Over the years I’ve known people who, for deep
psychologically unbalanced reasons, were content to be “sick” in mind, body, or
spirit because they craved attention and suffered from emotional problems, but I
don’t know many people that enjoy having a cold. I certainly don’t and I’m not
happy about the one I have either. I hate them, not just because they make me
feel miserable, but because they zap my energy and I have too many things to do
to feel ”icky.”
I spent a bit more time than usual in the lazy boy chair
yesterday looking out the window. The sun was shining and the feeders were
just loaded with hungry birds. Even the deer were out milling around the
backyard yesterday, so in spite of how I was feeling, the view was actually
quite lovely. The thing that captured my attention most of all was the icicles
dripping from the roof. As I’ve shared
before, this winter has been especially harsh here in the north woods, and
there is at least a foot and a half….closer to two I think, feet of snow on the
roofs of my house, garage, and out-buildings. Each day there seems to be
another home or business that caves in because of the weight of the snow, and
people are a bit anxious these days, wondering if their roofs will bear the
weight. For many of us, yesterday’s
sunshine was an answer to prayer, even though the temperature didn’t rise above
freezing, because it meant that some snow would melt under the intense rays. We
are expecting more of the same today.
I was captivated yesterday by the continual drip, drip, drip
of melting snow. The rhythmic dripping was soothing and fun to watch, but at
this rate, it will take weeks to melt it all, especially when it gets so cold
at night (right now it is 1 degree) and it freezes back up at night. My human nature just wishes I would wake up
and it would be spring and all the snow would be gone (minus the weeks and
weeks of mud that will accompany the snowmelt) and the daffodils would be
poking their heads through the soil. Wouldn’t that be lovely???? I know, however, that a very quick warm-up
would be disastrous and would cause severe flooding, roof leaks, impassable
roads due to mud and potholes, and septic systems saturation, among other
things. This is a case where….too fast….is not good.
I couldn’t help but think about my journey and how similar
it has been, and continues to be, like those dripping icicles. In the beginning,
I just wanted all the weight to be GONE…quickly and without work. Why couldn’t I
just lose like 10 pounds a week??? At
this rate it’s going to take me years! Gosh, it is SO SLOW…I’ve been doing this
for MONTHS and I’m still in the same size!
Thought after thought like that. You’ve been there, come on admit
it. It’s human nature. We are impatient and
we want what we want when we want it. And yet, weight loss, wellness, addiction
recovery, relationship building, training for a 5K or lifting
weights….any of our issues or life changes…..don’t just “happen” overnight. It
takes day-to-day, slow, continual effort to make progress. Long-lasting change
is a slow and gradual process, much like the dripping icicles on my eave. Too
much too fast, especially with weight loss, leads to a whole slew of problems.
Slow and steady….a little at a time…..one drip, one pound, one thought, one
step at a time.
Those icicles are frozen solid this morning….no progress at
the moment….but I have faith that they will eventually start dripping again….maybe
not today or tomorrow….but some time. I know that the snow will eventually melt
and spring will eventually arrive and the daffodils will eventually bloom….but only
after getting through the mud, spring rains, and thaw-freeze-thaw cycle that
accompanies spring. Likewise, I know
that YOU and I will eventually get to where we want to be in our journeys. We
will eventually reach our goals……but in the meantime, there will be weeks where
progress seems to halt, there will be plateaus, there will be days when we just
want to quit and give up…..BUT WE WON’T!
Why????? Because we KNOW that like the seasons, life is a process, and we
are works in progress. Change does not happen overnight……no matter how much we
whine, or complain, or want it to.
If you happen to live in a cold climate, take a few minutes
to look at the icicles next time you see them and remember that slow and steady
wins the race. Be patient….and trust that you will get there! Keep on fighting the fight! You can do it!!!!
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