Kayaking Up Stream

I have just returned from a three day weekend in Las Vegas where I was teaching an art and writing workshop at Selah - an art salon in the Fremont district. I had a marvelous time with the six participants who joined the class and loved working with the women who own and operate Selah. If you're ever in the Las Vegas area looking for something creative and uplifting, please check out their workshop calendar!  Here are some photos from our class, where everyone created a self portrait:

This is my last full week in Utah before heading home to Dallas! The time has flown. I've been thrilled with the quiet, the open space and the time to be with my little family. It's such a boon to run away every summer, peel off the daily appointments, medical meetings and hassles and live each day for itself.

After my last post, where I was feeling defeated and generally lost at sea, I received a few poignant emails from friends and readers. One in particular offered a beautiful message. I don't think she'll mind if I post it here, because it will benefit you just as much as it benefited me.

"I'm thinking more about the general struggle of it all (weight loss, health, etc). Here's what I think: its like swimming upstream. You can do it for a while, but it is exhausting and overwhelming and never ending. And eventually you tire and get pushed back downstream. But I think there is another way. When I was a kid my dad taught me how to cross a river in a kayak. You don't paddle straight there, you aim your boat in a diagonal so that the current helps propel you across. I'm sure there's a term for it. This is sticking in my head as a good metaphor for what I am trying to do."

I love this idea of allowing the river to help propel you in the direction of your goal rather than risking a full capsize by steering directly in the direction of you goal. My life right now is such that I cannot give 100 percent of my attention to weight loss. This, however, doesn't mean that I can't make healthy choices as I move towards my goal.

I am juicing. I am walking. I am resting well. I am creating art. I am writing. I am working. I am mothering my children. I am cooking at home. I am traveling. And I am following three or four other dreams as well. Through all of this, my weight is holding steady. I am going to let the river help propel me forward. Like my brilliant friend wrote above - "there is another way" than steadfast focus on weight loss.

The "I Did It" List

taught an art and writing workshop 

painted a self portrait

sold some artwork

visited with dear friends who I haven't seen in years

went on a date with my mother and shared a bottle of wine

drank green juice most mornings

cut down on my coffee intake

ate some lovely fresh food

drank lots of water

took a long walk

took my son to swim lessons

had a casting meeting with an artistic director of a theater

answered some important emails

got a raise with one of my freelance writing jobs

helped someone else's baby fall asleep

hugged a bunch of people