Why Cravings?

Cravings of all kinds often fascinate me. What, why, and when they come is always something I get curious about and want to unravel as I am aware that there are various causes for them (physical, emotional, spiritual, physiological, chemical etc). Our bodies are such finely tuned systems that filter so much everyday and we often forget that. They actually are trying to work FOR us, not against us! The other night I arrived to Laguardia airport at 11:30pm after traveling for I think 9 hours, plus almost missing one of the flights by a hair (if you can avoid sprinting through the Houston airport with a full backpack on, please do).  

I stood in a total daze waiting for my luggage when all of a sudden the image of a bowl of Cheerios, popped into my sleepy head. It wasn't just that I saw that bowl of cereal, I WANTED it. Now, mind you, I haven't had a bowl of Cheerios in probably 20 years, nor have I really thought about wanting one. But all of a sudden I was almost giggling at the fact that I could go for that right about now. Would I really even enjoy it? I wondered. Why all of the sudden did my memory bank pull that up?  

One of my favorite sayings is: "too much of a good thing is: too much of a good thing" Why? Because no matter what, our bodies inevitably seek balance. 

While it might not happen immediately, at some point, when we tip too far in one direction or another, something in you seeks a pull back to "the center." Too much teeter-totter or extreme ANYTHING will eventually...flip. True.  

Standing at the luggage pick up at Laguardia I realized I had entered the "too much of a good thing" category and it was beginning to throw me off center, leading to cravings of Cheerios, which, for me totally represent: sitting in my cozy childhood home; simple, easy, late night comfort food. Plus I was overly tired (another time we crave things is when we are sleep deprived), I hadn't had a "proper dinner," only random travel snacks, and just wanted to be home. After the past two months of so many GREAT places I've been able to spend time in, lovely people, fulfilling work, travel, interesting experiences, all golden opportunities that I am so grateful for and which will continue, I was craving HOME. I pictured the Cheerios as my tiny life preservers keeping me afloat. It made sense to me.  

 What are YOU craving???