My Body Said No

Let's talk about the subtle and often hidden influences. The quiet ways we absorb ideas and beliefs without realizing it. The projections we take on from culture, conversations, algorithms. The things that seem like they're ours but aren't.

 We've never before lived in a time where we watched people this much. Their food, their faces, their routines, their choices. Scroll after scroll, we're not just seeing others. We're absorbing them. And without realizing it, we begin to question ourselves.

 It's wild how easy it is to override your own knowing. Not because you don't trust yourself, but because the volume of other voices is so loud. Social media especially doesn't just show us content. It shows us what's working for others. And slowly, you start to wonder if maybe you're the one who's off. Maybe you're the one who needs to adjust.

 I say this as someone who really does pride herself on being clear. On knowing what's mine. On listening to my body and trusting what I know.

And still, I found myself deep in a season of override.

 It happened slowly. A mix of the algorithm, social chatter, that ever-present hum of wellness advice, especially around protein and aging. I started eating chicken and turkey again after 25 years of not eating poultry. Not because I craved it. Not because it felt aligned. But because I kept hearing that story over and over. That you have to eat animal protein as you get older. That it's the only way.

 Even though my body told me otherwise. Every time I ate it, I felt off. My digestion was a mess. My skin. My energy. My clarity. But I kept pushing through, telling myself I was doing the right thing.

 I wasn't.

 Almost a year of feeling terrible. Bloated, disconnected, not myself. Until I finally stopped. And within two weeks, I felt and looked like me again. My body sighed in relief. My energy came back. I felt like I had returned to my own rhythm.

 And yet, I had been meditating all along.

 That's the part I want to name. Because sometimes people think meditation will keep you from going off track. Like it's a forcefield that protects you from outside influence. But it's not that clean.

 When you're being bombarded all day with images, opinions, suggestions, research, conversations, content… even meditation can feel like it's not cutting through.

 Sometimes the noise is just too loud. And even when you sit, it follows you into the silence.

 But the magic is this: meditation stays with you. Even if it doesn't give you clarity right away. Even if you still override. Even if you feel like it's not working.

 Over time, the practice builds a space inside you that can't be taken away. A space where you can finally hear the signal underneath the noise. A space where the truth that's been there all along gets a little louder. A little clearer.

 Eventually, I noticed. I felt the dissonance I had been pushing past. I saw the pattern. I heard my body. I made the change. And almost overnight, I felt the relief.

 Not because meditation gave me an instant answer. But because it kept inviting me back to myself.

 That's the real gift. Not a guarantee that you'll always know. But a quiet place to return when the world has made you forget.

 Meditation doesn't always fix the override. But it gives you a place to come home when you realize you've left.