It’s Hard…Until It’s Not

It  is an age-old lesson that is quite easy to forget when facing a large obstacle. Sure, you can tell yourself to take things one step, one moment at a time. However, even that doesn’t always prevent you  from feeling like a tiny bird facing a giant, looming forest.  Of course, there are many different versions all over the world that something isn’t worth it if it is easy. Unless you have developed and consistently practiced using the willpower and determination necessary to overcome challenges, this isn’t going to help much. Only sheer commitment and effort can help you get started on a new path. So what do you do when it feels like you can’t take one more step down that path? You can give up. Often there may not even be any valid judgement in walking away from that path. Sometimes though, you really should just force yourself to take one more step and then one more step. Why? Simply because you know it is worth it and you need to finish walking the path.You will find that at one point it becomes easier to move forward. You might even begin to crave the momentum and challenge.  I had one of those “Aha!” moments the other day. While working out, I realized that I felt better than on previous sessions and that I wanted to keep going longer. I was able to push myself harder and further. I didn’t even mind working harder. It is definitely a nice feeling. I have worked hard in my life. I have been lazy at times too. The benefits are much more rewarding for working hard, but you have to know it is worth it. I can’t work out and eat better for purely vain reasons. It doesn’t work for me. I have a deeper love affair with food than I do with being “skinny” or “hot.” What  I do want is to be able to make it up several flights of stairs without being out of breath. I want to be in the kind of shape that allows me to go out dancing or hiking without wanting to pass out after a short amount of time. I want to be able to fully live. No matter what the challenge is that faces me, I have the control. I have to know that what I want is worth it. I have to make it important. If it isn’t important, then I have to reconsider the goal I am pursuing and possibly change course. For today though, I am enjoying reaching a new point for myself.

The Monster Within

It reminds me of  a scary movie (Alien for one). The seed of evil was placed within you. It grows into a monster that destroys you from the inside out, devouring everything in its path. It pushes and prods trying to escape into the world to wreak its horrid brand of destruction. It is nourished and fed by us. First in small nibbles and with increasingly large portions of ourselves and our joy as we become complaisant towards the destruction of our hearts, souls, and minds. It begins to show itself  through our skin. It spreads fear and despair to others we touch. We reek of its stench. Once it completely destroys us and imprisons us in our self-made misery, it moves on to take seed inside others and destroy their lives.

What is this “it” I speak of? Bitterness. The story may sound dramatic and over the top, but it is quite true.  See bitterness starts as a small little seed inside of us. We may be angry, hopeless, frustrated or disappointed. It is like the pebble in an oyster.  We massage it and nourish it in increasing doses and larger increments of negativity. Eventually we have polished that silly little pebble into a shiny pearl of ickiness. Instead of spitting out the pebble and focusing on  the positive and good, we allow ourselves to be irritated and frustrated. With so much drama and pain in the world, we often have to let go and let God deal with it. We cannot control ourselves any better than we can control anyone else.  Releasing the pain, anger and expectation allows us to see the bright light and experience joy. Next time, spit out the pebble. You don’t need any nasty pearls growing in you. Don’t live in the  mud. Be the lotus that blooms from the mud into an amazing blossom. You are more beautiful than that.

The Value in the Challenge

Change is good. Change is hard. Therein lies its inherent value. If  there wasn’t a challenge then we wouldn’t learn as effectively. The lessons wouldn’t make as deep an  impression on our lives. What makes change painful is what makes it valuable. We just have to place our focus and value on the value not the pain.

Warning! Be aware of flying time!

Can you believe it is already into the double digits of the year already? It seems like life just gets busier. As a person whose life isn’t always so go-g0-g0, it takes some getting used to for a bit. I used to be super busy, but the pace of life has waned in the past few years. Ever since a few weeks before Christmas though, it feels like I can hardly catch a break. Outside of the normal 50 hour work week, things just kept picking up pace. Then you have the rush and hustle (and long, long drives) of the holiday. Then I got to rush back to work and take a quick road trip last weekend. Maybe February will slow down if I can get through shooting pictures at a friend’s wedding this weekend and a family wedding next weekend. I forget how to live like this constantly. Even my to do lists have to do lists right now. Anyone else feeling the push right now (or all the time)? What eases the pressure for you?

