What you want vs what you need...

Ok. What you want v's what you need....

It's 3.30pm on a Wednesday afternoon, I'm tired and REALLY need cake. I realise I can make it over to the bakery before it closes. So I grab the dog and we dash through the park, making it to the bakery just before closing. I was so excited because they had plenty of bakewell tarts left, so I got one and a chocolate brownie for my other half. The dog reluctantly walked back with me in my haste to get the kettle on and satisfy my NEED for the cake. But in his usual manner, the beast sauntered around the park, sniffing trees and munching on grass. As time went on, I realised that my insatiable appetite for cake had waned and I remembered something that I learned and taught when I worked with people in recovery (from drug and alcohol problems)....

'Urge surfing'. When we have a craving for a drug (in my case the drug of choice being cake), the intense feeling of needing the drug rises, peaks and falls away, just like a wave. If we can ride out the wave and not feed it, it will pass in around 30 minutes.

By the time I got back to the house, I was in no rush to eat the cake. In fact, I was more interested in writing this letter to you! I realised on the walk back....

What I wanted was cake.

What I needed was a walk.

The cake is right beside me as I'm writing this, and it's delicious, but I don't NEED it. The walk was what I needed. It kick-started my creativity again and led to this insight for me, and this letter for you.

So next time you find yourself 'needing' something, ask yourself -

'Is this what I really need, or is my body/mind/soul crying out for something else?'

Take a walk. Allow the time to pass, and let your wise voice speak to you. You'll know what to do.