I stepped on a scale this morning and of course my weight was not where I wanted it to be. Somehow, this Holiday Season, even with all the shelter in place orders, cancelled parties and large family gatherings, I was able to gain with weight. So much for my personal growth in the area of weight lose!
I hate being overweight. I know it’s not healthy for me and I’ve always felt subconscious about it. In my younger days, I ran, biked and worked out constantly. Over the last couple of years I was able to get back into biking and working out and actually lost most of my extra weight and felt great. And then came COVID. I still biked but found many of the social restrictions also served as an excuse to slack off in diet and exercise.
So, this morning, as I gazed down at a scale displaying a number I haven’t see for a quite a while, I decided it was time for action. My first thought; I need a new year resolution. I need to pick a weight, pick a date and hit it hard. And with that I was off and running with my planned activities for the day which included leading a group discussion on the topic Growth.
Growth is a funny thing. As parents we can easily gauge and measure the growth of our young children. From crawling to walking, and from learning to talk to understanding the difference between hot and cold, we can see progress, growth.
But as we get older, it’s often hard to recognize growth. And that’s a shame, because true growth requires great effort and purpose. It requires deep introspective review of our beliefs and opinions, followed by the courage and willingness to change; continuously.
What worked yesterday or last year may no longer be appropriate for where we are today. And that’s ok; we can experiment, we can learn, and we can change. We grow with purpose, it’s part of the process to Build A Better You. As spiritual entities, we are constantly seeking a better understanding of our divine-self. And we do have setbacks we analyze and explore without becoming disheartened.
As one member of the morning group observed, we are striving for spiritual progress not spiritual perfection.
For me, I know I’ve grown in so many ways this year. And yes, I’ve had setbacks and yes, I have so much more personal growth ahead. Still, I’m not going to let a few extra pounds bring me down. I’m going to reflect on my accomplishments, my growth, my setbacks, and celebrate who I am.
But first, I think I’ll go for a hike.