Metaphorically Speaking

"The labyrinth, at it’s most basic level is a metaphor for the journey to the center of your deepest self and back out into the world with a broadened understanding of who you are."

                                                --Circle of Inner Wisdom

 

A Labyrinth is not a maze. A maze is a challenge; it's you against the maze. If you make it through you win, if you don't you loose. A labyrinth is a path. Although it twists and turns, if you follow the path you will get to the end. The journey of walking a labyrinth is a metaphor of our life’s journey. Just as the journey of our existence has obstacles to be overcome so to can there be obstacles to walking the labyrinth.

I have a very special labyrinth in my life. It was built  at my church as my older son's Eagle Scout Leadership service Project. My younger son enhanced the labyrinth area with benches, flower boxes, a garden and solar lighting. Over the summer we have been having Full Moon Labyrinth walks. On the night of the August full moon the sky was cloudy and the light of the moon wasn’t able to help us see the path. Also it had been cloudy for two days so the solar lighting around the labyrinth was ineffective. Walking the labyrinth by the August full moon did prove challenging. Many of those on the journey on the labyrinth that night reflected many of the challenges of my weight loss journey.

Not only have I walked the labyrinth frequently, I helped design and build it, so I am very familiar with the path as it winds in and out. Walking the labyrinth in the dark wasn’t as challenging for me, just as when you have done something many times when things don’t go right it is easier to figure the way when you have already been successful at the task, but I did loose my way. I was able to get back on the path with some reflection as to where I had come from and to where I was going. Sometimes I find this weight loss journey easy as I have done it before. I know what to do and I know how to do it, but then something challenges me and I stray, but for now I have my site on where I want this journey to take me and I am determined. 

As we walked the labyrinth on the night of the full moon some were struggling to follow the path in the dark but those close by helped point the way. Just as on my weight loss journey those who are close to me will offer support and encouragement and guidance. As one person was stuck someone came along with a light to help show the way. Many can relate to being stuck on something and someone helping to shed some light on the problem either actually or figuratively.

 The back left corner of the labyrinth was particularly dark. The beans that were planted in the garden had grown quite tall and thick and obscured the light that was coming from the kitchen window. In life we can experience problems because something blocks us from seeing what we need to see, just as the beans blocked the light from getting to the labyrinth. Sometimes on this journey of mine my sight of the path is obscured by foods that are not good for me but they are foods that I love. I need to keep my sight set on my goal no matter what is blocking me from it.

One of my favorite authors, Robert Fulghum, is known for his short stories. His most famous is All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. In this essay he lists off all the import things a child learns in Kindergarten that are lessons that last a lifetime, like clean up your own mess, don't take things that aren't yours, and say you are sorry when you hurt somebody. He ends this essay just as we ended our August Full Moon Labyrinth walk.

       Towards the end of the evening, we had all finished our journey except one who was “lost” so I went in and led her out with the light from my iPhone. I didn’t quite take her hand and lead her out, but just as in life, to quote Mr. Fulghum … , no matter how old you are - when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together. I'm glad to have a friend with me on my journey, to hold my hand and help me through the tough times, to offer me words of encouragement, and listen to my frustrations.

I Would Walk 10,000 Steps ...

Every journey starts with a single step, but have you every wondered how many steps it would take to get to your destination? For Christmas Kevin gave me a Fit Bit. For those who don't know what a Fit Bit is (I didn't) it's a pedometer on steroids. Don't ask me how it works or knows, it just does. We should all have 10,000 steps in our day which is about 3 miles. In May, I couldn't walk 3 miles, and yesterday I did!

A friend and I went into New York City (NYC) to see Potted Potter which is a spoof / comedy on the Harry Potter series of books - 7 books in 70 minutes. I'm pretty sure we were the only adults in the theatre with out any children with us. It was very silly but we laughed for 70 minutes!

