Food over the holidays can be awesome, but it can also mean a lot of bad eating habits. Which isn't always bad if taken in moderation. This past year I have focused on eating a healthier diet. I put a lot more vegetables into my daily meals (salad for lunch almost every day!) and this past month I have worked on adding more fruit as well. But every now and then I still need to indulge myself into some treats. Indulgence is sometimes stuck with a negative connotation. Gluttony is one of the Seven Deadly Sins after all. But indulging ourselves with a treat here and there isn't always a bad thing. It is good to reward ourselves, especially if we have accomplished something recently.
The problem is when our indulgence goes beyond moderation. It doesn't need to be said when we go beyond this point. We all feel it. When I eat too many chips, or have too many chocolate-coated coffee beans during a board game (like I did this week), I don't just feel guilty for over-indulging; I feel unhealthy inside. But I also feel unrewarded if I don't let myself indulge every now and then. There has to be a happy medium! That's where the concept of the Middle Way comes in.
The Middle Way is a concept of Buddhism which describes the Eight-fold Path, the basic way of life that leads to enlightenment according to the Buddha. According to the Buddha, the Middle Way is a life lived between the extremes of self-denial and self-indulgence. So what this really means for us "unenlightened" people is that you can't go too far to either extreme. Essentially, stuffing your face is not the way to a good life nor is starving yourself the way to a good life. What I take from this idea is that it is okay to indulge yourself a little bit and it is also okay to restrain yourself from indulging too much. You have to find the perfect middle ground, which can be a difficult thing to do during the holidays.
