We have all been just sickened by the BP oil explosion, the loss of life and continued gushing of oil into the ocean. The more the events unfold and information becomes available, the more we just shake our heads in disbelief. There were warning signs before the explosion! Several of them, we are finding out now. Why didn't anyone listen to them?? Policies and procedures in place to prevent this from occurring. What happened?? Greed, gluttony, excess, dollar signs. And it seems like the only thing that is motivating their behavior to find a way to stop the gushing oil are all the negative consequences. Negative consequences?? That's the understatement of the century. We will not fully understand the impact of this disaster until years, even decades from now. The impact will be felt by the families of those who died, the people who make their living on the ocean, the birds and mammals, the economy, the ocean, the marine life, the beaches, the food we eat and it goes on and on. Their deepest concern seems to be the financial consequences. Boy does that seem to motivate change!
While BP did not deliberately cause this disaster, they did ignore several signs that were bearing witness to the destruction to come. Taking action when these signs first came to light might have averted this tragedy. Also, had they followed ALL policies and procedures, it may have chnged the course of events.
All of this sounds very familiar to me. . .uhm . . .about me! I continued to eat, and eat and eat until I was over 400 pounds. I induldged in excess and wanted more and more and could not satisfy my emotional hunger. I ignored all the warning signs that my body was sending. It took a full on health crisis for me to stop and think about what I was doing. And the consequences for me were great. Surgeries, medications, financial devastation and the list goes on. I also may not know the extent of damage my prior lifestyle cost me for years to come. Who knows, it may have shortened my life by years! Why didn't I listen to the warnings signs. That what the scale kept screaming at me but I choose not to even get on one for many years. High blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high cholestorol. . .all warning signs that we need to take action to avert a health disaster. What motivates us into action? It's different for all of us. My deepest prayer for each one of us is that we take action before the consequences get too great.
Have a great weekend ladies, and take some small action toward lifestyle change. You are worth the effort!
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
This is a place where we can explore and gain insight about emotional overeating. We can learn and practice new strategies that will challenge the unhealthy thoughts and beliefs that are commonly at the root of emotional overeating. Dig in!
5 comments:
I'm so glad you had a wonderful and safe trip.
Great post today Julie. I think in all aspects people and business and government think if they ignore it, it will go away. Like if I stuff enough food in me, I will be invisible. Guess what. It never works. Even worse to be so intelligent we can be so stupid. Like with so many of our energy sources, we know how to use them but not how to control them and in many cases how to safely dispose of their waste.
I see it in me except I know how to safely eat and how to control my weight and health. But I don't control either. They control me.
So back to the oil spill because if I focus on it I can ignore my personal issues and maybe they will go away like the oil is going to just clean itself up.
Our bodies are as precious as our world. And our world is in distress.
So when I get distressed I like to write like so many others in HOPE do (even though I haven't been in HOPE for way too long)
So these are my feelings on the oil spill.
"And So She Cries Black Tears"
She was entrusted by God for our care, our Mother Earth was.
She soothed and nurtured us with a thick, warm primordial soup.
She sustains the balance of our delicate environment.
And so she cries black tears.
Tears saturated by the salt from the oceans that spawn them.
Tears thick and sticky as the sap that drains from an injured tree.
Tears that overflow their ducts until they obscure all they touch.
And so she cries black tears.
For the world abused by the overuse of all of God’s gifts.
For innocent lives lost in her warnings, vanished into her cries.
For intellect without intelligence to wisely use it.
And so she cries black tears.
Julie,this blog is especially relevant to my current circumstances. I was recently diagnosed with uterine cancer...more specifically endometrial cancer. One of the risk factors is obesity. I had a complete hysterectomy 5/18. My oncologist thinks the cancer was all contained in the uterus, but wants to do preventive chemo and radiation.
All through the years, I often thought of the more talked about risks of obesity...i.e. diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems, etc...but never dreamed my indulgence would result in something like this. I felt like I was playing russian roulette with my health for many years, and now "GOTCHA"!!
Just as BP ignored warnings, and chose to compromise (for whatever reason), so have I. All I can do from this point forward is GET SERIOUS! Health is SERIOUS! As much as I like to joke around and continue to not be responsible, I know now that I simply cannot play games with myself any longer. I am not going to fall into the perfectionistic all or nothing thinking, but the responsible 'one meal at a time' healthy food choice journey.
Julie, this is an incredibly powerful post--thank you for writing this! I was just away at a college orientation as my first child is leaving for college this fall. The whole time I was there I kept thinking how indulgent this generation is. They live without any boundaries or sense of consequences. Then I read this blog and thought whoa! I do the same thing when it comes to my health. All I can do now is keep the focus on ME--my choices. If I start obsessing even about my kids choices or what anyone else does, I get worried and HUNGRY. My job now is to take care of me FIRST and FOREMOST. I can only change me and by keeping my energy there, I can do something about my life, my choices and therefore my consequences. Yes, obesity has many consequences! I may be getting by today, but overnight those consequences could appear because they are already there, just not visible yet. My weight and really my SHAME has cost me for a lifetime now. All I have is today! For me, I have lived the last 30+22 years numbed out, not even present. My dramatic size 2 to size 22 swings cannot have been good for my body. I often imagine it saying to me, okay, what are you doing to us this time and how long is this one going to last! As for me and my body, TODAY, we will serve the Lord, taking care of my body, with His help! I am the one responsible to have made this mess and I am the one to clean it up! Thanks for an awesome post!!
It is so easy to say "how could they?" Thanks for answering that in such a visceral manner. TODAY, I WILL TAKE ACTION STEPS to avoid the "how could she?" that has shamed me for years, even though I ignored it...
Post a Comment