This morning, as in every morning, I am thankful. I'll say it
over and over again, till the day I die, what a lucky man I am. These are not
words I toss around lightly. I mean them 110%.
When I wake up every day, I
thank God for my life. I spend a good portion of my day encouraging others,
praying that the masses will wake up and realize how blessed and lucky
they truly are. Too many focus on what they don't have, what they need
and or want. They spend their time stressing over their problems.
That was me! I was/am a worrier. I hated that I didn't have a
better job, a newer car, a nicer house, and in looking back at where I was three
years ago, I realize, I never felt thankful for anything. I didn't feel lucky, and maybe, just maybe that
was my problem--part of my demise. Because, you see, even at 625 pounds, I was
still alive. I still had a place to live. I had family and friends that loved
me. I had a car to drive and a functioning brain to use. I could see. I could
hear. I could smell.
I had something to be thankful for, don't you think?
I wouldn't/couldn't see it. I saw only negativity. I saw what was wrong in
my life rather than what was right and good. Dark thoughts consumed me. You suck Dan. Look at you, you
can't even walk, your body hurts, and you can't find clothes that fit. You
can't go to the movies anymore, which works out just fine because you don't
have any money--ya-da-ya-da-ya-da--- poor Dan.
You see, all along, most of those things were fixable.
It was my choice to shove a 20 piece nugget and a number one value meal down my
mouth every day. It was my choice to sit on the couch and not move. It was my
choice to wallow in my own misery and give up.
We all have a functioning mind, don't we?
Most certainly we
do and we can choose to take it where we want. I'm alive today to tell you, nothing-but-nothing
changed for me until I decided to take my mind to a new place--my soul. I went
searching and I found me. I found what I needed--a desire to live--and my focus
began to change.
Instead of dwelling on the fact that I was dying--and believe me, I was--I focused on the fact that I wasn't dead yet. I wanted to live. I told
myself I could do without a drive-thru fix every meal of every day. I convinced myself I could
move, even if it was just my arms and legs while sitting on the couch. I focused on
the positive moving would bring to my life, like getting off all my
weight related medications. In short, I focused on the good, and willed my mind to stay there, refusing to go back to the negative world I'd been living in.
When offered, I
accepted a hand up from family and friends instead of turning everybody away. I talked to my maker and asked
Him for help. I accused less and BELIEVED that things could change. And the most important change was I BELIEVED it could get better and it did get better.
And it can for you too!
I say it often, "see and feel the beauty," it's everywhere around
you. Be thankful for the sunshine. Be thankful for the air that you breathe. Be
thankful that you have a heart that beats and a mind that works. Positive
thinking brings positive actions and positive actions bring positive results. Maybe
you're not a religious person--that's your choice--but you can still use positive
thinking to your benefit. You can still appreciate the gifts that you
have, as you have the gift of life and that's a start.
We could all thank more and ask less. I'm thankful to God for all
the wonderful people he's put in my life. I'm thankful to Him for my angel,
sent to help me find my way back to Dan. I'm thankful for all the beauty that
surrounds me, and just this morning, I thanked Him for you--you right there--reading
this blog now. I'm thankful that I was once 625 pounds--yes, thankful--for without that pain I would not be able to help another man or woman find their way back from obesity.
Yes, whether you wish to believe it or not, like me, you are a very lucky man
or woman. You may not feel it right now, but you were created, by perfect design, to be the
best you you can be!
Imagine it! Believe it! It's true.
PEACE
Dan
