Searching for the Fit Self: A Physical and Spiritual Check In
Time for a check up on my bigger goals. Let’s re-examine the goals on June 4:
Personally, I want to feel rested, trim, fit, and ready for a marathon fall. I also want to experience gelassenheit.
Whoa, you say. What’s that?
Gelassenheit means yieldedness or submission to God and to community. It was a favorite word of the Anabaptists (original name of both Mennonites and Amish). It can also mean “letting go.”
In other words, I want to work hard and play hard and underneath all the effort, I want to rest in the everlasting arms of God.
What can I report?
Physically
Think about the time in your life when you felt most physically fit. Perhaps you played on a sports team and had to run laps or do free weights or work out in a gym. No love handles. No little muffin hanging over the belt. Better yet, the feeling of having a spring in your step, light in your eyes, and no excess baggage.
Can we recapture that feeling? Sure. We may not be able to have the same toned body, years after our most fit self becomes a memory only, but we can recapture the feeling if we do even a few things on this list:
- Move every day
- Eat mostly vegetables, fruits, and proteins
- Avoid refined sugars and processed foods whenever possible
I actually follow this regimen fairly well and feel good on it. However, as a way to step up my game, I’ve decided to exercise a little more and be even more careful about diet. I want to drop those extra five pounds that keep me from feeling fit, and I want to improve both my strength and flexibility. So, I spent an hour at the gym this morning and plan to go back three days a week in addition to taking a daily walk of 3-5 miles.
That may seem rigorous to some and like a piece of cake (ahem!) to others. But my body seems to enjoy a little challenge, and so I’m going for it. By telling you, I make myself more vulnerable and accountable. I’m picking Independence Day, July 4, as the day to report back. I don’t want to see the number 4 on the scales. 🙂
Spiritually
88 days until launch. Strawberries are permitted!
I said above that I want to go deeper into Gelassenheit. I want to listen to God, yield to divine love, in the following ways:
- Pray and read spiritual texts every day. Finish my chronological reading of the New Testament.
- meditate 20 minutes at least five days/week. (Think of it as resting in the arms of God).
- listen for God’s voice and God’s face through encounters with people
I’ve been engaging in most of these practices all along also. I just want to be more regular and faithful.
So, today’s New Beginning was to use every piece of gym equipment that you see above. And now I’m off to reading, prayer, and meditation. I have almost 150 entries in the 100 Day Challenge to read first — so many of you to hold in the light.
Do you know how beautiful you already are? I hope so.
May today bring you closer to your own physical and spiritual goals. Chart one of them here for the 100 Day Challenge.
Your physical workout sounds challenging and invigorating! And I admire your dedication to your spiritual growth, too. I am ready to apply myself to my physical self, too. I just got permission from my doc to remove the orthopedic boot. The fracture in the foot is not completely healed, but I can walk on it with an ankle stabilizer. So I can actually take a walk for the first time in over three months! 🙂 I’m so grateful to be wearing two shoes!
Tina, so glad you are out of that boot! Talk about a New Beginning. You are walking the talk.
Soon you will be dancing.
Like you, I love the routine of daily rhythms which can bring physical and spiritual renewal when we set our goals a notch higher.
Right now, my rhythms have been disrupted with demands from all sides. With needs of two 95-year-olds + family get togethers galore, I am reminded of the adage “Blessed are the flexible, for they shall never be bent out of shape!” I am blessed: Praise God!
“Blessed are the flexible, for they shall never be bent out of shape!”
I think that one should be posted above all computers and stuck on all refrigerators.
Love it!
For every virtuous, truthful, resolution, there is an equal and opposite one.
Marian, how would you like to do a guest post? I want to introduce you to my readers in a more formal way. Just email me with a time frame that seems right given all of the above.
Shirley, Following you is like having my own personal wellness coach! You give me just the nudge I need to get back on track with my own physical and spiritual daily regimen. July 4th is closing in on us but every little change in the right direction is progress. So I vow to eat from the garden and move around more= less butt-in-the -chair time 🙂 Thank you for your ongoing inspiration and prods!
Great, Kathy. I think you picked perfect goals for this short sprint to July 4. It’s a pleasure to cheer you on to greater health and wholeness.
I’m honored that you, a nurse in profession and also inclination, feels nurtured. Thank YOU.
Shirley! I love this post…but what I love even more is your “I’m taking charge” attitude. And I appreciate the reminder that it’s more than a physical journey…it’s mental and spiritual too.
You’re up for a “marathon” fall — and I’m cheering you on all the way! (((BIG HUGS!))) — Brook
Thanks, Brook. You are the one who inspired me to “take charge” with your own 100 Day Challenge. I’m eager for the readers of this blog to meet you. Thanks for sharing so generously the amazing journey you have been on.
((BIG HUGS))