Day 32 of Your Year to Wellness; No Turning Back

No Turning Back

                                                               

Your goal is closer than you think

There is an ancient proverb which says that if you look at anything too closely, it will break your heart.

This is true for life and love and it also holds true for your wellness. We are at day 32 of the Year to Wellness and I’m sure you’ve made progress, but we all have a tendency to want things to happen overnight. The weight loss industry has sold us the 30 day package for so long that we have come to believe that it is true and should be possible. We have also learned to blame ourselves when weight loss goals are not met.

True transformation happens from the inside out. You will become well in spirit mind and body, so at first the physical changes may not be as obvious as you’d like, but they exist.

There may also be a period where you feel that you have gone backwards. When I first started out on a journey of wellness, it took months for me to actually see any progress. I remember the day I could see the change. My daughter had taken a picture of me and showed it to me later that day. I asked her who it was and then suddenly realized that the woman with the big smile was me. I was shocked by the difference. I had been seeing an old image of myself and then I recognized the change.

Step back and look from another angle.

Yesterday, I went for a walk along the Coronado shore line. I first came to Coronado over 30 years ago to visit Terry Evenson, the man who helped put me through school. I was bright and talented, but I saw myself through my weight and therefore never felt that I measured up. Terry was proud of me and told me so but I’d look around at the other kids he’d help to educate who were thin and fit and so all I saw was my fat.

Back then I would walk on the beach while the others jogged effortlessly. We’d go up to the gates of the navy base and then back to Terry’s condo and I was always the last one back. Terry would encourage me saying that even though I walked, I did the entire 5 miles and that was great.

Yesterday, I went out for a walk. At 51 I am not concerned with how fast I walk just that I do. I moved effortlessly and looked ahead to see if I could determine where I would stop. I sang “This Little Light of Mine,” and walked on enjoying the morning. When I got to the gate of the Navy base, memories of my fat youth came flooding back. Until I saw that gate, I hadn’t realized that this was the same walk I had done more than 30 years before. I stood there and allowed my tears to flow. I looked back to see the Hotel Del Coronado in the distance and I could feel Terry smiling from the Cloud of Witnesses. He and my mother and all of my loved ones on the other side were cheering for me and they were not cheering for the weight I’ve lost, they were cheering for the life I’ve gained.

As I walked back, I smiled and laughed at how incredibly beautiful and round life truly is.

There is another proverb that says “When a person seeks their purpose, the Universe conspires to answer.”

Keep seeking your purpose and peace. Life is not a race, it is a pilgrimage. What truly matters is that you are on this journey, that you learn new things about yourself and the world and that you enjoy the beauty along the way.

·         Look at how far you’ve come.

·         Make a list of the things you have learned.

·         Feel the presence of those who’ve gone before you.

·         Reflect on how you feel.

·         Keep on keeping on.

Be you, be well, BE

                                                                          Bertice Berry, PhD.

http://www.ayearto.com