This morning I was browsing ahead through a book I am reading and came on this Japanese Proverb: "Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare".
And because I have had a few days of struggle with eating, I had occasion to think about what it means to be "on a roll" as opposed to the struggle that one experiences when one is not on a roll and it is frightening. I have felt out of control and batted about on the breeze. Being on a roll means that it is easy, whatever the "it" is, whether it is the eating program, keeping track of food intake, exercising, or just being more aware and awake about goals, steps on the way to getting to them, and keeping one's eye on the prize. So in reality, being "on a roll" is vision with the appropriate accompanying action. Vision without action is the daydream of wishing, of hoping that our fairy godmother will come and bail us out of the mess that we have gotten ourselves into. But then I look down at my feet and see that I am, we all are, in actuality, in possession of the ruby slippers that we need to take us home, wherever that is for us. (Sorry about all the mixed metaphors, but my mind is a jumble this morning) We have to go through the trials and tribulations of "doing it" for real, to understand that we had the power to get there within us all along, and that a fall "off the roll(?)" isn't the end of the world, or life as we know it, but a break in concentration. We are in possession of the Ruby Slippers that will take us home to our goal, so today I went back to my old standby oatmeal and berries breakfast, I walked my route even thought it was beastly hot, and I didn't depend on being on a roll, where the pursuit of the dream is easy. I slogged up that last hill cursing all the way. I know that the scale will not be kind to me today when I weigh in, but I know that keeping the vision in the forefront of my mind, along with the appropriate accompanying action, will get me through to next week and a different outcome.
The nightmare of action without vision is to have lost sight of the goal or prize for the moment in the need to satisfy a craving, or to be like all the other kids and eat whatever is there without thought.
So to all my cohorts at Project Transformation, all of you who are diligently attending classes, getting to the gym often and long, and saying no to the extra helping, or the bite of "forbidden fruit", I salute you and will try harder to emulate your progress and your diligence. I will, in open admiration of your efforts, try harder to act with responsibility, to turn away from demon bread, to add hours to workouts, and to have vision accompanied by action, eyes on the prize, and taking Kaizen steps to make the dream a reality.
I hope that I will see you on Sunday so that we can celebrate, in an appropriate way, our many triumphs up until now, and all the triumphs that are still to come.