The Boiling Pot

They say a watched pot never boils; it is an exercise of aggravation because when you are waiting for something to occur, it just seems like time stands still and nothing happens; at least not as quickly as you need it to.  Life will always hand you boiling pot situations and no matter how hard you stare at it, now matter how important it is for that pot to start boiling—it just won’t happen at the snap of your fingers or the bend of you will. 

It makes no difference how you got into the situation you want to get out of or in the condition you need to change anything of value takes time. 

Personally, it seems like the two years it took to build my unhealthy mess went by in a flash—I don’t even remember gaining weight, I blamed most of my inability to move on arthritis and pain.  I thought I’d lost my ability to cope but the truth of the matter is I was coping, just doing it in an unhealthy way.  So when I came to the end of the tunnel, and saw the light of reality, I looked at the mess that it had taken me two years to make and wished I could will away.  But you cannot invite an elephant to dinner and not feed it—I had to pay the piper and it will take a while to fix the mess I created.  One of the things that upsets me the most in my predicament is knowing the time it will take to fix my problem.  I think this is why the weight loss industry is such a booming business, they offer quick fixes, pills, shakes, sprinkle doo dahs that promise to make you fuller and eat less and so many supplements now that boast of miraculous components that will make you thin; lose 30 pounds in 30 day schemes are advertised on street corners—all because we are in a hurry to fix our issues and choose to ignore the fact that if it didn't come on over night, it certainly won’t slide off overnight.  Since I’ve began my weight loss journey I have been approached countless times by people selling their products—some of them are in a business and trying to make money but I know some of them have a heart and are trying to help.  I have heard speeches about how this formula really works and it will get you thin in less than six months—no one can make that promise and expect to keep it.  Oh it’s true, some of these guys have lost well over 100 pounds in six months, but what about the ones who struggle to lose four pounds a month?  What about the faithful workers of health and hope who strive tirelessly to create a better life for themselves and don’t even see a loss in one month.  Does that make them any less successful?  Does that put them below the bar?  Their pot of water may not be boiling in the ninety seconds promised—so does that mean they dump it and forget about their plans, their ideals, their future? 

I am inclined to believe that the impatient souls in life are the ones who rush through things and try to make a deal with time to short cut themselves into success.

  It cannot be done, because somewhere along the way, there will be stops, there will be delays, there will be lessons to learn about getting it right—you cannot rush perfection—it comes to us one day at a time; one precious lesson at a time, with tears of recognition and belief we rebuild what we helped to destroy and in the long run, we are the better for it.