“Absolutely amazing results!”

“And it will work for you, too!”

I’ve discovered an eating program that allows you to eat absolutely anything you want to eat and still lose weight. In fact, not only can you eat anything you want to eat, you can eat as much as you want to eat and still shed pounds.

How liberating…walking through the never-ending aisles of my local grocery mega-mart free to throw anything I want into the basket. Or sitting in my favorite restaurant free to choose anything I want off the menu.

Anything I want. No restrictions. No guilt. Anything I want.

Now, I can sense the skepticism creeping in. Knowing what we all know about saturated fats, trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, refined sugars, etc…how is it possible to eat anything you want and still lose weight and improve your overall health?

It’s simple, really. It’s all about deciding what you really want.

And that starts by deciding who it is you really are.

BOTH OF ME I’m not a huge fan of looking back, but I’ll do so if I think there is something to learn, especially when it’s an opportunity to learn more about me. Retracing my footsteps of years gone by I see periods of real growth and I see periods of great stagnation. At times a raging river, at times a brackish puddle by the side of the road.

I’ve seen two distinctive versions of me. There’s the Meandering Me, going with the flow on the path of least resistance, each day eventually turning into the next and then the next. Then there’s the On Purpose Me, the one that has some place to go and someone to grow into.

The Meandering Me stages of my life were not periods of laziness; rather, they were times of searching and deep introspection. Trying to discover and find that which appeared to come so easily for others. There was no real focus on or appreciation of what I had and who I was. It was all about finding what I felt I was missing.

RECONCILIATION Eventually the Meandering Me evolved into the On Purpose Me. It wasn’t immediate by any means. But the searching and introspection during my meandering years eventually sent me off in a better direction, on my way to finding the real me.

The On Purpose Me is really nothing more than a vision that I have of me for me. A reconciliation of who I thought I was with who I really am. For me, it was an unexpected and unintended spiritual awakening. It was first acknowledging and accepting our collective divinity, and then accepting that I was a worthy part of it.

When you awaken to see the greatness that surrounds you, you awaken to see the greatness that lies within you.

That changed everything for me. Seeing things, including myself, differently and being open to the possibility that perhaps there was something greater residing me than I imagined there ever could be. That’s when I began to appreciate the magnificence and fragility of the world around me and the new world within me. This new appreciation allowed me to develop a humbling awe and reverence for all I that I am, for all that I have been given, and for all I have yet to become. That’s when I began to see myself as more than just me.

SOMETHING GREATER Using words like greatness, awe, and reverence in describing one’s self usually reeks of conceit, arrogance, and ego. But the context here is that all of us possess our own individual greatness that justifies an awe and reverence of who each of us are and all that we’ve collectively been created to become.

With that, I welcomed the On Purpose Me. There was now something greater to live up to, a divine obligation to fulfill the promise of my own creation.

My new vision of who it is I really am has become a filter for all the decisions that I make. That includes the quality and quantity of food that I decide to consume. When you develop an awe and reverence for who you are, the nourishment decisions become surprisingly simple. My strong sense of purpose and direction allows me to make food decisions that are consistent with the vision that I have of myself. In an age of infinite information we all know what types of food we should be putting into our bodies. Physical exercise, once a chore, becomes a welcomed part of an On Purpose lifestyle. Yes, the body in many ways is indeed a temple, and I am its caretaker.

KEY POINT The key point of this post really isn’t about weight loss. My goal was not to shed 20% of my body weight. The results were a pleasant benefit of living a healthier lifestyle motivated and driven by a change in the vision I had of myself for myself. The real goal of this post is to challenge you to rediscover your authenticity, to clarify your own vision of your own divine self, and to live life accordingly. It’s so much more than food.

Living with purpose is also great at eliminating emotional weights that can hold us down. It just isn’t emotionally healthy carrying 50 pounds of doubt around. Doubts and negativity are emotional saturated fats that, over time, clog the arteries of our sense of self, restricting the flow of abundance and happiness into our lives. But once again, when you acknowledge and accept your own divinity, the true vision of who you really are unclogs the arteries and abundance and happiness once again begin to flow.

It all starts with discovering and embracing the vision of the divinity which lies within all of us.

HARMONY In my life I want experiences and relationships that nourish me, that enhance me, that get me one step closer to my ultimate self. So, yes, I eat anything that I want. I just don’t want things in my life – food included –  that are inconsistent with who it is I know I am. Many diet programs are very restrictive and leave you to feel that you’re denying yourself the things that you’ve really enjoyed consuming. I don’t deny myself anything, because the decisions I now make are aligned with who it is I know that I am. Conversely, making decisions that are not in harmony with who I know I am will deny me of becoming the greatest version of me possible.

I do admit that I still enjoy pizza occasionally, and will sneak a donut or two every now and again when no one is looking. I find that when I lose sight of my vision as I sometimes do I am more likely make decisions that really aren’t consistent with who I really am. For me, staying on purpose usually requires a daily recalibration to ensure I stay on the path I’ve chosen for myself. We live in a world that puts far more energy into tearing down than building up. Realign yourself daily with your vision of your true self. Remind yourself throughout the day of the greatness within you, of all that you already have, of all that you already are.

AWE & REVERENCE Living Half Full is about taking the time to rediscover who you really are. Life, like calories, can gradually get away from us, and before too long we’re weighed down by physical and/or emotional pounds that have slowly distorted the true vision of our real selves. Take the time to develop an awe and reverence of all that you are and all that you’ve yet to become. Let that vision serve as a filter for all that comes into your life.

Look. Deeper.

Live. Deeply.

Live in awe of who you already are.

It’s a great day to be you!