Learning to Fly!

This week, I'm celebrating Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.  This time of year is a time to reflect on the year that passed and the year to come.  It seems that I've been doing more reflection over this past 45 days than any other time of year.  Reading Brené Brown's book, "Rising Strong" was a large part of that but also, I'm in the process of starting my own business.  Combined, all of these things have forced me to look inward more than usual and I wanted to share some of those thoughts with you.

Although my last post didn't get the kind of traffic it usually does, I think it was one of my most important articles that I've ever written.  Even though it might not have resonated with many, it did with me!  So selfishly, maybe I just wrote that post for me, to inspire myself to "get outside my comfort zone" and "make some magic."

After all, starting a new business is all about taking a leap, trying something new and seeing if it will be successful.  Something new is the hard part.  Part of what I need to do in order to make this business take off is to really understand what it means to learn to fly.  Like a little bird, whose mother has left the nest, now it's up to me.  I have the tools, I know how to be a good dietitian and help people improve their health, but now I need to make sure everyone else knows it too!

But here I am in the nest, looking down 150 feet at the ground below and the nerves are there.  Just like the little bird, I know that I'm going to eventually get the hang of it, but those few seconds of free fall are what scare me.  Free falling downward, the ground racing up to meet me in a fatal crash, but all I have to do is trust my instincts.  Stick out my wings, let the rushing air flow over and beneath them to create the necessary lift to move me from perpendicular to parallel.

I'm still in the nest right now.  Well, maybe I'm not 100% in the nest...perhaps I have both feet out, dangling over the edge. I'm sitting on the edge, my instincts are there but I don't yet trust them. I know that they'll work if I just test them out.

So here goes, I'm pushing off. I'm going to be courageous and be vulnerable.  I will try new things and I understand that I will fall and stumble along the way.  But I'm willing to risk the fall because I know that I can rise stronger!

I'm going to try to fly and I don't know how long the free fall will last until I run out of time, but I'm confident that even if I hit the ground, I will be able to get back up and try it again.  My instincts will kick in and I will soar, but the hardest part is right now.

I don't know what this new year will bring but I'm confident in a few things:
1) I have the best support system around me.
2) Although I tend to be scared of new things, I know that I will have to try new things each day to be successful.
3) I will work hard every day to accomplish my goals.

To those who celebrate, shana tova and may we all be healthy, safe, and have the courage to be the best possible versions of ourselves.

What Did My Rabbi Just Say?

Today's post is short but sweet!

"It's not what you look like, it's what you do that is important"  That is what our Rabbi said today during this morning's Rosh Hashanah service.  The context had nothing to do with Health at Every Size (HAES) or body image.  He said these words because it was 100 degrees outside and the AC was broken in the auditorium we were sitting in.  We were all uncomfortable and to help us relax and enjoy the service, he encouraged all the men to take off their ties and jackets and to roll up our sleeves to help us be a little more comfortable in the unbearable heat.  "It's not what you look like, it's what you do that is important," he said to us.

Immediately, those words meant something else to me than the religious context we were in.  I looked over to my kids and repeated to them, "It's not what you look like, it's what you do that is important," hoping those meaningful words would sink in.  I know that they didn't (because of the heat, because they are only 5 and because they didn't really want to be in services) but the seed was planted!

Now that I am home, just a few minutes removed from that service, those words continue to resonate with me.  No matter what your body looks like; round or thin, big or small, "it's not what you look like it is what you do that is important!"  I know those words mean a great deal to me and I find that message above all others today, this day of new beginnings and reflection, most inspirational.