In the Middle

I got another blog award!! 
Thanks, Joy!

There are rules to accepting it, but I'll have to do those later this week.  I have something else on my mind to discuss today.

I was reading a novel yesterday in which one of the characters was trying to lose weight and getting discouraged.  Another character was encouraging the first explaining that she was in the middle and the middle was the hardest part.  That struck me quite profoundly, I must say, probably more than the author of the book meant. I'm not sure since I just started the book.

I'm in the middle of my weight loss journey now too.  Closer to the end than the beginning but in the middle none the less.  The beginning is all exciting because of the potential.  We believe that this will be it.  This will be the time that the weight comes off and stays off.  We look forward to the positive changes to be had at the goal.  At the end, we have been successful.  We have the joy of knowing we accomplished what we set out to do.

This whole thing got me thinking about other goals in my life and how hard it was in the middle, and my own desire to speed up the middle and get to the end.  One example is getting my BBA.  I remember that last semester of school.  I could not wait to graduate.  I'd sailed through school.  It wasn't like I'd struggled every step of the way by any means.  I was a good student, and made good grades.  I was just ready to get on with the rest of my life.  I wanted to land the dream job and get on with real life.  Some how to me the whole education thing was just a dress rehearsal for the real stuff.  Looking back, I think I cheated myself some.  I didn't really take the time to enjoy that last semester of school.  I had already checked out mentally on that part of my life.  I was not unhappy, but I did not take the time to enjoy that last leg of that journey.

I believe that I am now on the last leg of this weight loss journey.  It is hard, here in the middle, to believe that this is an enjoyable journey.  I just want to be done.  I just want to move on to the 'real' life that is waiting for me ahead.  But what about now, am I too focused on the end that I'm not enjoying the now?  Surely, there is joy to be found along the way, lessons to be learned and memories to be made. I'm going to try and learn the lesson of the middle.  It isn't a bad place to be, even though it may be a hard place to be.  It is an important and vital part of the journey.

This is my last semester of undergraduate school.  I'll have the rest of my life to do what comes next.  Here's to finding the joy now, right here in the middle.