Tag Archives: self-care

January 1, 2014 · 10:19 am

A new beginning

From Batman Begins:

Alfred Pennyworth: Why do we fall sir? So we might learn to pick ourselves up
Bruce Wayne: You still haven’t given up on me?
Alfred Pennyworth: Never

In my efforts at self-care, I have fallen often.

I have learned well how to pick my self up.

Family and friends, long-time and new, have never given up on me.

Today, as the secular new year dawns, I make a new beginning. Again.

As in the recent past, I will attempt to post results on Steps along the Trail. You are welcome to follow. Or not.

See you along the Trail.

 

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December 30, 2013 · 7:20 pm

Decision, definition

In my heart
and soul
and mind,
I know.
I have been here before.

I have seen this place.
I have faced this moment.

T is for Trail (800x533)The place of decision.
The moment of definition.

In my heart
and soul
and mind,
I know.
I have been here before.

I have decided.
Frequently.

I have defined myself.
Often.

Decisions, definitions
that shape me.

In my heart
and soul
and mind,
I know.
I have been here before.

I have decided.
Poorly.

I have defined.
Badly.

And I bear the consequences.
Daily.

In my heart
and soul
and mind,
I know.
I have been here before.

And I wonder,
deeply wonder:
will I decide differently,
will I define creatively
at this time and in this place.

In my heart
and soul
and mind,
I know.
I have been here before.

8 September 2013
Shire Near the Hudson

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June 8, 2013 · 11:22 am

Self-care week 1

Ate well – seven days
30+ minutes of exercise – seven days
Weekly steps: 87,317
Weight change: 3 pounds lost

It’s a start.

See you along the Trail.

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June 3, 2013 · 8:11 pm

Why I like New York 31: the bridge between terminals C and D at LaGuardia

Today the Trail led to Louisville. Again. At least that was the plan. It may still happen.

I arrived at LaGuardia – perhaps my least favorite place in New York – at around 4:30 for a 6:00 flight to Washington. There I would connect with a flight to Louisville.

Shortly after I arrived in Terminal C, the attendants announced that the 5:00 flight would be delayed. About 5:15, they announced that the 6:00 flight, my flight, would be delayed. I jumped into the line to check connections because I did not have much time in Washington.

Shortly after I got in line, they announced that my flight would be further delayed. Then came the news that they had cancelled the 5:00 flight. Oddly enough no one cheered this announcement.

When I reached the counter, Ricardo had bad news and good news and bad news for me. I would miss my connection. He could book me on another flight – a direct flight on another airline. It would not leave until 8:45. I took the flight.

Ricardo sent me around the corner to the other airline’s help desk. There I learned that the plane would depart from a gate in Terminal D.

Having almost three hours I asked if I could walk to the new gate. Told that I could, I did.

And I discovered the bridge between the terminals. And I realized that it made, if not a perfect, at least a very good place to walk and an opportunity to keep up my efforts at self-care.
In the spirit of making Irish whiskey when life gives one barley, I have spent an hour walking on the bridge. And since my flight is now delayed until 10:00, I may walk some more.

See you along the Trail.

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May 18, 2013 · 9:53 pm

Minuses and pluses

I am on the road. Travel invariably plays havoc with any effort at self-care. My presentations for tomorrow being complete, this seems a moment to take stock of the past two days.

Minus – I have not reached my goal of 10,000 steps on either day.

Minus – I have not been able to walk for 30 minutes either day.

Minus – I have eaten a bit too much this evening.

Plus – I did not over eat on the trip from New York to Washington, DC. That almost never happens. Airport and train stations transform me into some form of over-sized locust that eats everything in sight.

Plus – Yesterday I ate well. Today I came close.

Plus – I have reflected on how I did rather than just letting it happen.

Plus – I have recorded my numbers even when they were not what I wanted. Usually when I fail to walk or eat too much or my blood sugar is too high, I don’t make a note of it. Denial means it did not happen, perhaps?

I am on the road. Travel invariably plays havoc with any effort at self-care. My presentations for tomorrow being complete, this seems a moment to take stock of the past two days.

Minus – I have not reached my goal 0f 10,000 steps on either day.

Minus – I have not been able to walk for 30 minutes either day.

Minus – I have eaten a bit too much this evening.

Plus – I did not over eat on the trip from New York to Washington, DC. That almost never happens. Airport and train stations transform me into some form of over-sized locust that eats everything in sight.

Plus – Yesterday I ate well. Today I came close.

Plus – I have reflected on how I did rather than just letting it happen.

Plus – I have recorded my numbers even when they were not what I wanted them to be. Usually when I fail to walk or eat too much or my blood sugar is too high, I don’t make a note of it. Denial means it did not happen, perhaps?

See you along the Trail.

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April 9, 2013 · 7:32 pm

Second (again) chance

“But what about second chances?”

When her son posed that question, Grace Ji-Sun Kim reflected on the role of second chances in life:

Where would I be without second chances? Where would most of us be without second chances in life? Most of us are only where we are because we got second chances. People who experience serious accidents and survive are given second chances in life. When we think about our faith journey, isn’t that a second chance at life? Isn’t that the essence of God’s grace?

Specifically, Grace pondered the role of second chances in her life, particularly in terms of self-care. Her words resonated with me as I fail to do well at that.

I have tried. Over the years I have tried. I have had moments of success. And more moments of failures. Last fall I actually walked 1,000,000 steps over a three-month period. I ate everything in sight. But I did walk.

I have had momentary gains. False starts. Serious backsliding. I am way past a second chance – and even the fourth chance that Grace mentions.

But today … for some reason, I cannot name or explain … today seems a day to try again. I extend myself grace and start anew.

See you along the Trail. 

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December 28, 2012 · 7:48 pm

A time to choose

Challenges and opportunities mingle
as I ponder an invitation for
new behavior
new patterns
new living
into the new year.

Daunted, intimidated on the one hand,
intrigued, inspired on the other,
I weigh options,
and consider possibilities,
knowing that each direction chosen
precludes other directions.

I wonder.
I wonder.
I wonder.

See you along the Trail.

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