The Relationship between Weight and Wait

A few years ago we inherited an artificial Christmas tree from friends who were moving out of town. I always thought that I would have a real tree at Christmas, but with the memory of our aphid infested fresh tree from the previous year, I decided that an artificial tree might just be the ticket to a less stressful—and less buggy—Christmas. The thing about an artificial tree is that you have to store it somewhere, and that place for us is in the corner of the garage. When Christmas was over, the tree made it outside to a corner of the covered porch and it sat there. I would see it when I went into the back yard and want it to be in the garage. I would mention to my partner that we needed to get it in the garage. But it still sat there. It was there through the winter and into the spring. During the infamous pollen season in North Carolina, the sturdy green protective covering of the tree turned bright yellow. That was when the tree finally moved from the porch to the garage. Having the tree on the porch weighed on me, but not enough for me to take action. So I waited.

As we move into the New Year, I have been thinking about the relationship between weight and wait. When I wait to act on things that are important to me, it weighs on me. It may be a small weight, but it adds up. Each time I saw that Christmas tree on the porch, I felt a gentle “ugh”. It wasn’t big enough to get me to do anything about it, but it was there.

There are two sides to waiting. Sometimes we aren’t ready for something, or we are in circumstances beyond our control—like a traffic jam, or a long line at airport security—and we need to wait. However when something is ready, and we want it to happen, then we owe it to ourselves to take action.

This year, I have decided to actively work on my weight with the goal of being healthier overall. The pounds have crept up over the years and it’s time to let them go—it’s time to stop waiting. This is not an invitation for impatience, because I know this will be a long, slow journey. It is an invitation to stop being in denial. What I am noticing is that as I act on my weight, I am addressing those things that I used to wait on. I realize that I don’t have to wait to lose weight in any area of my life. I can move forward in the best way possible when I am ready.

In what areas of your life do you carry weight? Where do you need to wait and where can you stop waiting? The first step to any change is becoming aware. From there we can choose whether to take small steps to make things change.

By the way, the artificial Christmas tree, its already in its resting place in the garage.