Spiral!

Somehow the downward spiral has become a more frequent image than the upward one.  Maybe it’s that pesky Newton and his second law of thermodynamics at work:  we see chaos happening.  The thing is, the upward spiral can be a powerful force.

One day, we get moving with some cardio.  We feel better and we try out that yoga class we’ve been thinking about.  We realize that we’d like to be stronger, so we lift a few weights.  Our clothes get looser and we kind of like that, so we decide that maybe vegetables deserve a second chance in our diets.  A few months later and we realize that our couch is lonely, we have tons more energy, and our brains our sharper than ever.

There are a couple of things that can get in the way of all that powerful goodness.  One is fear.  We are used to the couch.  We bond over donuts.  What will we talk about with Aunt Matilda now that we aren’t up on all the new binge shows?  And maybe we aren’t the ones who are afraid.  Maybe we have a buddy or a partner who worries that now that we are getting so strong and wonderful we won’t stick around.  Maybe our moms are worried that we won’t be able to eat all the traditional foods at holidays any more.

Another is fatigue.  We have to climb the spiral one step at a time.  Otherwise, we wear ourselves out and slide back down to where we started.

We can do wonderful things when we are patient and kind to ourselves.  Let’s be brave and smart.