"Lost and Found," A review (of sorts)

"Lost and Found," by Geneen Roth, expands her examination of a dysfunctional relationship with food to equal conflict with money. Though I really liked this book, once again I had to sift through the "new age-y" spiritual overtones and extract the valuable.

I particularly loved this passage:

"When I broke free from the obsession with food, I began by neutralizing the charge I'd given to it; I allowed myself to eat what I wanted when I was hungry. If I wanted coffee ice cream at eight in the morning, if I wanted pizza at midnight or Ring Dings for dinner, I allowed myself to eat them. And I gave myself a set of guidelines to follow: Every time I ate, I sat down, paid close attention to the taste of the food, and stopped when I'd had enough. The combination of legalizing what I'd considered stolen food and training myself to notice the smell, texture, and taste of what I was eating allowed food to become what it is: nourishment, sustenance, pleasure. And I'm discovering that the same process of asking and allowing is true in the relationship with money. When I'm seized by the need to have or buy something, I'm beginning to slow down, bring myself back to the present moment, and ask myself what I actually want, which is different from what I think I shouldn't have because it's wrong, greedy. When I take the charge away, a sweater loses its enchangment and bcomes just another woolly thing. Taking away the stolen quality also takes away the focus on I-me-mine. It widens the vision, allows me to see that the world is bigger than this particualr thing at this particular moment. I begin to ask questions that are impossible to consider when I am convinced the only way to get something is to "steal" it. Questions like Does this sweater/bouquet of flowers/T-shirt come from a country that employs child labor? Does the production of it hurt the environment in any way? Am i supporting something I believe in by making this purchase?

What I learned from the book: my consumption of food/use of money can no longer be something compartmentalized; as if there is no connection between the food I eat and my body, or the money I spend and my ethics. Both relationships need to be examined and my motives extracted. Am I downing these cream puffs one after another because I'm upset? Am I snatching up this "seen only on TV" item because I am lonely? Instead, I must resist the mindless eating and shopping and let myself feel the unpleasant emotion, confident that doing so won't actually kill me, and through it, I will learn something about myself, mature, and in the process, develop a healthier relationship with food/money. Chronic overeating is hard on my health and self-esteem, and impulse/excessive spending wreaks havoc on so many areas of my life, not the least of which my ability to give and share. I want to be a good steward of both realms: my "disposable earth suit" AND and my God-given wealth.