My assistant Brenda sent me an email for an order of twenty WordFood books from a local office here in Denver. They needed them right away and so I called as soon as I had a free moment to take care of the request.
Jan and I spoke briefly about her interest in the book, and then I mentioned the new program I was working on, WordFood: Nourishing Your Essence. It’s a program about dealing with obesity and compulsion, part my story and part how to end the constant battles of dieting and start feeding the part of us that truly needs to be fed- in other words, it’s not about the weight, and never was about the weight.
Jan sighed, and shared that she, too, has dealt with this for many years. I’d just spent the entire weekend writing much of the speech and digging up old stories, and I shared a few with her. As all comedians know, pain + time = comedy, and pretty soon, Jan was laughing right along with me. As someone who has spent a lifetime putting up a front of perfection when behind that wall all hell was breaking loose, this was a chance to find out how it felt to tell the truth, and to laugh.
Not only was it great fun, Jan found herself in my tales of the bags of Oreos at the checkout counter and in her best poker face telling the clerk they were for a “Party.” Or convincing a boyfriend that I just couldn’t put on weight, and his opening a mostly unused closet door to find hundreds of packages of cookies, chocolate and cakes- my stash. We howled.
The power of WordFood is its ability to create real connections. Jan was able to see the humor in behavior that she found repugnant. Just these few moments allowed us to build a deep understanding between us – “I know your pain” – because we chose to share something private and important. It’s the beginning of healing.
Sometimes by dragging a monster into the light much of its size and ferocity is lost. Laughing at it removes a great deal of its hold on you. Realizing that others have walked this path and like St. George, have slayed the dragon, is help of the highest sort. While the first step is the hardest, being willing to share honestly shines the light of day on lies that have lain in darkness for years.
Jan graced me with a gift: the reminder that by sharing the deepest stories, we touch the deepest part of others. Our WordFood sets others free.
These opportunities happen on a park bench, in the gym, at coffee with a friend, on an airline flight. You have the ability to transform a life with your true story. Truth is far more powerful than fiction. WordFood works wonders.