Through My Lens: Teresa's Adventure - Not Afraid to Fall

I can't believe China was 11 years ago. Since then I had been on a bit of a roller coaster adventure, perhaps a familiar experience for some. Eating right, sleeping well, getting in lots of movement. Movement slowing down, making less than stellar food choices, tossing and turning at night. Eating well, not much moving, sleep ok, could be better. Lots of movement, terrible food choices, sleep is non-existent. So many ride combinations depending on each choice that we make. It can get overwhelming and that is when we may feel like yelling enough - I want to get off.

Luckily I only really hopped off the ride once or twice momentarily and quickly got back on. I never did leave the amusement park so getting acclimated once again wasn't too difficult. Then I found just the right spot and began to enjoy the view.

My ride had been rather smooth up to and including the shutdown of 2020 and 2021....sigh... but interestingly enough when things began to "get better" I got a little lax and bored with the car I was riding in and now I need to make a few corrective turns to keep the wheels on the tracks. At the moment, I am in the best physical shape of my life, strength, endurance, faith and emotion wise; technically I am slightly overweight according to the metal monster. And I have been sort of thumbing my nose at it.

Once upon a time, weight, to be skinny, a certain magic number was my goal. But then I learned that was just one little bit of the overall equation. And truthfully not much happiness was tied to a number. Now I barely mention weight, ironically it does come in to play today.

I did a few things since last we met... Wednesday night I went for a sunset hike with a group of about 16 friends. It was a short but intense climb. We call it our "spa" hike.

We had to scale and scramble up a few rather large boulders to reach the top. For me when that moment came, there was no fear of falling or thoughts of what if I can't do this. Instead, I felt the excitement building as I took that first step and then scurried up the side. I reached the top and a feeling of giddy pride washed over me. A brilliant sunset, the kind that warms you up from head to toe and restores your faith in humanity began to unfold before us.

As the sunset, we were letting go of the day's troubles and looking out at the possibilities and promise of a new day, one born from friendship, strength, faith and a feeling of self love.

Saturday morning, I spent a few hours with my soon to be 2 year old grandson Ryder. Living a healthy lifestyle means when Ryder says..."hop Nonna" I hop high and with ease. When he says "run Nonna" I run and chase him as he squeals with delight. When Ryder says "up" "more Nonna", I take a few moments and lift him up high over my head once again as he lets out that little gasp and giggle. Everybody wins when we can be present and participate. Words are important but they must mirror our actions. Monkey see monkey do so they say...My little monkey is learning to do all the things with love and joy and without fear. He ran from slide to slide. He climbed the steps and the bars without a care in the world. He went down the slide. He scaled the mighty "rock animals". He had so much fun. This time he did not fall, but someday he may, so we will teach him to protect himself as he is going down, dust himself off and try again. Love you Nonna seals the deal...love you more Ryder.

And finally Sunday morning, I hiked again with 2 friends from the sunset hike. We took our time exploring the 5 plus miles. The trail started at a beautiful reservoir, it had some elevation, a waterfall, stone structures, lots of streams, multiple hearts, a few rock scrambles, wooden bridges, a view at the top and blooms beginning to peak out from under the leaves of winter as cherry blossoms were nearing the end of their life expectancy.

We set a slow steady pace, taking note of our surroundings, having casual conversations and just being one with nature. At one point, Laura was a bit winded and wanted to rest and I had been in the lead. I turned to face them and was gingerly walking backwards.. my foot came in contact with a large rock/step up and I began to fall backwards.. thanks to a backpack and a strong core I was able to control my fall and did not get hurt... it was a very light hearted silly moment and so I grabbed my camera and took a ground selfie.. one might say that I go to any lengths to get that perfect heart rock picture.. do you see it up there over my head? We got to the top and took some time to enjoy the view and have our healthy snacks. One last look and it was time to go. The descent or the return trip which we took a slightly different route provided the most strenuous inclines of the day.. finally got the heart pumping a bit.

My experiences were 100% joy focused because I am residing in a very healthy and toned physical, spiritual and emotional state right now. So even though the scale is a couple pounds into the "over weight zone", my body is not feeling any effects. However, I do recognize that a couple pounds can turn to 5lb can turn to 10lbs can turn to...well you get my drift. So while I am content with my current condition and will not allow the number to rule me, I will allow it to "weigh in" a little when I am calculating my overall good health.

This morning I hopped on the scale and my uh oh number was staring me in the face, it appears as if I have fallen a bit, but from experience I will take the data and alter my course slightly. As I am faced with choices this week, I am going to really pay attention to hunger versus boredom eating when reaching for food as well as putting in some extra thought when preparing meals and snacking. I am not however, consumed by what I consume. It's just one piece of my everyday puzzle of which I control how the picture to be displayed to the world will appear. And oh what fun changing the view from time to time!