There is only NOW and SOMEDAY...
and SOMEDAY is some imaginary time in the future.

Right NOW I'm having a difficult time getting it together.
I woke up with a negative aura...for no particular reason...,
and it's taking a great deal of effort to displace it.

I work to feel and accept my feelings
without actually cultivating those I find difficult.
I've found that if I don't "feed" negativity,
it will soon dissipate.

The issue is....I am not merely giving in to a bad mood.
I'm working at refusing to dwell on negative thoughts,
by telling myself positive things,
by listing some of the many things I am grateful for.

Right NOW I am addressing the daily tasks that are necessary,
....although I would rather do them SOMEDAY...
including writing here this morning.

I know and understand that feelings come and go,
both good and bad, and that
although I can work to minimize the feelings
that I'd rather not have, I can't escape them.

A great deal of my own emotional eating issues
came from an inner belief that it was necessary to escape
from negative feelings...rather than let them run their course.
Now I know it's okay...and necessary...to feel them.

I've also learned that although I have to FEEL my feelings,
I don't have to act them all out.
I don't HAVE to cultivate them and help them grow.

Right NOW, not SOMEDAY,
I can work to be pleasant to both myself and others
even when I feel a bit low and mean.
An important life lesson I've learned is that my life works better for me,
when I don't try to bring myself up, by bringing others down.
While my negative feelings exist and must be felt,
every unpleasant thought I have doesn't need to be verbalized,

There's a really good chance that I'm going to feel good again within a few hours.
However, part of writing daily articles in a Blog like this,
is sharing both the ups and the downs.
Everyone's life has both, mine included.

We spend our lives trying to be the person
we think we should be.
Many of those “shoulds” come from outside sources:
our family and friends, or society in general.
As children we are asked:
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
We’re told to: “Get good grades.”
We’re asked: “When are you two going to tie the knot/have kids?”
We’re told to “Lose weight”, “Be Lean”,
“Get fit”, “Get “Healthy”, “Build muscle”;
or sometimes asked:
“Don’t you think it’s about time you took off a few pounds?”

Sometimes the “shoulds” are not so obvious,
but are even more pervasive. 

 We see how things work on TV
and unconsciously believe that our lives must follow.
That we’ve got to live an upscale magazine advertisement life,
spending our time in a tidy and well-ordered house,
surrounded by lovable and perfect friends and family.

And sometimes, those “shoulds” come from within.
These are the worst, because it means we’ve internalized
all those outside shoulds, taken them for our own,
and stirred into the mix our own personal flaws
together with our guilt about them.
Many of us truly secretly believe that we should look similar
to the airbrushed pictures of genetically blessed people
who spend most of their lives working to enhance the appearance
of their already “perfect” bodies and faces.

We work on the goals we think we should have,
instead of the things we really want to do,
and then wonder why we feel vaguely dissatisfied
when we achieve them.

 Of course, we do have to eat to sustain life
…and for many of us…
what, and how much, we choose to eat
is a problem we have to deal with.

We need a place to stay warm and dry.
We need love, too. But all the rest of it?
Why not be who you really are instead?

Being who you really are means being brave.
It means taking risks.

It means saying hey, this is who I am,
I hope you like me, but even if you don’t,
I’m going to keep right on being myself.

  Who are you really?
What are your own personal dreams?
Can you distinguish what is fantasy from what is really possible?
What are you willing to do
in order to make those of your dreams that are possible,
come true?

If you aren’t living your own dreams
— or at least trying to —
whose life are you living?

Today, I feel that my inspirational video accurately says it all.

 i agree with Thomas Miller, who said:

"If you have one true friend, you have more than your share."

There are acquaintences, and there are friends.
These are not the same thing.

  What is friendship?

A friend is someone who you like, respect, and trust;
and who likes, respects and trusts you;
doesn’t always understand you;
but accepts and likes you as you are;
even as you grow and change.

A friend allows you the space to change, grow, make decisions, and even make mistakes;
listens to you and shares with you, both the good times and the bad times;
respects your need for confidentiality so you can tell them anything;
lets you freely express your feelings and emotions without judging, teasing, or criticizing.

A friend gives you good advice when you want and ask for it;
assists you in taking action that will help you feel better;
and works with you in difficult situations to figure out what to do next;
accepts your self-defined limitations and helps you to remove them.

A friend lets you help them when they need it.
You want to be with them,
but you aren’t obsessed about being with them.
A friend doesn’t ever take advantage of you.

Friendship is a continuing source of bonding, releasing, and creating
in yourself and with the other person. There is an emotional bond.
A good friend or supporter may or may not be your age or the same sex as you;
come from the same educational, cultural, or religious background;
or share interests that are similar to yours.

Friendships also have different depths;
some are closer to the heart, some more superficial
--but, whether they are real, true friends or merely acquaintances --
 all of these friend-type-relationships can be useful and good.

 How do you make friends? 
As Dale Carnegie said:

 "You can make more friends in two months
by becoming interested in other people, 
than you can in two years
by trying to get other people interested in you."

This relates to dieting, weight-loss, and maintenance of weight loss,
and every other activity in our lives as well.

The famous Russian dancer, Mikhail Baryshnikov, said: 

"I do not try to dance better than anyone else.
I only try to to dance better than myself."