Weekly Bread #157

Is the earth a mirror image of the sky? No wonder the ancients thought heaven was above us. For me, God (and heaven) is on this earth. Beauty is in abundance, at least around here. It helps me to believe that God is here with us and not sitting on a throne way up in the sky somewhere, maybe spitting down on us or throwing lightening bolts and the like. No, They are right here with us, and in us too, helping us slog through the mud, lending hope as we try to scale a too step mountain, and grieving with us for all we have lost. There has been so much loss and so much pain. It isn’t over. It won’t even be over. Name your own “it”, because when one “it” is over, another will take “its” place. You don’t have to enjoy the “its” of life, but for me, I can feel a little better about them because I know that “it” is part of being alive. And being alive is a blessing, no matter what. “I never promised you a rose garden”, “I’ve seen troubled times I thought would never end”, yada yada yada.

So in other news, my weight is still slowly creeping up, and although my end-of-week weight is below my starting one, the average doesn’t really lie. I also try not to lie, either to myself or all of you. I know exactly what the problem is: we have been buying potato chips. Yeah, more eating out might be a factor too, but the main culprit really is the chips. It is great to have a small baggy of them on a hike, to have a little crunch and salt at a lunch stop. I should be able to do that and not gain weight given the calories I burn on a long hike. There is a problem though when I eat them with lunch at home. It is way too easy to go back for a second (or third!) handful when the full bag is so close by and they taste so good. I rarely put the bag on the table with me, but the short walk back to the kitchen doesn’t stop me. Perhaps some willpower is in order – no chips for me except small bags on hikes. We’ll see how I do. Will power isn’t really my thing, but maybe I can make a new habit instead. I AM a creature of habit.

L’Chaim!

My average weight this week is up .7 pounds for a total loss of 161.