Imperfection
The fist night of Sukkot was hot, humid and full of anticipation: will we make it? Right after coming back from the Maariv, I did the Kiddush, we washed, had a piece of bread, and then the rain landed on us like a ton of bricks.
The lighting was hitting feats away from us and the thunder never stopped, the wind was so strong that I kept thinking about Dorothy's house in the Wizard of Oz. (In order to kill an evil witch with a sukkah, one should flip the sukkah it on its side) We got back to the house and finished our meal there. Not perfect , since one should eat in the sukkah on Sukkot, but considering the weather conditions, still OK.
When I got back to work, the heavens were still misbehaving. It was a perfect Monday weather: wet, grim and unwelcoming. And as an added bonus, my teammate was out sick, so half of our project was taboo. But I still made some progress. Not enough by some standards, but better then nothing.
This morning I overslept badly ,and got to the Shaharit 30 minutes late. But I was still able to finish 18, Hallel and Mussaf in a presence of Minyan. As they say "Yatsa be-Dieved" : performed, though sub-optimally.
My weight did not change much since July - still 43 lbs down from last February. But hey, it's still as good a number as it was 2 months ago!
When you try to be good, to get things done, to live in the fast lane it's only natural to feel bad, unproductive and late if things don't run perfectly smooth. But don't beat yourself up. You are still doing plenty.
Stuff happens - even if you don't deserve it. Things don't get done - and world does not end. Traffic, accidents, and Red Light happen - even in the fast lane.
So what do you do while standing in a traffic in a fast lane? You breath, rest and strategize.
Here is my strategy for losing the next 10 lbs:
The lighting was hitting feats away from us and the thunder never stopped, the wind was so strong that I kept thinking about Dorothy's house in the Wizard of Oz. (In order to kill an evil witch with a sukkah, one should flip the sukkah it on its side) We got back to the house and finished our meal there. Not perfect , since one should eat in the sukkah on Sukkot, but considering the weather conditions, still OK.
When I got back to work, the heavens were still misbehaving. It was a perfect Monday weather: wet, grim and unwelcoming. And as an added bonus, my teammate was out sick, so half of our project was taboo. But I still made some progress. Not enough by some standards, but better then nothing.
This morning I overslept badly ,and got to the Shaharit 30 minutes late. But I was still able to finish 18, Hallel and Mussaf in a presence of Minyan. As they say "Yatsa be-Dieved" : performed, though sub-optimally.
My weight did not change much since July - still 43 lbs down from last February. But hey, it's still as good a number as it was 2 months ago!
When you try to be good, to get things done, to live in the fast lane it's only natural to feel bad, unproductive and late if things don't run perfectly smooth. But don't beat yourself up. You are still doing plenty.
Stuff happens - even if you don't deserve it. Things don't get done - and world does not end. Traffic, accidents, and Red Light happen - even in the fast lane.
So what do you do while standing in a traffic in a fast lane? You breath, rest and strategize.
Here is my strategy for losing the next 10 lbs:
- heaving one piece of fruit, a vegetable dish and high-protein entree for most of my meals, about 600 calories total, including pre- and post-fast.
- keep fasting twice a week
- Swim at least twice a week
- Lift weights at least twice a week
- Overall , eat more meat, fish, chicken and eggs and drink more wine, and cut back on the sweets as much as I can.