When I got to the intersection last night, I thought "that was 2 miles." I looked behind me and my hospital looked soooooo distant. "Oh, my gosh! That's how far I walked this morning." Two miles! If someone would have told me a month ago that I would walk the distance from the hospital to that intersection at one time and in less than an hour I would have said they were crazy!
The body is really quite remarkable. The fact that it keeps us alive when we feed it high calorie, low nutritional food is remarkable. The fact that it can go from being sluggish and being short of breath going across that parking lot to walking two miles in 40 minutes is remarkable. And all within three weeks.
A couple of days ago in my blog I mentioned how I have gotten in and out of the habit of walking quite regularly. Yesterday I told my boss that I have started walking in the mornings. She had previously told me that she runs every morning before work, so I was quite surprised when she said, "I have not run for 2 weeks." Long hours at work and the stress of a major project (that thankfully I don't have to be a part) has caused her to miss her running. I suddenly felt sorry for her as I know she had expressed joy in running. Yes, it is so easy to slip back into habits that may not kill us, but certainly aren't the best. Yes, our bodies are remarkable and resilient to our habits and actions. Sometimes.
"You deserve a break today." Isn't that slogan for some company? Well, I tell myself that very often, especially when I have made some accomplishments or suffered some stress. I have made accomplishments in the past three weeks, walking, losing weight, eating smaller portions, eating healthier foods, and expressing myself. This is the point where I hit the wall! Not the wall of pain but the wall of .... I have lost weight, I deserve a treat.... I walked two miles yesterday, I deserve a morning off.... My clothes are looser (never mind that they are size 20-22!), I deserve... I deserve.... I deserve. Get the picture. In my past and in my present, this is where I have to work at fighting complacency. Complacency: A feeling of contentment or satisfaction; gratification. Self satisfaction, smugness. Yes, I think I will definitely call it the "wall of complacency."
That wall (another W word) has been my un-doing on more than one (more likely one hundred) occasions. This week was tough for me. Hubby was in California visiting daughter & grand kids and I had the house to myself. I get to eat what I want! I made some good choices and some not so good choices in food and drink. However, I did walk every day.
Complacency is a feeling, an emotion. So as I said in the beginning, this project is not just about the physical aspects of healthy living, it's the emotions and the spiritual too. Right now, the emotions need to be .... I don't know... maybe expressed is the best word. Emotions need to be expressed.
1 comment:
It's no wonder you have an affinity for lions - you're very courageous. Taking this P.E.S. journey is a very courageous act. As you know, it is much easier to stay in one's comfort zone. I recently saw a line that went something like this: "Your life begins when you leave your comfort zone."
Here's a favorite piece of mine:
BE BRAVE ENOUGH TO LIVE LIFE CREATIVELY
The creative is the place where no one else has ever been.You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition.
You can’t get there by bus, only by hard work and risk and by not quite knowing what you’re doing.
What you’ll discover will be wonderful.
What you’ll discover will be yourself. by Alan Alda
When we choose to make some changes in one area of our life, it has a ripple affect to other areas of our life. You've chosen to delve in on many fronts, so you may be in for quite a ride... Hang on - you're discovering you at deeper and deeper levels of YOUR truth. Part of the beauty of your sharing your journey is that you're making a difference in many lives - not only yours. Thanks!
Motivation: Many keep waiting to be "motivated." But in truth it's ACTION that comes first - which develops into motivation. So we must be like Nike - "just do it." Our character is determined by who we are consistently on a day to day basis.
Then we start to learn different ways of rewarding ourselves - i.e., feeling good, being true to ourselves, being honest with ourselves and others, inner peace, contentment.
Peace is an inside job. when we make that our first priority, all other good things come to us. Going for "things" first in order to feel peace and contentment, usually doesn't work nearly as well. It's important that we strive for an "internal locus of control" rather than an "external locus of control." We only can "control" ourselves, not the people, places and things around us, nor should we allow those people, places and things around us control us. Know thyself and be true to thyself.
Way to go Rayna - I'm proud to be your friend. Be kind, gentle and patient with yourself. And thanks for making a difference in my life since 1981. Diana :)
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