Thank You!
On Monday, I started our 11 weeks of gift-giving. Wanting to find a way to celebrate fall, and the count down to the holidays, I thought having a “contest” every week would be a really fun way to go. I wanted to give to you, but what ended up happening was, you gave me an amazing gift.
You see, when you write a blog, like Rawmazing, you really are in a bubble. Posts are thought up, researched, developed, created, written, photographed and then, after hours of work, you hit a button and the post goes off into the blogosphere. There is little human interaction. You hope for some comments, so you know if people liked what you are doing and then you start planning the next post.
To be honest, I love comments. They let me know that you are out there, actually reading the blog. I can look at the analytics, and see that literally thousands of you are visiting the blog, but numbers are just numbers. They are not interaction. They are not real people.
Monday, when I started the contest, comments immediately started coming in. We had almost 400 people enter. It was so exciting for me. But what was even more exciting was what was in the comments. They were amazing. A simple question, “Why are you interested in raw food” brought out such feeling and emotion.
There were a lot of quotes that made me smile. Just made me happy that so many people are starting to, or really understand what raw food can do for you:
From Tiffany: “I am transitioning to a RAW lifestyle because I want to be around for a long long long time to watch my children grow, and have the energy to keep up with them.”
From Chris: “To save my life!”
From Regina: “To correct what is really wrong with our ‘health-care system.’ And give hope to the many that are already suffering from eating too much processed foods.”
Rena: The energy I get from eating raw is outrageous and addictive! I don’t know why anyone would not want to incorporate raw into their diets – it is of course the way Mother Nature intended.
The wonderful age old quote from Stella Lee: “I used to be a very sick kid and as I got older I was tired of always being ill so I’m going to use a quote that helped me realize how important it is to eat right for my health: “Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food” -Hippocrates
And then there were the quotes that really moved me. That made me sit a second and pause. People who are fighting illness and having success with raw food. One of the main reasons I am here.
From Jennifer: “I was diagnosed with Alopecia Universalis a year and a half ago, and by removing gluten, dairy and animal products from my diet and focusing on raw foods, my hair has slowly began to grow back!”
From Lois: “My intention is to reduce or eliminate insulin in my life through raw foods…it’s working!”
From Cat: “By eating raw for the past 8 weeks I’ve lowered my thyroid medication by half.”
From Tressey: “My health was failing fast. I had run out of options. Raw food gave my body the rest and nutrients it needed to pull itself up and into the land of the vibrant living.”
From Abakash: “Raw food got me off Insulin, and I lost 30 lbs. Raw food makes me happy.”
And this from my dear friend Polly: “I’m interested in Raw Food because of a breast cancer diagnosis 18 months ago. Since it was a reoccurance and several places eating raw was my only real option. As you know Susan it has caused shrinkage and even made some of the sites of cancer disappear. I had a few months this year where i backslid but a few weeks ago i slid back into eating predominately raw ( with the exception of a couple slips this weekend). You’ve been sooo helpful to me in this change. Thank you sooo much:-)”
If you want to be inspired…go back and read through all those comments. You have all inspired me and I thank you deeply.
Lynette wrote on October 28, 2010
those comments… VERY encouraging, especially at this very moment.
i also recently learned that there are some… imbalances in my body. my doctor initially thought it was lupus, but additional testing left my primary and the specialist stumped. even without doing much research into raw food, i am convinced that my diet–and mental health (i.e. stress)–has a lot to do with what’s happening in my body. …it’s been about 3 months and it wasn’t until recently–the last month–that i find myself frequently flirting with giving up, especially as i seek new and creative raw food melodies and the TIME to experiment…
your website has really been a GOD-send. and more than the specifics of the recipes, it’s your creativity (the essence) that really encourages me, encourages me to… embrace food more intimately than i have been. (i’ve been looking at food as if we are strangers, as if we don’t already have an extensive history. i think i’ve been intimidated by the word “raw” preceding “food” these days.)
today, against my better judgement, i ate some things that have left me with a bad case of acid reflux and an overall feeling of… heavy blah. but i’m thankful for this moment because it involuntarily(?) forces me to reminisce about the energy and mental clarity i experienced when eating raw those 2+ straight months, the calmness in my spirit. that IS, no doubt, where i desire to be. (thank GOD for memory!)
onward and upward.
thank you for starting this blog, for sharing your own journey.
Terry wrote on October 12, 2010
just started my journey w/ raw food….thanks for sharing all the info and recipes! Great