The third component in this four-part harmony is to become aware of our different hungers. 

We’ll have to get serious with the ultrasounds and endoscopies of a different sort, ones that let us view our inward reactions to emotional hurts and painful life situations that grow within us and keep us from reaching our fullest potential.

We'll have to look below the surface—we'll be searching inward, to discover why our life situations trigger our inward need to feed our many hunger. We must be willing to work on personal relational and emotional issues, as well as learn how to satisfy our bodies nutritional needs.

There are more hungers than just physical. Although we will be talking a little about nutritional hunger, we must also uncover our emotional hungers. Relational and emotional needs might be one of the hardest. Most of us don’t stop to think that there is more than just one kind of hunger. Relational, emotional, and nutritional hungers are very real and need our attention.

Some of these hungers in our lives are the ones we have been feeding or trying to “medicate” or “bury” with food. Taking a closer look at these hungers will allow us to discover what lays at the root our heaviness of heart and why others seem to sabotage our weight loss efforts. We must be willing to uncover our buried emotions.

Dr. Leaf says it this way, “You can bury your emotions, but you need to know that you are burying something that remains alive.” These buried emotions cannot be controlled but instead, they control us. 

In music there are pauses called rests, which add interest and emotion to the music. If the musician simply bulldozes through these rests without stopping or pausing, the entire piece would lose its impact. Anyone can play music, but an artist or accomplished musician interprets music, becoming sensitive to the rhythm, theme, words and story that are being communicated. 

Music, therefore becomes the vehicle for emotions to be communicated and simple notes begin to take on life and meaning. These rhythms which are defined as controlled movement and tempo, or pace and speed of the music, are essential to the expression and character of the whole and the very essence and heartbeat of the song. 

As in music, our inward emotions hold the key to our outward expression. We are very proficient at not feeling what we feel inside. This is like ignoring the pauses and rests in music. We must take time for introspection and recognize when our emotions are bulldozing through our best intentions.

Recognition of our emotions allows us to move forward toward greater health and wellness. We must learn to listen to our inward motivations. We must be willing to walk to the beat of a different drummer—one that is telling us that food will satisfy all of our inward needs and desires. We must stop, consider and regain our own inward tempo; becoming aware of our past experiences and conditioning, stored emotions and suppressed memories and how these dynamics affect our lives.

Let's learn what it takes to the bottom of our emotional, relational and nutritional needs. Yes, we can.   

Are you ready to dance to a different tune? Are you ready to rumba…