There's currently a major energy crisis. Everyone knows it; you'd have to be hiding your head in the sand not to hear the dreaded predictions for the world as a result of our wasting our energy resources. I absolutely agree that we need to conserve for the sake of our planet. However, I want to talk about a more personal kind of energy crisis, for a different (but no less pressing) cause.

What about our emotional and psychological resources? The time and energy we waste wondering: am I eating the right foods? Am I doing the right exercises? Do I exercise enough? Am I managing to look the way the magazines tell me I'm supposed to?

My cousin once told me at her work the employees discuss their diets and their bodies on a regular basis. They will sit at meals, talk about the foods they have brought, and the reasons they should be eating something else. They talk about how they wish they could fit into their old clothes, and how they don't like the way their bodies look. This struck me as so very sad, and all I could think was, "What a waste of energy!"�

Why do people do this to themselves? I'm afraid we are caught up in a vicious cycle. We are caught in thinking about the way we are "supposed to look, supposed to eat"� - and when we possibly deviate from a given, we have committed a sin, and there is no going back. What is it in our nature that forbids us to allow ourselves to simply do the best we can with the resources we have, including time to cook, to buy food, to be active, and most importantly, to accept ourselves?

Why does it seem to be easier to criticize what we haven't done, rather than congratulate ourselves on what we have managed to accomplish in a society where we are rushed, rushed, rushed? Why aren't we able to congratulate ourselves for being able to take a ten-minute walk during our break, instead of criticizing ourselves for not going out and jogging for 45 minutes?

I don't know the answer to this yet, but I do like to imagine what could be done with the time and energy saved on not being critical of ourselves.

One way we can save energy is by learning to be at peace with food. You need to learn about yourself and why you have the relationship you do with the food you eat. Once you are able to do this, you will not need to waste time wondering about your food choices, or your exercise activities, or the way you are "supposed to" be.

Imagine if you discussed with your friends and colleagues life, politics (okay, everyone isn't like me and won't do that), travel, good restaurants, and books. Imagine the lively conversations about the latest Harry Potter (beware: spoiler alert!). Didn't you just know that Snape was a good guy all along?

Think of all the things you would learn about yourself and your friends if you just weren't wasting energy.

About the Author

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