This is day 16 for me in @dragosroua's 30 day writing challenge. Today I am returning to my Notes From an Amateur Writer series.
IN SEARCH OF HEALING
When my diagnosis of cancer was confirmed last year I found myself on a merry-go-round of searches and seeking out of solutions. For reasons that I won't elaborate on here, the standard medical solutions of Chemotherapy or Radiation Therapy were not a viable option for me. Experimental drug therapy was suggested, but I wasn't going to start playing the role of Guinea Pig, so I held off on making any choice on that matter. The cancer is slow growing, so at least when it came to making a choice I had time on my side.
I started to look into matters related to food, and dietary concerns, for the sake of furthering my knowledge. And for introducing more options into my healing repertoire. One of the issues I did study more in depth was the Raw Food movement, and what - if any - role it could play in my healing. I signed up for an introductory course run on a farm just outside of Melbourne. It was located in a beautiful setting; green rolling hills, and surrounded by forests. They had an organic farm operating on the grounds, and we were shown around, and taught the basics of how it functioned.
But the primary focus of that day was to learn a half dozen or so raw food recipes, to introduce variety into what can appear to be a dull and repetitious dietary choice. There are specific reasons why raw food is suggested, and the healing benefits of such a choice. I wont be going into that in this post. This is not a post to convince anybody one way or the other on the merits of raw food. No, this is a post about the surprising turn of events that developed, completely out of left field. I went there that day to learn about raw food. I came away with that knowledge, and I also came away after having stood, face-to-face with one of the rarest cars in the world. And the only one of its kind in Australia – the Tucker 48.
FOOD OBSESSION
I have always had a love-hate relationship with food. I eat mostly because my body tells me I have to. I often forget, just to be reminded after reaching the end of the day that food is a physical requirement. My body reminds me. My mind wakes up to that physical reality. But then, perhaps due to eating the wrong foods, my body lets me know its upset with me. I can't seem to win. So I try to forget about food again, just to have my body remind me I need to eat. It's a cycle.
So for me to make any effort to learn how to prepare food, especially something as seemingly radical as raw food, is a confronting step for me to take. I resisted it, for some time. I don't like food, and I don't like the thought of making any effort to prepare it. The very thought tires me out. But like I said, this time I confronted those demons, and made the effort.
And I did learn some helpful food preparation tips that day. I am glad I went. But when I was asked if I wanted to take a look at the rare car collection held on site, I was left wondering if a part of me knew this was here all along, and used the raw food idea as a ruse. Is there a part of us that operates separate to time, perceiving things in a non-linear manner, and attempting to influence our choices based on that insider knowledge? Fanciful, I know. But this is the creative writer side of me thinking out loud. Because how the hell did I end up in the exact same location as the only Tucker 48 in this country? Which just so happens to be located at a farm where raw food classes were held. When I think of raw food classes, I don't also think of rare car collections. The two don't really go together. Not in my mind.
But they did go together, not in my mind, but in the very real, physical world that I operate in. In that large warehouse of a shed that I was taken to, were at least 20 of the most beautiful, classic, and rare motor vehicles a car enthusiast like myself could hope to lay eyes on. I took photographs, but unfortunately due to lighting issues, all but one of them came out shaky. All except my photo of the Tucker 48 (as shown at the top of this post).
Some of the locals I made friends with that day.
I suppose what I am trying to get at with this post is that we don't always know what is unfolding around us in our lives. Nor do we always fully appreciate the reasons why they are unfolding. Resisting the pull of energies to go in a certain direction can seem natural, and sometimes even justified. But what if, standing on the other side of one's inbuilt resistances, stood a pot of gold just waiting to be found? An experience so totally unexpected it left you scratching your head, wondering if you were perhaps actually a character in someone else's story. A protagonist in another author's book. A cameo in a Twilight Zone episode.
Or if there is actually more to us than we even realise.
All images are my own.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you liked it then please like, comment, and follow.
Notes From an Amateur Writer blog series:
Notes From an Amateur Writer #1 - The Search For Inspiration
Notes From an Amateur Writer #2 - A Call to Action: Interacting With the World Outside of Me
Notes From an Amateur Writer #3 - Facing the Challenge
Notes From an Amateur Writer #4 - The Soundtrack to Grief and Loss
Notes From an Amateur Writer #5 - Music as a Catalyst for Imagination: Jimi Hendrix's Little Wing
Notes From an Amateur Writer #6 - The Stories All Around Us
Notes From an Amateur Writer #7 - Introducing Nomad [A Cyberpunk Mystery in the Making]
Notes From an Amateur Writer #8 - The House at the Edge of the World
Notes From an Amateur Writer #9 - Making Peace With My Kindle
Notes From an Amateur Writer #10 - Learning the Craft of Story Structure
Notes From an Amateur Writer #11 - Adults Sit at the Big Table, Children Sit at the Small Table
Notes From an Amateur Writer #12 - The Time I Won a Lego Competition
Notes From an Amateur Writer #13 - Learning to Fly
Short Fiction:
Bang Bang You're Dead
I Have No Name and I Must Scream
The Last Book Store
The Judge
The Man In The Mirror