I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by. – Douglas Adams

Weighing in on the state of matters…

Today is weigh in day for the first week of Pound Plunge. (No I do not plan on making this a weight loss blog. It just happens to be what is on my mind at the moment). While this first week has not be fabulous by any means, it hasn’t been the worst. On the plus side, I don’t think I had more than one Coke (road trip) and one glass of root beer this week. Quitting pop isn’t necessarily a goal, just something I am avoiding drinking much. My eating was better. A big plus is I started reading labels a lot closer. Since I am supposed to stay within 1800-2000 calories, I kinda have to these days. I wasn’t raised with a focus on portion size for the most part. I grew up in the (deep) South, hanging around the backs of kitchens, and with a professional chef as a father. Food is a thing for me, a big thing. Hence, I still am not going to give up a little something sweet or bread. I will just control it  and use a lot of discretion when consuming less healthy treats. I will still choose real butter over chemically goodness. However, I might just have to check out that spray stuff I keep hearing about from others. There are a lot of bad habits I have to conquer and a lot of good ones to cultivate. Balance will be maintained during all of this process. A few misses this week were the honey bun (so sad to see them go but they aren’t worth it) and not enough exercise. I have to find a way to make it a priority in my head and schedule still. Overall though, I gained a lot more awareness than I had before. Much more effort has been put into making happier plates and actually eating more than on meal a day. So for this week, I will take whatever the scale says and be grateful for the lessons learned.

Also….a few quotes that jumped out at me on twitter last night that were quite applicable…

How am I going to live today in order to create the tomorrow I’m committed to?. ~Tony Robbins

Well done is better than well said. –Benjamin Franklin

“The way you think, the way you behave, the way you eat, can influence your life by 30 to 50 years.” – Deepak Chopra

Life isn’t about how hard you can hit. It’s about how hard u can get hit and get back up.Rocky V

Adapt or perish, now as ever, is natures inexorable imperative.H. G. Wells

I never had a policy; I have just tried to do my very best each and every day. Abraham Lincoln

Truth lifts the heart, like water refreshes thirst. -Rumi

I ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders. -Jewish proverb

Hard work is the price we must pay for success. You can accomplish anything if youre willing to pay the price. Vince Lombardi

“Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without one.”- Chinese Proverb

“There is genius in persistence. It conquers all opposers. It gives confidence. It annihilates obstacles.” ~Orison Swett Marden

 

Baby, It’s Cold Outside!

Given the mass of intensely cold weather lately, I thought this was a funny commentary that was worth sharing.

“Don’t knock the weather; nine-tenth of people couldn’t start a conversation if it didn’t change once in a while.” – Hubbard

Surviving the Wind

Some days you capture the wind and fly through the skies, whether by the seat of your pants or by a finger. Some days it is a struggle to not get bowled over. The thing about surviving the wind is it requires flexibility. Like a reed of grass, you have to bend with the wind in order to not get uprooted. Standing boldly up to the wind my look impressive initially, but it only opens you up to more adversity than you were intended to face. Being flexible allows you to survive to ride again another day. So let’s be a reed and  bend with the wind.

Riding the Wind

The world certainly does not stop to wait for us to be ready or cease moving when everything is flying by us. It doesn’t care if we have extra challenges on our plates or are implementing big, overall changes in our lives. This is annoying. On the other hand, it isn’t the worst thing ever. It is a tough challenge, but a challenge we can face and overcome none the less. We just have to take things step by step, moment by moment and day by day. Pretty soon all of those steps add up to good stuff happening. In the meantime, we just have to adjust our pace. Grab hold of that wind, hold on like you are hanging over a bottomless gorge, and let then energy around you feed your spirit. So today, I am learning to ride the wind and feed off its momentum. Wahooo (and hang on tight for the bumpy ride ahead)!

Happy Lips

One of my other favorite lips products has to be Yankee Lip Balm. I have Buttercream, Christmas Cookie, Vanilla Cupcake, and Pomegranate. It makes me want to bake each time I use it. On the moisturizing end, I have to reapply periodically. The taste is worth it (and the packaging is adorable).

**Disclaimer – I am not being paid to endorse any products, just sharing what I love.**

I love Chicken Poop!

I received a tube of Chicken Poop Lip Junk at Christmas. It is the best stuff! My lips are happy campers. It may have replaced the Yankee lip balms as a favorite. The jury is still out right now on who wins…maybe they both do. Either way….put some poop on your smackers folks.

**Disclaimer – I am not being paid to endorse any products, just sharing what I love.**