.jpg)
Sounds rather ambitious, doesn’t it? “E is for Everything.”
I thought about “E is for Embrace,” but that’s a little too touchy-feely for me. That’s why “E is for Emotion” wasn’t even a possibility. I’m just not that kind of girl.
Then I considered “E is for Elevation.” Not only did this truly appeal to my aviation background but it reminded me of my favorite story EVER, Dr. Seuss’ Yertle the Turtle, about a megalomaniacal tyrant of a reptile bent on ruling all of Sala-ma-sond by building his seat of power literally upon the backs of his miserable serfs. Using this reference, I wanted to point out that the higher you are, the further you can see. When we’re on the runway waiting for takeoff, we can only see the end of the runway. Once we’re in the air, our next checkpoint becomes visible and once we’ve reached our cruising altitude it may still be possible to look back and pick out that tiny speck that our departure point has become. In fact, once we attain the heights, it’s hard to believe that we were once content with our previous existence (hmmm…now there’s an “E” I didn’t consider…). However, as Yertle’s rise to power doesn’t end well for him, I thought it best to avoid depressing anyone with this metaphor. I knew “E” could be more.
That’s where “Everything” comes in. I had tried EVERYTHING in the past to get healthy. That stupid soup diet, joining a health club, Jenny Craig, diet pills, you name it. It always felt like I was trying to build a sandcastle with the tide coming in. I discovered that I simply cannot do this successfully piece by piece. I can’t add one little change at a time and hope to accomplish anything. I had to change EVERYTHING. Only by letting go of EVERY one of my bad habits and simultaneously replacing them with a healthy alternative was I able to make any progress. Instead of making myself crazy trying to build up the portions of my castle that the tide washes away bit by bit, I dumped a truckload of new sand on the beach further from shore and am now sculpting my castle exactly (that’s a good “E,” too) the way I want at my own pace. In that way, I was able to give up EVERYTHING in order to gain EVERYTHING. And I will never be ashamed to admit that I want it all.