Part 29 - Arise A Warrior!!!

     Welcome all to Part 20 - Arise A Warrior!!!  For those who have been with me since the beginning or have joined the journey along the way, you know what my goal is.  To those who might just be joining my journey now it is simple, the goal is to render away the life-stealing weight that I have amassed over the years and to reclaim a healthy and free life.  The life that I was given by the love of my parents and God and the life I deserve!  You have witnessed my successes and my setbacks.  You have seen me start to evolve as a person both physically and spiritually.  Even though the numbers of readers to my blog has dropped, I write this blog not only to share with those that want to read about my journey but I do so as a type of therapy for myself.  I have had to remind myself of that and I have had to once again take the advice of an old friend and revisit my old posts to regain my bearings.  So for this week lets get the numbers out of the way right up front.

 

     There you have it in plain sight.  This week's weigh-in is indeed 616 lbs.  I have lost 2 lbs. bringing me back to a total amount lost to of 58 lbs.  I know that I have fallen back quite a bit but I am clawing my way back and I have no intention of stopping!

     With that said, I say onward and upward!  If I asked you to take a moment and think about what the word "warrior" made you think of what would you say?  What images would come into your mind?

-Warrior-

A person engaged or experienced in warfare.

    History has given us several examples of true warriors.  From medieval knights to the fierce Apache each warrior offers many attributes that we can still apply to our own lives today.  When I think about what a warrior is, the picture that come to my mind is that of the Samurai.

       There is one particular philosophy of the Samurai that I am starting to adopt and apply within my own life.  It is the philosophy of Kaizen.

-Kaizen-

Kaizen is a Japanese philosophy that describes the mindset of always striving to make gradual and steady progress.

     A Samurai warrior is always striving to improve physically, mentally, and spiritually.  I have been on this journey for a while now and I have had many ups and downs.  The part that has started to truly get to me is the numbers.  I have wanted to show you all great losses in weight and I wanted to see a great number of readers to this blog.  As the time passed I was seeing the numbers on the scale drop only a few pounds per week with some weeks showing a gain.  Likewise, I saw the hits to this blog decrease week by week.  I wanted to be able to average between 5-10 lbs. of loss each week.  In the beginning I found that I was having some impressive amounts of weight lost and I had hoped to keep that momentum rolling.  I allowed myself to become deluded.  My goals that I was setting were no longer realistic.  I know this battle well and I know what to expect but I had allowed myself to fall prey to my own impatience.  As far as the numbers of people that read this blog are concerned, I have said from the beginning that even if I can inspire just one person then writing this blog would be well worth it all.  I have allowed my pride to dictate my success in this matter however.  I enjoyed the fact that a lot of people were reading and I found that it did indeed bother me a bit when I saw the numbers slowly dwindling.  The fact that these two issues are negatively affecting me is something that I realize I and I alone must own.  I am allowing myself to believe that I am doing poorly with my weight loss.  I must remind myself that when writing this blog that I am doing so from my heart and my desire to share with others and inspire them.  I must remember that my ego has nothing to do with what I am trying to accomplish here.  I must remind myself each and everyday that this is why I am trying to adopt and apply the philosophy of Kaizen.

“To shine through the darkest nights is where the warrior forges his might, while others simply kneel before difficulty and flee the fight.”   

     So the question I have to answer is this, how do I incorporate new techniques and mindsets so that I can move forward with success?  I find that answer by combining this new philosophy of Kaizen with a dash of mythological influence.  Confused yet?  Wait for it...

       ...BOOM!!  Yes that was just a bit of silliness to make me laugh but the image above is indeed a representation of part of my new plan.  For those that may not recognize this bird it is a phoenix.  If you do not know what a phoenix is I will give you a short explanation.  The phoenix is a long-lived mythological bird that is cyclically regenerated or reborn.  In one telling of the myth, as a phoenix approaches the end of its life it grows weak and decrepit.  The phoenix then bursts into flames and is reduced to a pile of ash.  From this pile of ash the phoenix is born anew.  So now that I have explained that lets look at what I have so far, the philosophy of Kaizen and the mythology of the phoenix, not a bad start for a new plan.

     Now if you have been following along with my blog, by now you know that I have not only been working on making myself healthier physically and mentally but spiritually as well.  I have always believed in God and I have been a born again Christian since 1992.  I have had my own issues with organized religion over the years and I had been growing farther from God.  One of the unexpected perks of starting this journey I am on was that God provided me with the tools and the call to seek the Lord anew.  He provided me with a wonderful church family in addition to my existing family and friends that have shown me immeasurable support and have accepted me faults and all.  Most importantly to me, He has shown me that I can do anything through Him.  This, I have come to realize is the third and final ingredient that I needed for my new plan!

 

     So now I am taking the ideals of Kaizen, always striving to improve, and mixing that with the characteristics of the phoenix, realizing I must incinerate the "old me" so that I can arise from the ashes of my old ways as a new and powerful being.  Once mixed I am shrouding it all with the knowledge that I can do all things in Him who strengthens me!  Gone will be my ego and disappointment and in its place will ARISE A WARRIOR!!!

 

A HOLY PHOENIX WARRIOR!!

     There are those that will doubt me and throw their barbs trying to make me fall but I have said it before and I will say it again now...

"I won't ask you to join me, but I warn you not to stand in my way!"

-Me-

     

      Now, if you take a look at the warriors in history you will find a few areas that they have in common.  One aspect that warriors throughout history shared and found quite necessary was armor.

     Be it the Apache Warrior...

The Medieval Knight...

Or the mighty Samurai...

 ...They all used one form or another of a specialized armor.  This armor was personalized for the warrior that wore it.  There has never been a line of Ted Sheckler's Armor Emporiums that a warrior could simple shop at.  Some were used more for protection while others were used more to intimidate their enemies.  So you may be asking why would I bring this up now?  How does this tie in to my new plan?  Allow me to share with you just how.  There is another warrior that depends on armor, a warrior that I have chosen to become.

     The warrior that I have become wears the armor of God.  It is with this armor that I will be able to withstand the barbs thrown at me by those that would love to see me fail.  It is with this final piece to my new plan that I will not just seek my success but I will TAKE IT!  I hope that no matter what journey you are on or what enemies you face, you too find a plan that works for you.  I hope that you find a way to arise a warrior in your own right.

     I am headed off to continue putting my new plan into motion, as always I thank you for reading.  I wish I could personally say thank you to each of you that reads and supports me in this and who knows, perhaps one day I will be able to.  Please share this on your pages and keep the word moving, we may yet raise up more warriors in this world!  God bless you all. To be continued...