As a year closes and another one begins, people tend to ask themselves what their life purpose is. What am I living for? People want to know what is that area I can focus on and not squander their energy. Everyone desires to be more productive in the new year.
What if the secret source for knowing where to focus your attention or energy can be discovered by checking your appetite? What if by looking at the activities that cure you of hunger, we can help get clarity about your life direction? Would that not be something?
Has it happened to you before that you forgot to eat? Have you ever been so carried away with something that you were doing and totally forgot to eat? Think about it, try to recall and remember the things you were doing that made you forget to eat, they may hold the key to a lot deeper information about where to spend more of your time and energy.
There are two types of hunger – homeostatic hunger, which is related purely to balancing our energy reserves short-term, and hedonic hunger, which makes use of opportunities to gather extra energy. Hedonic hunger is less well understood than homeostatic hunger.
Homeostatic hunger has to do with the brain sending signals to the craving hormone because it has received signals from the energy storehouse that there I depletion of resources.
Hedonic hunger on the other hand is driven by signals sent based on cravings for certain foods based on the experience of pleasure from them in the past.
Many times, even when our brain wants to signal us about hunger, it is in contention with other forces also trying to signal us to devote our energy or attention to something else. The hypothesis here however is whatever can arrest your brain cells from communicating to your hormones that you are hungry is something you need to pay attention to.
A story comes to mind of a time when Jesus had travelled a long distance and was worn out and hungry. His disciples rushed to town to get him some food while he stayed by beside a well. While he stayed, he engaged a Samaritan woman in conversation, the conversation was quite engaging, and led to the Samaritan woman running away to call the entire village to come and meet and investigate the veracity of a man that she had met that claimed to be the Messiah. When the disciples of Jesus came back, they were shocked that it seemed that Jesus was no longer so hungry. Jesus responded to them that he had food to eat that they were not aware of, he further clarified that his meat was to do his father’s will and complete it. Jesus simply meant, what I am doing is filling me, this is my purpose.
Do you want to know your passion? What fills you that is not food? You want to know your divine assignment, simply find out what you seem to have unexplained energy, relationships, and resources for. If you pay a close look at the alternative pleasures that win you off your necessary meals, you will get plenty of clues about where to channel your God-given time, energy, and passion.
Do you have any questions?
