Starting point

Here's the thing about diets, you are supposed to weigh yourself and measure yourself to find out where you are starting from. You have to have a baseline to see whether what you're doing is working, making you smaller, making you thinner, getting you closer to your goals. I sometimes find that where I am is a little different than where I thought I'd be. I'm often bigger than I anticipated, but I have two minds about that: on the one hand, I am not so thrilled to be bigger than I want, on the other hand, it usually means I will initially get smaller quicker. The bigger you are the more you have to lose which means more results faster. And of that, I am all in favor.

And I think life is like that too- for our relationships, for our parenting, for our search for "the one", for the search for a fulfilling career. You have to start somewhere. You have to have a beginning. You have to have a measuring stick. You have to decide to take a different path and you have to take a first step.

I find that the first step is often the most difficult. Because I don't necessarily want to admit where I am. I don't want to face facts. I don't want to take stock. Sometimes I'd rather bury my head and hide my eyes. Sometimes I'd rather stay standing in the mud than admit that I am stuck.

But being stuck is aggravating. Being stuck is frustrating. Being stuck means I have to make a choice to stay where I am, unhappiness and all, or admitting to myself that I am not where I want to be and moving from here.

We all have to start someplace. We all have to start somewhere. We all have to admit just where it is we are today so that can take a step in a new direction, tomorrow.

After all, this is the life.
-a