Hello, I’m Dr. Anita Johnston. And I am here in Hawaii listening to the bird song of the morning. It’s one of the most spectacular things — to listen to these birds singing and singing and singing. It reminds me about the story about the Nightingale.

There was once this nightingale, who was in the forest. And she was singing and singing and singing, really enjoying the sound of her song reverberating through the tree tops. Along came a crow. And the crow said, oh my gosh, would you cut that racket? That’s just the worst thing I’ve ever heard. You’re polluting the forest. And the nightingale said, no, no, no, we nightingales, we are known for our beautiful song.

And the crow said, I don’t think so. That’s just the worst thing I’ve ever heard. And they began to argue. Along came a pig. The pig said, listen, I’m a connoisseur of fine music. Why don’t we have a contest and I’ll be the judge?

So the nightingale sang her song. And the crow cawed. And then, the pig immediately declared the crow the winner. At which point the nightingale burst into tears. The crow said, I can’t believe you. Not only are you a horrible singer, but you’re a lousy loser.

And the nightingale said, oh, I’m not crying because I lost. I’m crying because a pig was my judge.

You see, what does a pig know about music? So, consider the source. You see, because a woman’s song is her truth. In order to be free from disordered eating, a woman must realize the beauty of her song. And refuse to sacrifice it.

Even in times of scarcity. Even when others insist that she be silent. Because a woman’s song is her truth. And it’s beautiful. If you don’t sing your song, if you don’t allow the truth of who you really are to come forward, what happens is that that truth tries to get expressed in other ways.

If you happen to struggle with eating or weight obsessions, or yo-yo dieting, or food restriction, or whatever it happens to be, then that becomes your song. It becomes a way of trying to express the truth, that for whatever reason, you can’t put into words. .

So I’m going to invite you to join the birds here in Hawaii as they sing. As they sing their song. And I’m going to invite you to allow your truth, to allow the beauty of your song, to come forth.

I would love to hear your thoughts, share in the comments below!

Aloha.

Till next time,

Anita