Motivation from a Tiny Voice in the Dark

Friday February 10, 2006

My 6-year old still has questions about why mommy and daddy aren't together anymore. His big question last night, "Were you sad when daddy said he didn't love you anymore?"

After giving him the canned answer, he responded with his own logic.

"I don't see why, because you are the sweetest mom. You're so sweet."

He said this with a voice so tiny and sincere, that time stopped for me. In fact, I'm still back there somewhere, huddled with him in his room. Twenty years from now, I could stand in the middle of a massive bone-cold nor'easter and still get some warmth from that precious little declaration.

For every reason I have to live a healthy life for myself, there is another reason related to those I live my life to help.

Note to self: Don't post a quick entry from work, where a cubicle neighbor can fart and ruin a precious moment. hehe *sigh

Strength in Numbers

Thursday, Feburary 9, 2006

Besides having the support of my cleansing co-workers, I am more and more blown away by the level of support shared at the Yahoo group: mastercleanse. I was invited to join the team of moderators, which was logical since I'm a group junkie anyway.

Although you can't argue with the joys of expanding your cleanse vocabulary (thanks everyone for the ever-accurate "butt pee")... I am more impressed at how open and honest people are about the mental aspects of cleansing.

People oftem come my way, wondering if the "cleanse experience" will be good for them. Although we sometimes feel totally unique, wisdom says we basically share the same fears, concerns, and desires for a better life.

So if you're still considering the cleanse, and my blog didn't convince you that butt pee is just groovy... get yourself a free membership to the Yahoo group!



Click to join mastercleanse

Lessons from a Hair Ball

Tuesday, February 7, 2006

My 6-year old son was particularly good on a recent shopping trip to Target - so I allowed him one impulse-buy. He chose an overgrown Koosh-like ball called "Hair Ball." It looks like a round green porcupine, and I admit that it's lots of fun to handle.

The huge "hairs" all over the ball are elastic and seem to stretch to infinity. There's only one thing... my son can't stand to see anyone pull a "hair." I was able to leverage this little gem to negotiate some extra peace over the weekend.

Me: "Mommy said sit down and stop making so much noise."

Him: [still running like the energizer bunny]

Me: [yanking about 3 "hairs"]

Him: [Suddenly the picture of perfection, sitting indian-style, and asking for his helpless hair ball]

Now that may sound like parental torture, but it's actually child-level negotiation at its finest. All the parents are nodding in agreement...

Strangely enough, the hair ball reminded me that I need to negotiate my health and leverage what I can. Just like you can't always reason with a small child, there are some things you shouldn't try to reason with yourself. Hating my genes, accepting others' opinions, and signing petitions to shut down the McDonald's empire represent a monumental waste of energy.

But, cleansing and changing habits related to my life are things I can control... and give me leverage over results.

If you're thinking about cleansing, get started right away! Make that the first step to a new life.

I'll wrap this post with the Serenity Prayer... a popular prayer that we should say everyday:

God, give me the serenity to accept the things I can not change...
The courgage to change the things I can...
And the wisdom to know the difference.

Stumbling and Almost Falling

Thursday, February 2, 2006

I stumbled this week. It's like somebody tied my shoelaces together. While they were at it, they bound and gagged my new personal guidelines for a healthier life - and shoved them into a huge duffel bag.

The past four days have been a challenge. Food calls me to suppress stress and boredom. And alas, I finally had the pop-culture icon of the Standard American Diet.... can you guess what it is?... here are some clues:

• If satan could cook, this is the food he would prepare
• It smells great when you're craving it, and smells like h@ll when you're trying to eat right
• No rational mind on the planet actually wants to eat this food, but can't escape the eerie force field when driving by in a moment of weakness
• Just like nicotine is the addictive part of cigarettes, the finger-licking salty sticks are the addictive part of this food

Did you guess McDonald's? LOL!

I finally had McDonald's this week, and it was downhill from there. Slight headache. Poor sleep. Skin breakout. And the worst... craving more bad food. I won't even talk about the Girl Scout cookies that fell out of the sky and landed on my desk yesterday. Well... they kinda landed there after I went to the ATM, took out the money, and paid the dedicated father who was selling them for his daughter...

I almost gave up this morning, but something strange happened...
Even tho I felt bloated, I put on my red suit, and the pants were looser! That was enough to keep me encouraged.

On top of eating right most days, I've made other lifestyle changes. I walk more, and I starting using my 2 hours in the car as an opportunity to exercise. I exercise my legs while on cruise control, my upper body while at red lights, and my abs (crunches) while driving with the pedals. It's scary to sit for 2 hours in the car most days, and then work a desk job all day - which requires a lot more sitting.

One day at a time, gang. One day at a time...