Starting Over After The Storm

Sometimes, I truly feel that I begin again each and every day. Push the re-start button. Click refresh on the body clock. Wipe the board to begin again. Sometimes, we think that it will be the last time we do it, that this time it's going to be different; that we are going to stick to the new plan, the revamped look, the updated version of ourselves. But sometimes, unforeseen events really do get in the way. And if we didn't learn from these events, it wouldn't be life.

I think this scenario really comes across in the quaint tradition of new year resolutions. People want to change; they want to quit drinking, start at the gym, see their parents more often, spend time with loved ones.......the lists go on and on. And how long do these resolutions last? A month? A week? I think sometimes it's even a day or less.

As I have said many times before, our health is holistic. It's not just about eating a certain way, or going to the gym, or stopping smoking. It's that all-encompassing attitude about oneself - about how we deal with stress, about how often we take a break, what we eat, how much sleep we get, the quality of that sleep. It's about the people we surround ourselves with. It's about our personal space, our interactions with others, our ability to deal with problems as they occur. And let me say right off the bat - it is SO easy to let one of these many balls fall as we juggle them in the circus of life.

In starting this blog, this webpage, and telling my story, I honestly believed that I was on the path to absolute healing. And I was. I am. And I knew there would be difficult days, and times I would not really want to write anything, or even share what was going on in my life. I knew there would be many storms along the way. I knew the path would often take a detour. I'm on a detour right now; I have been looking out the window to a literal and figurative rainstorm that has lasted a week or more.

I have mentioned it before, and even have a previous blog post on it, called two steps forward, one step back. As the end of this year approaches, it would be easy to fall into its maw of frenetic energy, of seasonal financial drain, or trappings of overindulgence on every level. Some may say - what the heck, it's only Christmas once a year, let me have that excess. But be careful. Think about yourself. Treat yourself kindly. And that doesn't mean having an extra slice of fruit cake......