Good Vibrations

Old broken things must be torn down, in order to make way for the new!

It is said that there is a silver lining in most situations, and I'm sure for many of us living in post quake Canterbury, that silver lining has been hidden behind a cloak of pain and mourning.

As we see many parts of our beloved city and communities being torn down and carted away, it's difficult not to reflect upon the things that have been lost.

Clearly the structures and iconic places in our city are unsafe, and no longer serve to connect our people, so the reality is that these must be replaced, with new foundations, new memories and actions that see us rebuild, and live as a stronger, more connected people.

As a Weight Watchers leader, this is such a situation that leads me to reflect back
to my own weight loss journey.

HUH? How is this related to a major natural disaster?

Well let's face it, at 124kg I was a walking, talking, natural disaster!

Only mother nature didn't create me, I created me, through old structured behaviours, and foundations that were not serving to connect me with good health, and a long, vital, happy, lifetime.

In order to create a new life, I had to bring in the demolition crew, to smash down the old habits that got me to where I was. There was certainly a period of mourning, of feeling like I was missing out, and a sense of deprivation. There were moments of anger and frustration, of blaming all external influences (yes, sometimes people), and at times, when my week didn't pan out exactly as planned where I felt that the silver lining was a lousy crock and totally unattainable.

Making change is never easy, whether it be forced, like powerful earthquakes, pushing us towards a brighter future, or by choice, like the decision to make a better life, by working towards a healthy body.

The silver lining is in the learning, it's certainly not how we fall down, it's all about how we get back up, and how we find that forward momentum to make the fall all the more worth it.

It's easier to look back at what we no longer have, the easy road! And it's easier to hinder ourselves, by making our goals unattainable.

This week I'm challenged to continue to change my thinking, to keep focus on what will be, not what was.

I was faced with a statement in one of my meetings last night, that I had already traveled the road to success, and may no longer relate to the struggles of weight loss and the changes that are a necessary tool for that; This kind of surprised me, and perhaps I need to make a point in the future, this journey is not just about building a new life, it's about continually refurnishing it, to keep things fresh and new, it's an ongoing project to maintain my weight loss, and it's not something that I will ever be able to cease. I choose a healthier lifestyle, and as with all things in life, it takes constant learning, and practice to keep things in order.

I finish my blog today, by thanking the lady at Dodds Pharmacy for indulging my questions about the demo work in Merivale, and for her insightful comment about pulling down old structures and by quoting a phrase I heard at a Weight Watchers meeting last weekend....

"If you always do, what you've always done, you'll always get, what you've always got"

<3