Thursday, May 17, 2012

Life is...




“Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it.” 
― Mother Teresa




Saturday, May 5, 2012

Hangin' by a Thread...: Facing Fears and Finding Me: Part 3

Hangin' by a Thread...: Facing Fears and Finding Me: Part 3: No, silly, that's not me! Someday soon though, someday soon . . .      I can't believe it's been two months since the last "installment...

Facing Fears and Finding Me: Part 3

Makes my heart ache
No, silly, that's not me! Someday soon though, someday soon . . .

     I can't believe it's been two months since the last "installment" about my weight-loss and fitness journey. Boy, time flies when you're counting calories. I am happy to report that I am down just over 25 pounds since that first gut-wrenching moment when I hopped on the scale at the end of January. Yay me! 

    My latest epiphany on this journey? I have discovered that when you are truly ready, you can accomplish anything. Ah, shoot, but wait, I already knew that. I've seen countless people accomplish things because they have set their mind to it. I've seen people hit their rock-bottom and subsequently claw their way out of the depths of despair to become a healthy, well-functioning person. Maybe my epiphany was more like a reaffirmation? Anyways...

    A friend of mine recently asked if it's been hard (losing the weight) and I said, "no, it's actually been quite easy. I was so ready."  I was just so ready to "find me,"  I thought afterwards. I was so tired of seeing a person that I didn't really know in the mirror. I was just SO ready! And then I thought, you know, that really is the key. You have to be really ready to make a change before you can successfully do so-- no matter what you are trying to accomplish. 

    Despite the fact that I was ready, please know when I say that it has been easy-- that this leg of my journey has been an easy-breezy, piece-of-cake sort of adventure-- know that it hasn't. I also don't mean that it has been easy in a pseudo-psycho celebrity sort of way-- like, when you hear the A-Lister's talk about how they can eat anything they want, never work out, and never gain weight because really, who believes that? When I say easy, I mean easy in the way that, because my mindset has totally shifted-- because I was totally ready to make this change-- that I am surviving relatively unscathed throughout this journey.

    Seriously, there are days when I want to eat my arm off because I am so hungry. Those days aren't easy. There are also days when I want to skip my walk or workout because I could really (and pardon my French here) give a shit if I ever exercised again. Those days aren't so easy either. But, the days that are good, like the first day that I ran (well, jogged, if truth be told) a mile without stopping-- well, that was a really freaking awesome day. Or, the day I packed up my size 18's for a smaller size-- well, that was a really freaking awesome day too.

     I know that I still have a really long journey ahead of me before I can say that I have accomplished my weight loss goal but 25 pounds was a big milestone for me. I am a third of the way there and I am pretty excited about it! On to the next 25 . . .

     P.S. A HUGE shout out to everyone that has been there supporting me, I couldn't have made it this far without you all! I am so very grateful! Oh, and so very blessed. :)