Make a change

I read something posted on Facebook today that I wasn't sure how to take...  Someone I know posted, "Why does a drowning person refuse to take hold of the lifesaver that is thrown to them?"  Wow.  There are several things that I wanted to post in response to their question but I didn't.  I wanted to say that:

• Sometimes people may want to take hold of the lifesaver but don't know how.
• Sometimes you can be so overwhelmed with a problem that you can't see that you are in fact drowning.
• There are times that when you're in the mix of it, you don't want help because you want to try and find your own way out of your problem(s).
• Grabbing the lifesaver won't cure the problem - it may keep you from drowning at the moment but that doesn't mean you still can't drown.
• Just because someone says something is unsinkable doesn't make it true.  Remember the Titanic?

Sorry.  Got off on a bit of a tangent there because that statement hit a nerve.  I've had people bring up this concept of being "saved" to me before.  I don't want to be saved.  Yes, there have been plenty of times where I may have needed assistance (some times I've needed more assistance than others) but as I've stated before, I have never wanted to be the damsel in distress type and I still don't want that.  Granted, I'm doing better with realizing that asking for help isn't necessarily a sign of weakness but I know I'm not there yet.  I also know that it's okay for me to admit I'm still a work in progress.

Maybe part of this is coming from the upcoming "holiday" this week on Thursday -- Valentine's Day.  Between the commercials on every channel, the movies/shows on TV, and what's being sold in stores, those of us who aren't in a relationship or who aren't ready (or don't want to) sign up for an online dating website are in trouble this time of year.  I know that Valentine's Day is a very commercialized holiday (and I'll admit that I have participated in this day with a loved one in the past and that I have bought Valentine cards for my students) but it is still a difficult time of year.  Maybe what I need to do is to just ignore the commercialism going on currently and just focus on what else is going on at this time of year.

I'm going to make an effort this year to really examine what I sacrifice for the season of Lent.  Since coming back after my visit with family, I have fallen into old habits of food and not working out and I need to get back to where I was before my trip.  I'm getting frustrated with myself for putting on a few of the pounds that I lost and rather on working on it again, I've been beating myself up over it.  Even though I know that's counterproductive, I'm unfortunately doing it anyway.  I have learned, for myself, that denying myself certain foods doesn't work but to limit portions does work.  I have also learned what kind of workouts I can do and get results from but I also know that it might be time to integrate other types of workouts into my routine.  I just know that I have to do something...

Maybe, at this point, I just need to remind myself of something that I had to tell myself awhile ago...  I need to just keep swimming in order to keep going.  I'll let you know how that goes for me...