April 30, 2007

Lessons from the Scale

One of my favorite lessons this year is being taught me by my scale.

I never owned a scale until my best friend bought me a makeup mirror for Christmas years ago (which is like gifting me with earrings - I'll simply NEVER use it), so I returned it and came home with a scale instead.

It used to stay in the basement, but my boyfriend likes to check in on his weight regularly, so I brought it upstairs for him. And of course, I now find myself on it more than I used to.

You know Abraham's advice to only take measurements when you're sure you'll like what you see, right? Yeah, I follow that. It's just too easy to be deflated by disappointing numbers.

Well, after a couple weeks of standing on it now and again, I discovered that if I moved the scale just a few inches, I got a COMPLETELY different number. You'd laugh if you saw me pushing that thing all over the kitchen floor finding the highest and the lowest numbers. It was ridiculous.

(Well, it still is. I do it every time.)

At first I didn't know what to make of it, but then I started getting frustrated. How was I supposed to know what I weighed?? I mean, I haven't been to a doctor in years, and even if I remembered what they weighed me in at - that was with clothes on and after eating. (Do I sound neurotic about accurate weight? Yeah.)

So how do I know how much I weigh?? What if I've been wrong all these years? How will I ever know my true weight?

And as I asked those questions, I then thought "Wow, what if I didn't ever know?" And ... this is a mind blower ... "What if it didn't matter??"

What if I had no idea what different numbers "meant"? For that matter, what if I didn't know my size? Or my measurements? Or how much money I made? Or how old I was?

What if I could live completely free from the meaning of the numbers in my life?

Wow ... what if ... huh?

(I say "YES!")

So maybe it starts with that scale going back to the basement. Or better yet, in the giveaway box.

Or maybe I just keep it in the skinny spot. lol

I don't know! Like I said, I'm still learning this lesson.

In the meantime, go ahead and ask me how old I am. I think I can have fun with that one. (hee hee)

7 comments:

  1. Great article!
    I quit weighing myself two years ago. As you know I worked as a vet nurse and one of my colleagues spent a year and a half dieting for her forthcoming wedding. This involved lots of time deliberating on the large dog scales - often three times a day. It was ludicrous how everyone began obsessing about their weight too including me at the time!) - I realised how out of hand it had grown when I saw our day experience girl who had clearly a fabulous figure joining in. (she was 15 years old)

    More to the point, my friend didn't lose an ounce. I bet she's still there, weighing herself on a daily basis and frowning at those scales.

    I agree, no need to know your age, weight, earnings etc

    I love the quote "Age is just a number!"

    :)

    P.s I think you look gorgeous! Inside and out. Wouldn't it be great if we had scales that told us straight from Source how wonderful we are instead of our body mass :)

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  2. I agree!

    I also drove myself crazy with the scale. I then thought that visualizing was the total answer, and it seemed to work until my son convinced me to take up indoor climbing with him. Gah!
    Now I use an "activity readiness" approach and the numbers take care of themselves.

    Of course this is coming from a guy who believes that there are regularly more than one 'first prize' winners in lotteries.

    Thanks again Jeanette! I really appreciate your blog.

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  3. Rick, what's your "activity readiness" approach? I think I like it!

    And I LOVE that I'm talking with a guy who believes in more than one first prize lotto winners! woo hoo! Nice vibe you're sharing here, Rick. Thanks! : )

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  4. Sonora, I like your idea of Source telling us how wonderful we are, instead of thinking it's all dependent on how we LOOK.

    I guess that's what Abraham does for us, huh? : )

    The quote you posted reminds me of - was it George Burns? - someone said "Young. Old. Just words." or something like that.

    Really, for us to detach to what we make certain things "mean" - what freedom!!

    PS - thanks for the compliment! Right back atcha, sweetie!

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  5. Interesting topic of discussion. I recently started dating a lady conciderably younger than myself. Naturally, I had many concerns over what people would think or how we would appear as a couple. I find more and more these days, as I continually bring myself into alignment with my Source, that I am drawn to younger minds in general. I think it's the freshness and lack of resistance, excitability and sense of adventure I'm attracted to. In this instance (and many more) I've decided to listen to to my "Feel Good" (as Jeannette might say) and disregard those voices outside of my own inner guidance. We write our own stories, and truthfully I don't feel a day over....YOUNG! I believe that is a quality that she is attracted to in me as well. Besides, what's a few physical years in the scope of Eternity anyway. LOVE.

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  6. Well said, Jeffri! And I think you're right about that youthful energy. I notice the same thing with young clients. Sometimes feels like THEY'RE teaching ME about how easy it is to release resistance and dream big. Well, surely we're all learning from each other.

    Nice post! Thanks. : )

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  7. My approach is to focus on what I want my body to be able to do. For example, I managed to get thin and put on a goodly amount of lean muscle, but when my son first took me climbing I found out that I needed to get stronger.

    I needed to change my focus from how I looked to how to get stronger. So I then took on how to run farther/faster, how to be focussed/energized, how to be loving/compassionate, how to be a better lover. etc.

    So the focus was not SOLELY based on how I imagine myself, I got feedback from engaging my environment. If I don't I obsess because it seems to always be about what I think. Plus I believe we have this world to play in, so I get my feedback from it and my relationships I adjust it from there.

    I don't know if I'm making sense, so if you comment I can feedback from that.

    About the lotteries, I figure that's what cognitive dissonance is for. LOL.

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