We had wanted to see this show and time was running out before it closed and went on the road and I had this bright idea that if we went in on August 15 we could also go to St. Mary the Virgin, Times Square since we would be so close and August 15 is the Feast of St. Mary the Virgin. The weather was perfect. I'm not really crazy about NYC - the crowds, the smells, the noise - but sometimes the thing you want to do is there. When our train got in we had lots of time to kill so instead of finding the subway (fine with me) we walked from Penn Station to the theatre and then to St. Mary's and then to find a cab to take us back to Penn and then meander around the train station to find Kevin waiting for us in the car. 9750 steps ... so close, but not close enough.

Several weeks ago, I came almost as close to the daily goal. I was at a conference in Philadelphia. As a matter of fact I got an email from my Fit Bit telling me I only had 850 steps to go to make the mark, but I was in for the night, in my jammies. I would not make it that day. Now for many this isn't a challenge, but I have been a "couch potato" for so long it's a lot for me. Lets face it, the fact that I refer to my weight loss as a journey should tell you something.

On the way home we had to pick up #2 son and he wasn't ready, so what would anyone do who was 250 steps away from her elusive goal? I lapped the building, and that wasn't enough, so I lapped it again. I did it! 10,000 steps ... in one day ... and I didn't complain once about the walking ... and I didn't ask to stop and catch my breath! I did it! What makes the day even better is I didn't just manage to get in the steps I needed but I had a great day of show and worship that I will remember for a long time as the day on my journey that I walked 10,000 steps for the first time.

Landmarks

On any journey there are points along the way that we stop and marvel at the view. Sometimes at landmarks we can chose souvenirs or one is given to us. Yesterday on my journey I made it to an exciting landmark. When I first joined Weight Watchers I was given a goal of loosing 10% of my body weight and yesterday was the day! Two weeks ago was one of those "Cha-Cha" weeks and last week I only saw a small loss. I spent the last week working really hard, eating mindfully and drinking water, lots of water! Walking into the WW meeting I felt really good about my week, I just needed validation on the scale. I needed to loose 2.6 pounds to make my 10% goal and blew that away with a 5.6 pound weight loss! What a great landmark and I got the keychain to the left as my souvenir!

Cha-Cha

We are all on a journey, and our journeys are many faceted. I am starting this blog with the intent to document a very specific journey I began on May 13, 2013.

Two summers ago I was visiting a friend who is just 10 years younger than I am and she commented that she was attempting to be "Fit and Fabulous" by 40. I thought, well, I can be "Fit and Fabulous" by 50. I pondered this long and hard but all I did was ponder. 50 is now right around the corner.

January 2012 began a year of being a vegetarian, but that is an entry for another day, but being a vegetarian saw me drop 16 pounds which I did not regain. So, my weight loss journey was already off to a rockin' start.

In September 2011 I made a new friend and she and I had many dinners out and lots of alcohol and in the 20 months of our friendship she gained 18 pounds. We kept talking about going to Weight Watchers together, but it was just talk. In May she went to a conference that was based on wellness and she was sparked. I was sparked to at least start this journey before my 50th birthday. May 12, 2013 was Mother's Day and Kevin and I cooked a magnificent meal and lots of alcohol was consumed. The next day started the journey.

So Monday evening my friend and I ventured out to our first Weight Watchers meeting together. Hesitantly I weighed in. I knew it would not be pretty, but at least I had those 16 vegetarian pounds gone from my body. And so the Journey began. Yesterday I read a quote, "Optimist: someone who figures that taking a step backward after taking a step forward is not a disaster, it's more like a Cha-Cha." And so my "Cha-Cha" has begun. With that visual in my head I am more determined than ever to not let a poor weight loss week allow me to loose my motivation.

For 12 weeks I have been steadfast on this journey. I have Cha-Cha'd along the way, but I keep going, a bit like the energizer bunny. I may not be "Fit and Fabulous by 50" but I am on my way. Hopefully I will have lost "50 by 50" ~ that is a goal that is with in reach and then my journey will continue. I'm glad to have a friend with me on this journey to Cha-Cha with, to encourage each other when we venture off the path, and to share our successes however big or small.

This has been a lifelong journey for me, this battle with food and the scale. So for today I have a vision and a goal for where I am going on this journey. I have a vision and a goal for where I want to end and spend time. I pray for grace to get there, and to have the strength that once I get there not to leave.