thing are you eating now? I noticed you with your green juice earlier.”
She quietly opened her hand to reveal a colorful and tiny handful of…M&Ms. She winked at me then graciously and equally glamorously said,
“That was for the body, these are for the soul.”
She then strolled into the next room to meet some international contacts of hers. I almost felt like I was in a White Diamonds commercial with Elizabeth Taylor. I stood there grinning, feeling like she had imparted some huge secret of the world, in our brief interaction. I continued welcoming and scanning in tradeshow attendees with a little more wisdom.
I just loved that. Something for the body, something for the soul. I find that this is a great lesson in life and an even greater lesson in diabetes life.
When we get newly diagnosed as people with diabetes, we face fears and stigmas of losing our vision, losing our kidney function, losing our limbs. As a result, it is very easy to shut down, I know I did for a bit. I don’t blame anyone else for shutting down either. But if someone told me during those early days of diabetes learning, that I can still have something for the soul, things I like to call “shot worthy,” I wouldn’t have been as scared as I was of the life ahead of me. I wouldn’t have tried to shield myself so hard from people who stay things like, “Should you be eating that?” I could have confidently said, “Why yes, sweetheart, it’s for the soul. You should try it sometime.”
What an awesome rule to live by. I sooooooooo want to to be her when I grow up!
What things do you do for the body? I’m more curious about what you do for the soul. Tell us in the comments!
Cut the B.S. 