Giving Thanks

It has been so long, not because I haven't thought of all I had to say and share, but because the time has seemed so short. To catch everyone up, Project Transformation has ended as a program for the eight of us lucky winners, but we are all still in the process of being transformed as is every single person, every single day. All of the new things we see and learn and do, all the new people we meet who affect our lives, all of the people we love-- all of our losses, even--combine to transform us each and every day. And isn't that a lucky thing? Because it means that as long as we live and breathe, we have the ability the capacity to transform into something better than we are right at this moment. Every thought that occurs, every grain of truth that we realize, has the power to change us.
We Project transformation winners had an amazing experience, learning to eat well, to treat ourselves to exercise and excellent self-care, to set goals that we had a method and steps for accomplishing, and take it all out into our own world and have it become part of our lives. What a gift! It was winning the lottery.
So this week, just about two months after the end of our sojourn at the Califoria Health and Longevity Institute, when we are prepared to think about all we are thankful for, that six month time out of time that we were treated to will be right up there with my thanks for good health, a wonderful family, and the life of my darling dog Lucy. That education, that period of tender loving care and wicked hard work is one of the many things that I am thankful for this year. I am thankful for the new friendships I have made this year, and for all the old and faithful friendships that I am so fortunate to have. I cherish them new and old alike.
We are approaching the end of the year, and it is time to take stock. Thanksgiving comes at a good time of year, as it is a prelude to turning over the year (in the Gregorian calendar) and thinking about change. What have we done that we might have done differently, what new challenges will we face, and how do we want to face them this time around. I have learned so much in the past two months about myself, and even about the people that I am most familiar with and thought I knew everything about. I was wrong. I will save this revelation for another day, but I would like everyone I know to stop a moment to take a real clensing breath, and think about how lucky we all are, not because of what we have, but because of who we are, and that we are capable of striving to be better.
In the deepest part of my soul, I wish you all a happy Thanksgiving, meaning being happy about being grateful. What could be better?

The gifts of friendship

Isn't it just amazing when you have a friend-- or even better-- friends, who help you to be the best 'you' that you can be? I started to write about friends who make you be the best, most authentic you, but the truth is, that no one can make you be anything but yourself. A friend who helps you along the way gives you opportunities to be the best, perhaps sets an example, offers a helping hand, or even asks for a helping hand.
I have been so blessed in my life to have friends who have done just this, and I hope that I am proving not to be a disappointment to their vision of me. Some friends are those of youth, who share your memories as you share theirs, and they are priceless, golden, above any treasure you could name. Some are recent, friends who see and listen to who you are right now, and how you have come to be that way, and with whom you explore new and perhaps different experiences and adventures than you have had before. I am lucky enough to be blessed with both and I cannot imagine how I ever got so lucky.
I look around me today at the evidence of what friendship means, and I see a book that was a gift, that has made me think, has made me reflect on what it means to be a child in a very dangerous situation, to be a man willing to extend a hand to protect a stranger even at the risk of his own life and perhaps even the lives of those he loves. I see my well used gym bag, which would not be there without having been urged to try my luck at entering a contest, the results of which have changed my life, perhaps lengthening it so that I can accomplish things that need to be done by me. I think of the new experiences, like hiking, that have become a part of my life due to the camaraderie that has developed from sharing and cheering others on, hoping for their success as much as for my own. I feel the muscles in my arms that are fatigued from the hours that I have sat here at my computer finishing and polishing stories that I had written long ago, but never did anything about before a friend and angel urged me to dig them out, to join a writer's group (I still haven't done that, but I will) to look for an agent, and to do something about them. Yesterday, all day, I even smelled friendship, from when I was embraced by a friend who inquired about my husband's health and hugged me, leaving the smell of his cologne on my cheek. All day I was reminded that I could count on him if I needed to.
So for me, what friendship means is enrichment. It means the deepening and broadening of what life is really meant to be. It is meant to be shared and embraced, to be used as a learning tool and a teaching tool, to help others to be the best that they can be, both by helping and by example. It is a gift to understand that the world is a far richer place with the love of a friend, that the scenery is more beautiful when shared with a friend, that the laughter we share with friends is delicious, better than any dessert, that the tastes and sounds and music we hear are brighter and clearer and sharper and feed our souls to the brim when shared with friends.
So here is a toast to all the friends that we have made, and all those we have yet to make. You make our lives so much richer, so much more worth living. Without you, the world would be a much duller place.

