Chapter 1
I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost … I am helpless. It isn’t my fault. It takes forever to find a way out.
Chapter 2
I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don’t see it. I fall in again. I can’t believe I am in the same place. But it isn’t my fault. It still takes a long time to get out.
Chapter 3
I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it is there. I still fall in … it’s a habit. My eyes are open. I know where I am. It is my fault. I get out immediately.
Chapter 4
I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it.
Chapter 5
I walk down another street.
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
I love this SO MUCH. It is so appropriate to where so many of us are/have been. Thanks!
Love this…. love it love it love it!
Hmm… this has me thinking. You’re the third person in about twelve hours to say things that strike me as PROFOUND. Yesterday, Jan from Writing To Wellness commented on my blog that we can never be our full, true selves until we let food and fat go — profound. Now, this. And someone else said something about questioning whether emotions interfere with judgment. I thought about how there’s all this talk about being in the moment and that being in the moment tends to lead to those failures of impulse control (overeating, undereating, vomiting, overexercising, hair pulling, you name it). In the moment, you think, “What the heck.” But instead, I’m thinking now that we should question our judgment in those moments. If we look at the situation with the big picture in mind, I think it’s easier to make better decisions.
Yeah…my week at Green Mountain was all about PROFOUND :-)
I think the thing about being “in the moment” is that we can’t change the past and we don’t know what the future holds, but right this minute, we can choose. You’re right…in the moment, you might thing, “what the heck” but you have a choice in the next moment. You can continue with “what the heck” or you can change it. As Darla at GMFR said, you can be sitting on the couch for the third day in a row and you’re about to eat the 999th chip and as you hold it up to your mouth, you can choose to eat it, or not. And if you do, in the next moment, you can choose to beat yourself up for it or not. For some people, it’s about those second by second choices. In each and every moment, we have a choice and I think that’s powerful.
As for emotions interfering with judgment, I for sure think emotions interfere IF we don’t allow ourselves to feel them…if, in the moment that we’re angry, we’re not allowed to express our anger, and we stuff it down and learn to keep stuffing out of habit…or if we’ve never been taught how to express anger constructively…or if we’re told we’re bad because we’re angry, then for sure that anger will interfere.
I guess it’s really about head-body synergy…when there’s a disconnect (and abusing food disconnects our heads from our bodies…as does stuffing emotions and so on) there’s interference.
wow- speechless, about the whole post (LOVE your comment here).
thank you
I saw the long version of this a long time ago on Big Girl Bombshell & loved it & put it on my blog – I must go look up that long version but LOVE the short version too – says so much!!!
I love how this shows the process. We don’t just get it right away. It takes a few attempts. Powerful!
Short, easily comprehended, succinct and to the point. This is GREAT!
Oh…. I loved this!
Wow. I read this 3 times.
but the new street is so scary! what if i get lost?!
breathe. every day, in every way, i am taking care of myself.
favorite poem……….a hole in the sidewalk……….xoxo
whoa.
Ive never seen this before.
Really lovely poem, and a fabulously true scenario. How many times have I done the same thing – hurting myself each time I fall into the hole – until I finally move in a different direction?
It’s called being human :-)
This is one of my favorite pieces of writing, ever. In fact, I have a copy of it on my bookshelf and I think it’s time for another read. :)
Gasp! You are back from retreating and full of vigor! I am going to have to go searching for details. I started but the chapters intrigue drew me in and I was greatly rewarded!
Some of us tweak and tweek the plan until we hit on the one true thing that works.
So so true of life. Thank you for sharing.
This is the process of learning, and definitely true of me in my weight loss journey. Interestingly, the journey (and the learning) never ends!
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