A Life in Balance

Never regret anything that has happened in your life; it cannot be changed, undone, or forgotten. So take it as a lesson learned and move on. – Steve Dropkin

I got up this morning and discovered my size has changed. So has my shape. What happened? The holidays? The feasts?

Actually, nothing changed. That’s the problem; I have always been on a See-Food diet which, as you may know, means that when I see food I eat it. That’s what it is there for, isn’t it?

So, here we are, back at the end of an old year with a new one staring us down through blood-shot eyes, daring us to make this the year things will be different; this will be the year we finally stop intending to make changes, and actually start making those changes.

It seems so hard, but is it? The hardest part at first seems to be getting the world to cooperate. As I sit here enjoying my coffee, I’ve got three cherry cordials (courtesy of a loving neighbor) just waiting to make my life a bit sweeter; I’ve got an unopened box of nut-covered chocolates (an expensive variety – from a kind and thoughtful parishioner) sitting quietly on the side, prepared to provide an emergency dose of sucrose if the event my blood sugar drops dangerously low; and I have a 2/3 finished tin of popcorn varieties to handle any salt cravings I may have during the upcoming bowl games.

So you see … it isn’t my fault!

Still, it may not be my fault, but making healthy changes is my responsibility. It has been about six decades since anyone actually put food into my mouth. No one has had to pretend the spoonful of gruel is a planeload of passengers coming in for a landing.

The Bible teaches us that there is more to life than food; that there is more to being a human being than our bodies, and yet our bodies are very much a part of what it means to be human. We know hunger, we know cold, we know thirst, and we know pain.

It would be a mistake to ignore our bodies for the sake of focusing solely on spiritual development or improving our minds. A life in balance must examine every aspect of what it means to be human: to care for our bodies, to nurture our soul (by which I mean the intellect, will, and emotions), and to improve our conscious contact with God (which is what I mean when referring to one’s spiritual development).

So with 2013 knocking at the door, what will I do? Will I continue life on auto-pilot and hope for the best, or will I finally take responsibility for becoming less of a body and more of a person?

The answer should be self-evident. The advantage of turning the page on the calendar is that it puts a clean line separating what was from what is and from what is yet to come. There is something quite satisfying with making a decision and moving forward. It doesn’t mean we regret our past; on the contrary, we embrace it for being part of the fabric of our lives.

Our past is quite helpful. It provides us with the experience to make better decisions. What gives us wisdom and experience? A life of making bad and unwise decisions, but that’s OK, for that which does not kills us makes us stronger (Nietzsche). So, we move forward; we make changes; we become the person God always knew we could become – and isn’t that comforting?

So, with 2013 just around the corner, don’t think about resolutions. Set a reasonable goal or two and develop a plan that will help you get there. Identify one or two stupid things you would like to stop doing, and start doing them less often. Don’t beat yourself up when you slip. Just pick up and start over again.

In that way, you will begin to see your size changing – whether the size of your body, ego, soul, or spirit. It is going to change one way or another. All you need to do is figure out in what direction you want it to go, point your nose in that direction, and move.

At least that’s what I think in this, our valley.