Back to nature

Well, today I was in my froggy element. Back to nature. While some wires were crossed, and the whole crew could not show up for the hike, Kristin and I met at the hotel parking, and then contacted Sophia who took us on a wonderful hike in Oak Park Community Park. The others were obviously experienced hikers and were kind enough to slow their pace for me, a very inexperienced hiker, but I had a wonderful time out in the air and sunshine, doing some mild climbing, some just walking and a bit of crossing water. It was a glorious day, the sun was shining and for an hour we talked, chatted, laughed, and admired each other. There is something to be said for exercise. Right now, I feel as if I have conquered another barricade.
Last night I was at the gym, having the whole thing to myself, and I was a bit leery to do one of the exercises that Mike gave me this week, not being sure that I wouldn't fall off the ball. So after I had spent an hour doing all the other stuff, and I was ready to go, I said, "Oh what the hell, how far could I fall, and Rosie would find me if I knock myself out" so I sat myself down on that ball, and walked out till just my head was on the ball, held for several seconds, and walked myself back up, remembering what Mike had said to do, drop my butt, and back up against the ball. When I was back sitting on the ball, no one could have been more surprised that I was. I did it 4 more times! So this morning, when I considered the hike and thought that it might be too much for me, I thought of last night and said again, "oh what the hell". But without the encouragement of Sophia and Kristin, I couldn't have done it. I know it wasn't much for them, but for me it was a revelation. I really could do it, although I know that they took it easy on me, I did it. Ladies, you are my heroes. Thanks so much for making this new victory possible. I am beginning to believe that all is possible--that the weight will come off, the body will be conditioned, and the mind will clear and stop thinking that I can't. Mike seemed impressed when I said in our session, "I can do that" and I could. I hope to be saying it more often. So what is absolutely necessary is a positive attitude and good friends who are willing to help. When I got home, I had to call my brother, and my daughter. I was so proud. It has been years since I hiked, but I hope it won't ber years until I do again. I can recommend the fresh air. It makes you feel new.

Thank you

I want to take this opportunity to say Thank you to the people who have expressed their support to me in so many areas of my life--all my life. I was taught by my parents to appreciate all the good things that come my way, and I hope that I have done that. They had the ability to take whatever good there was around them, and to make a party of it. I feel so fortunate to have been taught the value of life by people who enjoyed it so, and who were filled with a joie de vivre that was positively contagious. I was also fortunate enough to have had them in my life for long enough to have come through all the stages that life throws at us: the rebeliousness of adolescence, the sudden realization that they were not perfect, just people doing their best, the necessity to separate and individuate, and the coming back again, just to see them as the dear people they were, flawed but wonderful. I know people who did not have that opportunity, and they missed out on something quite miraculous. So Thanks Mom and Dad.
On the road of life, it is easy to take the people who have a starring role in your life every day for granted. So I want to say Thanks to my husband Bob who had always been supportive and a real friend.
And now, I am lucky enough to have met, to have become acquainted with, and to befriend (I hope) some very special people with whom I am traveling the same road on the way to better health, and learning to value putting time into the care of me, just as I have put time into the care of others. There is an energy that I have felt arising among us when we see each other at the gym, or at some gathering at CHLI, and it is the energy that is created when there is support. Those of us who have tried to lose weight, or get into better shape can appreciate that this time it's different. Not only do we have these terrific surroundings, the luxurious trappings of the 4 Seasons Hotel in Westlake, we have the support of the dedicated staff at CHLI, and the medical staff, but most of all we have each other and our families who are cheering us on and without whom we really couldn't do what we have to do. The families with younger children who are learning to give up "treats", or at least think of them differently, are not only helping their parent but learning valuable lessons that will help them to stay healthy and not have to "regain" health along the way. So to all of you family members, I salute you and say Thank you. You're not only helping and supporting your parent by trying new foods in new combinations, you're also helping the rest of us. I couldn't be more appreciative.
We have several months ahead of us to get into the best shape we can be, in the best shape we have been in years, so we are going to need all the help there is out there, so having all of you Project Transformationist and your families behind us will make all the difference. In advance, I want to say a great big THANKS. We're all going to make it.