Retreat Belly! - (2014)

Bali Belly and Retreat Belly Two Opposites to be Transcended

We have Bali belly and we have the opposite that I have coined retreat belly!

A big retreat is coming up soon, and so I am preparing myself to be balanced in what I eat, so as to not get ‘retreat belly’.

Bali Belly

With Bali belly, a people go to Bali, a place where a lot of Aussies go for holiday i.e. to retreat from life and revel in food, drink , beach and sun. They then eat something and they end up with diarrhoea and vomiting. Then they can’t eat and they lose weight.

Retreat Belly

With retreat belly, you go on a retreat and you feel so comfortable and fine that you eat like crazy and put on weight.

That's the way slim it down!

Gluttony!

Both start with a gluttonous attitude and end with opposite result.

‘More Bang for Your Buck’

The driving force behind gluttony is that we have spent money and so we want to get the most of out the money that we have spent. Particularly at a retreat where we have spent a lot of money and on a holiday where we have also spent a lot of money, it is not difficult for this attitude to spring up in our minds and take centre stage.

This way of thinking is very common in Australia and America. More bang for your buck is a very gluttony motivated slogan. Consequently, there are so many overweight people here and in America as well.

Conclusion

Retreats are a good occasion to work on gluttony. It is an ego like everything else and in working on it, there is plenty of will to rescue and acquire as well as a healthy and satisfying balance to be struck.

The value opposite to gluttony is contentment and the wise use of the opportunities presented to us, which is different to mechanical taking maximum advantage of the food available to us at any given moment.

End (2014).