vinegar

Last summer I started an odd practice.  I would drink apple cider vinegar every day.  It claimed to help with allergies.  I have allergies that really bother me and they don't seem to be affected by any drugs I take (at least not enough to notice).  I read about this remedy and decided to give it a try.  It was disgusting, to say the least.  I would do in the morning.  If I didn't, I would talk myself out of it. I would drink a few tablespoons mixed with a little stevia.  The stevia helped a little, but it was truly hard to get down.  I would gulp it in one swallow and then sit over the sink rinsing my mouth out and spitting in the sink.  My kids would see me sometimes and just stare at me in horror.  Katelyn would ask. "Are you ok?"  I said "yes" matter-of-factly.  I'm sure I scared my kids.  Sometimes my stomach felt like it was going to reject the vinegar, but I always kept it down.

Why on earth would I do such a disgusting thing.  I believed it would help my allergies.  I figured that 60 seconds of nastiness was worth a decrease in allergy symptoms.

I have been known to drink other gross things for the sake health.  I drink a smoothie every morning and I put a wide variety of things in it.  Usually kale, a whole lemon, blueberries, banana and whatever else is laying around that no one will eat.  I use water to liquify it.  It is gross, but I know how good it is and it doesn't bother me to drink it.  Some people ask me why I don't make it taste better.  I know how to.  I just want those exact ingredients everyday and I know I won't eat them by themselves in that quantity.  I don't water it down with sugar or other things to make it taste better.  Having it taste good is not my goal.

Why all the talk about drinking gross things?

I feel like this experience is a lot like drinking vinegar.  It tastes gross, but I know how good it is for me and my spiritual development.  Sometimes that's not enough.  Sometimes I feel like everyone else around me is drinking a delicious glass of lemonade and I have a steaming thermos of vinegar.  The worst part is when people whine about their lemonade.  It's too sweet... its too sour...I don't have the right cup.  I struggle with this.  I try to remember how delicious my vinegar will be someday, but right now it tastes horrible.  I know that other people aren't trying to show off their tall glass of lemonade to me.  I just notice it because I don't have the same drink.  I know how sour lemonade can be.  I have had some sour lemonade and whined plenty about it.  

I am surprised to still feel sympathy, and sometimes empathy, for peoples different drinks, that seem far more palatable than mine.  It hasn't changed my ability to feel this and I am so grateful for this.  I think the difference is when people acknowledge that I am holding a different beverage all together.  It is then, when my heart is softened and reaches out to them in their feelings. It's amazing what a little perspective can do for you.

I bet you are wondering if drinking the vinegar worked for my allergies.  I did notice a dramatic improvement in my allergy symptoms.