Just Another Day in Paradise

I got home from church this afternoon and knew I needed to do something good for me, but wasn't feeling very motivated to do anything. Then I remembered my promise on Facebook to try out some new activities that work abs (here's the link to the MyFitnessPal article), so I pulled out my print off of the article to see which activity I wanted to try. Since it was a "legs" day I decided to try the lunges on a rolled towel. Oh man did I start to feel it after just a few!

As I've mentioned in a few previous posts, the walking time can be great for thinking and reflecting. Unfortunately, the way my mind was wandering was towards some painful thoughts that were bringing pain and tears. A few months ago this happened to me and I gave in to the feelings and turned around to go home. I called a girlfriend, in tears, as I walked home.

Today I didn't want to give in to the pain and tears I decided to push through. I focused on the walk. Moving my legs, pumping  my arms, feeling the sun on my face. I pushed through the pain telling myself that if I need to I can deal with it later. I'm sure it'll come up later, but I'll feel it and deal with it when I'm in a safe place.

I love being able to take care of myself in this way. Sometimes I give in to the feelings and work through them right away. Sometimes I tell myself that it's not safe to feel them right now and I give myself permission to feel them later. Some of you reading this may be saying "of course, doesn't everyone do this?" To which I must say "no, not everyone knows how to do this or is able to give themselves permission to do this." It's an amazing skill I just learned in the last few years. I'm a very feeling-oriented person, but to know my feelings don't have to rule me is very empowering to me.

I'm glad I pushed through my walk and kept going. I was able to enjoy the sunshine, moving my body, and the act of walking. I ended my 4.4 mile route wishing I could have walked longer. (I have other stuff to get to this afternoon, like dance lessons, so I couldn't but it was great to want to do more!) And now to end this post- I've got a dance lesson to get to!