Day Fourty: The Bridge

Around day 40, I realized that something had really changed in the dynamic of my family. It was I that had initiated the change, but I realized that it had affected everyone around me. I read about it in the book, The Language Of Letting Go, and realized that this illustration was exactly how I felt.

I felt as if I had walked out onto a bridge. I walked alone. The bridge was leading me to a healthy lifestyle, a different way of living with a different set of priorities. I looked back and realized that my husband, two children, and many members of my family, some of my friends & coworkers were all standing on the side where I once stood among them. It felt as if there were a gravitational pull of some sort pulling me back to where I used to be, the gravitational pull is called fear.

I looked ahead and saw the healthy lifestyle I yearned for on the other side. On that other side of the bridge were many of my friends, fitness instructors, trainers, and a host of people who made health a priority.

I yearned to pull my family out onto the bridge with me, but it was a bridge in which everyone had to go in their own time. I couldn't pull them, I couldn't push them. I could only wish for them to step out onto the bridge.

If I had to stand next to them, I could choose to go back. However, I didn't want to be on that side of the bridge. I wanted to cross it, to keep moving forward. I felt a little isolated, a little scared, a little worried about where that would leave me with my family & those I was close to.

Its okay to be afraid of success. It's okay to hope that someday others will make the same healthy choices because we care about their health, but also because we don't want to walk alone. It's okay to expose those we love to good food, and it's imperative that we expose our children to healthy cooking and outdoor playtime. But, in the end, we cannot force anyone to make decisions about themselves. And, we should not be angry at them if they do not make the same choices in their lives.

It hurts, especially when those around us are suffering for their poor nutrition, addiction, & exercise choices through onset diabetes, high cholesterol, and a host of illnesses & depression that only spiral downward. It can make us feel a little isolated, a little scared. Through a natural process when we begin eating healthy and going on walks, some people around you will start incorporating exercise & nutrition into their lives gradually, at their own pace. Just as someone influenced or encouraged you, being on the bridge will encourage others. Don't force it, release it and surrender.

Do: Journal about being on the bridge.