Some Friday Thoughts
Four Weeks Into Health
It was four weeks ago today that I joined the fitness center. So far I have managed to work out three days a week. I started slowly with only doing cardio for two weeks. Then I added some strength work on the machines. The one thing I do NOT want to do is knock my back out. I just got that in good health again. It has been fun and I am definitely feeling better already.

What is most interesting is that I started working on losing weight back in December when I hit that Big 200. I was averaging one pound a week until I started the strength training and then it semi-plateaued. That's to be expected as even a little strength training at that point would change fat into muscle mass which doesn't cause weight loss. Anyway, I am now down to 193. Seven pounds in nine weeks. Not bad.

Plateaus Do Occur
I also noticed that there was a plateau in my workouts. It goes along well for a few weeks and then seems like it is going backward. I remember the same thing happening every summer when our Municipal Band would start up. After a few weeks I would be feeling really good about my trumpet playing, then, out of nowhere it felt like I was losing by ability. Then after a week of keeping at it, it comes back better than it had been.

I think there's a lesson in this somewhere. As much as I would like life to be a continuous positive experience, it isn't. The soul is probably not any better at constant motion- even in a positive way- than the body is. You have to have times to marshall your resources, take a personal inventory, keep doing what your doing so that what you have gained will be able to take you to the next step. You need to do this even when you don't know why or you get frustrated because it isn't happening as fast or in the way you want it to.

I think of St. John of the Cross whose marvelous (and dark and hopeful) book, Dark Night of the Soul chronicles the way that happens. In the dark night, or on that plateau, you don't stop doing what you need to do- exercise, practice your trumpet, pray even when you think you are praying to the emptiness. You are, in truth, still moving, still gaining, still growing. It happens so often in my life in so many different ways it is probably one of those truisms.

You may have to remember that easy does it but don't forget to just do it.