Do you Tend to put Raw Food Teachers up on a Pedestal?

I must admit that when I was growing up, I used to put many different people up on pedestals. I imagined them as always having it all together and wanted to be just like them. So what exactly do I mean by pedestals? The figure of speech refers to idealizing another person and imagining that person to be superior to us in some way. Often, we assume that the people we idealize have all the answers. Sometimes, we even come to value their opinions to such a high degree that we start believing everything they say, so consumed are we by their imagined perfection.

Enough with such delusions. It is time for us to stop putting other people up on pedestals, for this action has rather dire consequences. Indeed, as soon as we are forced to admit the flaws and imperfections of those we idealize, our world tends to come crashing down. As humans, we all have flaws and no individual is somehow better than another individual. Of course, admiring others for their actions, skills, or knowledge is perfectly acceptable, but when the revelation of their flaws saddens us or leads us to depression, we are probably putting too much energy into our opinions of said person.

As some of you may know, several well-known raw food teachers recently announced that they no longer follow a 100% raw diet. As this situation unfolds, I can see people becoming distraught, often emphatically declaring that they will never again purchase another of their books again. They come to regard these people as losers and can hardly believe that these idealized people who once represented a perfect 100% raw food lifestyle no longer exist as such in their minds.

I found myself disheartened by the emotional upset spreading through so much of the raw food community caused by the decision of certain raw food leaders to discontinue the 100% raw lifestyle. It is time to recognize that we have all changed our minds at one point or another and will certainly do so again. But altered points of view don’t diminish our value as human beings. As for the various leaders and teachers of the raw food movement, they have much to offer us, and we would do well to take what is applicable to our journey from them and leave the rest alone. Each of us bears complete responsibility for our own health, and the so-called experts have nothing to do with this responsibility. We cannot lose all hope in our diet and lifestyle now that so and so is no longer 100% raw. We cannot afford to rely upon others to keep us on track. It is up to us to encourage ourselves and keep ourselves excited and motivated about our journey.

I still have great admiration and love for those raw food teachers who have veered away from a 100% raw diet. In particular, I admire their openness and honesty regarding their decision, as it seems immensely challenging for leaders of the raw food movement to admit to such a change of heart. I admire their courage to speak plainly about new directions in their lives. Such openness is indeed rare, and I am quite sure that, unbeknownst to us, several other well-known raw foodists may not actually be 100% raw while claiming to be exactly that.

When someone else decides to change course, this decision should not rock our world nor call our entire worldview into question. If it does, it is quite likely that we have been putting this person up on a pedestal. Each of us is entirely responsible for our own individual health! We must not allow other people’s decisions to take us off course.

Tagged as: 100% raw, Living Food, raw food, Raw Food Teachers