My Daily Choice

My Daily Choice

by Debora Rorvig

(I wrote this piece in 1995. I still believe it and try to make this choice daily.)

I must make a daily choice to believe that there is an uncommon beauty and an extraordinary purpose for my existence at this very moment and place.

For if I do, I will understand my connection to everything and everyone around me who also have purpose and beauty; and this will lead me to Kindness and Respect.

If I do not, I will view myself and the world about me with indifference and become careless and callous.

And if I know that I am a person of extraordinary purpose, I will believe that I influence the world about me, and that all of my actions have significant consequence. I will therefore act with Responsibility.

If I do not, I will attribute my failures to fate and blame others for my problems. Perhaps even worse, I will believe that my successes are luck; which is impossible to replicate and out of my control.

If I truly believe that there is a reason for my existence at this particular time and place, I will scan my horizons for every prospect available to me, and seize upon it, no matter how small or remote it may seem. I will have Hope.

If not, I will feel despair when others succeed, and jealously believe that they are more fortunate or blessed than I.

When troubles come, as they often do, or calamity suddenly strikes; if I am resolute in my belief that there is a reason for my life, I will bend with the winds, but will not break. Through the hard times I will look to friends and family for added strength, and in turn I will be a friend. ‘A three-fold cord is not easily broken’. I will be a part of a Community.

If not, I am doomed to suffer alone.

If I can see that there is uncommon beauty in my life, I will have an appreciation for all of nature. The fragrant earth after a summer shower, a robin singing at my window, waves breaking upon the shore, and the wonder in a child’s eyes; all of these things and countless more will give pause for reflection and rejoicing in my heart. I'll be filled with gratitude just to find myself included in such a wonderful universe. These things will bring me Joy and Humility.

If I cannot see beauty in my own life, I will miss the beauty of nature too. Like a tourist on a speeding train, the sights and sounds, the faces and smiles, days and nights, will all rush past me-as a blur. And at the end of my life, there will be no distinction…and no joy.

Some days it is hard to believe; hard to believe in one's self, in others, and in the universe. But in the end…

it’s much harder not to believe.

The Journey of 1000 miles...Week Three: I need to log off so I can log more miles

This week's mileage is down some. My reason excuses are the heat and my hips. Early in the week I was potting some plants and carried a super heavy bag of potting soil from the garage to the back yard. I knew I shouldn't lift it, but I'm stubborn, so I manhandled it out into the yard. Now my back and hips hurt. It's not excruciating; and I have walked some anyway, but it hasn't been painless. The other excuse is the heat. Haven't wanted to take Koda out on a hot sidewalk and burn her little doggy paw pads. On the other hand, if I'd get up earlier, we could easily walk in the mornings. But I've been sleeping in because I've been staying up very late blogging. So my blogging about walking is preventing me from walking! How ridiculous! Is anyone else out there as obsessed with blogging as I am? Do you spend hours taking/editing photos; reading other blogs; organizing your time/outings around blogging? I've gotta get a grip on this! Help me out here, friends. If you see that I posted something after 11:00 pm, give me the dickens!

Distance Walked-11 miles

Weight loss/gain-Down 3 lbs!!! Whoohoo!

Strategies:

• Get to bed at a decent hour and get up earlier to walk. I'm gonna have to do this anyway when school starts, might as well start now. 
• Stop lifting things I have no business trying to lift...it never ends well.

***

Turn Your Can'ts into Cans...

Take another step toward your dream today.

Never give up.

***

Week Two; The Journey...Rambles Along the Lake

My legs are aching but my heart is joyful as I write this post. Today I walked 6.2 miles! We took the dog and walked the North Lake Whatcom trail. It was glorious. Sun-shining through the maples and firs, waves lapping on the shore, wild daisies, foxglove, berries, and butterflies graced our path.

Miles Walked
I've walked 14 miles this week! Quite an accomplishment!

Weight
You may remember that on week one, the scales registered a 5 lb weight gain. Since then, my weight has been all over the scales. Today, I am exactly where I started...down 5 lb from last week. I'd like to have seen a pound or two loss from the beginning number, but still am hopeful. The great news...I could button up and actually wear a pair of shorts that were too tight 3 weeks ago!


Strategies
In addition to walking around the neighborhood, I've started to walk to the library and even to local restaurants instead of driving. It's been quite fun to stroll down to the Dutch Mothers Restaurant, share a meal, then have a leisurely walk home. I hope we can keep it up when the weather changes.

BIG NEWS

http://www.onewomanwalking.wordpress.com/

I must tell you that I've started another blog! I know it's crazy. It's hard to keep up with this one! But I've been looking for other women who are blogging about walking...you know, women of a certain age that are trying to shed some pounds and at the same time tramping around the US and the rest of the world. There aren't that many. (Lots of runners, but very few walkers.) So I'm going to chronicle my walking on a new blog...www.onewomanwalking.wordpress.com (Thought I'd give wordpress a try as long as I'm at it. Probably a silly choice, since I'll have to learn their format from scratch!)
Hope you'll stop by and have a look from time to time.

***

A Journey Of A Thousand Miles Begins With A Single Step

   

 Chinese philosopher Laozi said "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Another translation of the same quote is "Even the longest journey must begin where you stand." 

