The problem with drinking soda pop is not just the calories it contains.  It is that it satisfies your sweet tooth and you have no desire for an apple, orange, banana, grapefruit, plum, cherry, a strawberry, grape, pomegranate....  

Cravings happen for a reason--to satisfy a demand for specific nutrients that are inherent in the foods with those flavors.  So, when we get a craving for sweet, it might be because we need the potassium from a sweet, ripe banana or Vitamin C from an orange, or antioxidants from blueberries, and so on.  Soda fills us up and curbs our cravings for foods our bodies need anyway.  

Next time you're craving soda, try adding juice concentrate to sparkling water for a refreshing beverage alternative.  Juices from concentrate, without all the added corn syrup and sweeteners, can add a vitamin punch to any meal or snack.  Good ones to try are cranberry, pomegranate, or blueberry juices.  Or for a summery spin, try mashing up some ripe strawberries with just a light sprinkle of natural sugar (to bring out its juices) and adding that to sparkling water.  Freshly squeezed citrus fruit juices work great too!

Back in the '90s, there was a journalist from Britain named Terry Waite who was captured in the Iran arms controversy and held hostage in Beirut.  He was held captive for five years and after he was released, he was interviewed by Barbara Walters on 20/20.  It has been years since the show aired in 1992, but there were couple of profound comments he made that have stuck with me to this day:

 

Barbara asked him what, upon realizing what had happened--his being held in a cell with his hands tied--what his first thoughts were.  He told Barbara that there were three things he told himself:

 

#1.  No sentimentality.

#2.  No self-pity.

#3.  No regrets.

 

Then, later, she asked him, now that he was free, what were his feelings toward his captors?  His response:  

 

"Barbara, I forgive them a hundred percent, because I refuse to be victimized twice."

 

This conversation moves me for several reasons, the greatest of which being that we all already have within us the strength to endure and forgive.  These statements could be great mantras to direct your attention to during a mindfulness meditation as a way of calling upon your own inner strength.  Maybe you have a challenge to face later this week that has really been weighing on your mind.  Maybe someone in your life has wronged you and their actions are affecting your emotional state.  We have the power to decide how to react to any situation--even in situations when it seems we have zero control.  Our attitude is our choice.  Here is a man who has endured real physical and emotional pain; pain that perhaps we can't even fathom living through.  Yet, he chose to not be a victim.  He chose life.  He chose inner peace.  It's not easy, that's for sure.  But, with practice, we all can have inner peace too.  And in times of struggle, his story reminds me that I can too.

 

 In trying times, how do you find the strength to let go?

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