A couple of the comments from the past few days got me thinking, which is precisely, I think, how this blogging thing is supposed to work.
Donna mentioned that this blog was helping her “remember that if I am to be of any help to anyone I must take care of my own desires and needs first.”
It’s the same principle, as any flight attendant can tell you, which leads them to tell us to hook up our own oxygen before we take care of a child’s oxygen mask in the event of an in-flight emergency.
What I am trying to do, with Big Man Getting Smaller, is become more mindful. The main theme, to be sure, is my effort to lose weight, but that occurs in the midst of my daily life where I have many other obligations to myself and to others. By writing down what is going on in this “campaign” of mine, and paying some attention in the process to what goes on in the rest of my life, I hope to achieve greater mindfulness of everything that is important to me, as well as other things that exist around me for better or worse.
All of this helps to make me feel a greater connection with people I care about. I am enjoying my life. I am very focused on doing the things that I need do to lose weight, but also aware that this part of my life does not occur in a vacuum.
Because I am more mindful of the things I do for BMGS, I am better able to plan my days. I do what I need to do for myself and also accommodate the needs and desires of others. I am able to say yes to things, and also to say no.
Nobody else but me in the driver’s seat.
Because I am communicating with people I care about concerning this weighty effort, they are aware and supportive of what I am trying to do. They may also be amused, or think it’s all kind of pathetic, or whatever else, but what the hell? I am kind of amused too, and I would think it was pathetic if, instead, I continued to go to seed.
Today is Saturday. A little rainy outside, so today may be the day I join that gym. Or not. I dropped another half a pound today, to 257. I finished a long, difficult copywriting assignment last night, so it is nice to look forward to this weekend with that deadline behind me.
Today’s soundtrack is provided by the Boss.
We swore blood brothers against the wind
I'm ready to grow young again
You are so zen like, Potential Thin Man! Being as mindful as we can only enriches our lives and the lives of those around us. Watching ourselves eating, walking, writing... making love... we gain tremendous insight into our own and human nature in general.
I've just had a wake up call about the dog we got from my daughter... he has gained too much weight and i realized that i overfed him to make myself feel good.
We are interesting creatures.
This is about much more than just losing weight!
Donna
donna