Two posts in a day? I'm on a rampage...

It's late at night, and the last post was early this morning; sue me.

The thing is, I couldn't go to bed without sharing this with you guys- it's been on my mind since I heard it. I think it may apply to a few of us...so I'm posting twice today. :)

Tonight after work I went to visit a friend of mine that I haven't seen in a few weeks. She's living a stressful life right now (aren't we all?) and she's too busy to really be social and I missed her. As we were catching each other up on our lives, we both realized we needed a little pick me up so we started reading an old sermon from a few years ago from church. Hold on- now I'm not going to get all preachy- but I do want to share a few little blurbs from the talk that really hit home for me tonight and I think may be of some inspiration to a few of you too. Here's a part that has to do with 'enjoying the journey' that I really loved:

Some people take themselves so seriously that they think they cannot feel complete until they find themselves. Some abandon family, occupation, and education in this quest to discover who they are.

George Bernard Shaw said: “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” Don’t worry about searching for who you are; focus your energies on creating the kind of person you want to be! You will discover that as you pursue that journey you will not only find yourself, but chances are you will be pleasantly surprised and proud of the person you find along the way.
Do not procrastinate a minute longer. Every moment is precious. Determine now that you will make of your lives something remarkable!

Here is another part I loved, that has to do with 'goal setting and achieving your goals':

Let me tell you about a remarkable individual who took responsibility for his life and made something of himself, despite humble beginnings. His name is Dr. Ben Carson. Dr. Carson was born and raised in the poor slums of Detroit. He grew up in a home that had no father. His mother took the responsibility on her shoulders of raising a family, and she passed this sense of responsibility on to her son.
Dr. Carson said his mother would often say to her children, “Do you have a brain?” If they answered yes, she would follow up with, “Then you could have thought your way out of that situation. It doesn’t matter what Johnny or Mary or anybody else did. You have a brain, so think your way out of problems.”
Dr. Carson related: “I began to understand that I was in control, that I could go anywhere I wanted to go, and that I could do anything I wanted to do. The only person who really determined or limited my success was me. Once I understood that, the whole victim mentality went right out the window. I realized I didn’t have to sit around and wait for anybody to do anything for me” (“Seeing the Big Picture: An Interview with Ben Carson, M.D.,” Saturday Evening Post, July/August 1999, 50–51).
Dr. Carson didn’t sit around and wait for somebody else to do something for him. He took control of his life. He studied hard in school and did well—well enough to go on and become a doctor. He eventually rose to become the director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore, a world-famous hospital. In 1987 Dr. Carson performed the first successful operation to separate congenitally united twins who were attached at the back of the head.
Socrates said, “The gods sell us all good things at the price of our labor” (Xenophon, Recollections of Socrates, book 2, chapter 1, section 20).

Obviously the reason I include this part is because we've all made a goal to lose weight, and we're all working to reach that goal. I forget sometimes that it does take continual effort to make this particular dream of being in shape come true. It's a slow process but it's a life long change and a life long dream/goal. But we can do it! I can do it! We're doing it everyday. :) I read daily about courageous women who are watching their calories and working out like dogs to drop pounds and I'm inspired by it. Thank you for your hard work and your good examples to me. I hope I can inspire someone else one day as well. We're working hard for a good thing- and we will win the war.

Ok friends, that is it for tonight. More tomorrow- May you find peace and joy in your journeys.

D