    Last week Aunty Belle wrote a piece about her life-altering pilgrimage to Santiago. I want to to that. Or something like it! Maybe walk across the moors and seacoast of England, or trek St. Olev's Way in hubby's ancestral home of Norway. Here's Aunty's inspiring post: http://abporkrinds.blogspot.com/2011/07/santiago-ya-changed-mah-life.html

     But first, to achieve such a goal, there are a couple of obstacles to clear away. The first is time. Unless we come into money (and I'm definitely open to this idea), hubby's job would prevent him from taking a month off for the journey. Now as I write this, I'm not so sure this is a true obstacle. We haven't asked for the time off. Sometimes you just have to ask! Once I applied for a job as Materials Manager and Purchaser for a company. They hired me and offered to pay me the middle of the salary range. I countered by asking for higher than the salary range. They were shocked...but they figured anyone with that kind of chutzpah would probably negotiate very aggressively for the company. They agreed to my terms. When they called to say they'd agreed to my terms, I could scarcely conceal my surprise...but I learned something important...ASK FOR WHAT YOU WANT, maybe even a little more!  

     The other obstacle is that of conditioning...my lack of it.  If I'm going to walk all day, every day for almost a month; I need to get into shape. I figure I should lose about 35 pounds and work on muscle tone + stamina before beginning this undertaking. And yes Laotze, that journey can begin right where I stand.

     Here's my plan... I'll buy a pedometer and start walking; every day if possible...even if it's not that far. Every Sunday I will report to this blog how many miles I walked the previous week. I'll tell you if I've lost weight, or heaven forbid-gained weight, and let you know what is working-and what isn't.
    
     Here's the method to my madness... I figure if I link my walking and conditioning efforts to my blog I'll be more likely to keep my focus. After all, I've been blogging for over 2 years pretty faithfully because I love to write. So if I commit to writing about walking...I'm more likely to follow through.

NOTE: Here's what I'm NOT going to do. I'm not going to beat myself up for not walking far or fast enough. It is about the journey, and I plan to enjoy it. Nor will I quit because the scales aren't reflecting my effort like I want them to. And since this is my journey, I won't flaunt my success in the face of those who are on a different path.

Here goes! Just put one foot in front of the next...

My Walking Journal for the Week of July 23

July 29th.    I started walking. Walked about 1 mile. (I've yet to buy the pedometer.)

July 30th.   Today I walked 1 mile on the beach, came home, and walked another mile and a half. However, my diet was abominable today. Ate coffee cake for breakfast, peanut butter sandwich, chips, apple and M&Ms for lunch. Threw a pizza in the oven for dinner, but my oven caught fire because I spilled turkey grease all over it last week while cooking a turkey. Put out the fire and threw the pizza away. Ate 2 slices of raisin bread, a slice of cheese, 2 glasses of lemonade, and another bag of M&M's for dinner.  I felt so lousy from eating all of that sugar, I walked that 1 1/2 miles afterward, just to shake off the sugar buzz. Tomorrow I plan to buy a pedometer. Probably oughtta clean my oven too.

***

Making 2011 the Year of the Butterfly

Someone once said, "If nothing ever changed, there would be no butterflies!" Here are seven simple changes that will help you break out of that cocoon and float like a butterfly in 2011.

1. Go meatless at least once a week.
2. If your staff lunchroom is a haven for donuts, cookies and other tempting goodies; stay outta there!
3. Drink water instead of soda. Besides reducing your caloric intake, you'll be amazed at how much money you'll save in restaurants when you make this change.
4. Learn 3 or 4 healthy recipes that you and your family really like. Most people cook the same things over and over; so if you can incorporate 3 healthy recipes into your diet, it will translate into thousands of reduced calories and fat over the coming year.
5. Forget the fries. If you must eat at a fast food restaurant; resist ordering the fries. They're the worst.
6. Split meals in restaurants. If no one wants to split with you; ask for a doggie bag to come with your meal. Then scoop half of it into the container immediately. If you wait until the end of the meal, if you're like me; you won't have anything left to take home!
7. Go outside and play. Good for the kids-good for you too!

Do you have any tips that might help us break out of our cocoons in 2011?

(Painting is called "The Butterfly  Painting" by Johann Georg Meyer Von Bremen  1813-1886)

***

My 'Bucket List'

I have been spending the past few days reflecting upon things I want to change in my life. Some are little, some are big. Chris Guillebeau's wonderful book " The Art of Non-Conformity" is inspiring me to not only make New Year's Resolutions; but to make New Life Resolutions. In the book he describes making a life plan as similar to planning a wedding; but adds that it is better to plan for a big, meaningful life than a big wedding! Part of the process involves writing down what a perfect day would be like; start to finish, and then begin to arrange your days so that your 'perfect day' elements are included. Another exercise is to create a life list of goals you wish to accomplish before you die. Some call this a 'bucket list.' I am still working on my life list; but here are some of the things I've come up with so far...

• Make my yard beautiful
• Lose those extra pounds and be healthy
• Try cross-country skiing in Eastern Washington
• Learn verbrato on my violin
• Dress with flair
• Be more active in my church
• Write and publish book(s)
• Memorize the book of Hebrews
• Travel to Scotland, Holland, UK, South of France, Italy, Cape Breton, Turks & Caicos, the Deep South, Rio de Janiero, Texas, New York, Africa
• Swim in the Sea of Cortez
• Sleep under the stars in the desert and hear a coyote howl
• Find the perfect haircut
• Look up old friends and make new ones
• Own a little cottage on a beach
• Inspire my grandchildren
• Stop hurrying
• Stop being afraid of things, people, and confrontation-say what I think
• Live the Word
• Teach
• Remodel the kitchen and bathroom
• Be myself

This list is growing; and I've withheld some of my most personal items on it. It is already making a difference in my life. Though it's chilly out today; I went for 2 walks with the dog (healthy goal), and spent an hour in the garden pulling dead weeds and clearing winter debri (gardening goal).