Update: finding the slim man inside

A couple of months ago I posted about the beginning of a journey to find the slim man inside of me.

Since then, I’ve been walking everyday, practicing qigong, and generally trying to eat a more healthy diet. My goal was to lose weight gradually, but noticeably.

I’m beginning to recognize the man who looks back at me in the mirror, someone I haven’t seen in years. It was difficult at the beginning, but I’ve managed to form healthy, habitual behaviour.

I’ve lost a little over seven kilos (more than 15 pounds) and I feel better than I have in a long time. I’m just now realizing how much extra weight I’ve been packing around, because I’d like to lose another 5 kilos, if not more.

When I began my journey I assumed that, if I spent an extra hour a day exercising, I’d find less time to do the things I enjoy; in particular, reading. And I was right, but in a way I hadn’t envisioned. I’ve spent more time doing other things I enjoy, like writing a novel, and organizing our home: things I’d been ignoring for far too long. Who would’ve thunk?

Anyway, if your interested, I’ll let you know how I’m doing in 2014, after my annual Christmas/New Year gluttony period. For a while, I was worried about the winter weather and how it may put obstacles in the path of my walking regime, but I’ve decided to prepare for that by starting a serious foray into a tai chi chuan form (the 108 posture Wu style, with Yang influences) that I was taught over twenty years ago, a magical exercise that I can adapt to the confines of our condo.  If one pathway is blocked, other avenues open.

Life is filled with twists and turns, an amazing journey.

.

.

.

 

On finding the slim man inside of me…

I seek the slim man inside of me and I’ve decided to walk aimlessly every day until I find him.

I see it as a sort of peripatetic Zen; a journey with no tangible destination — the ‘destination’  (a virtual node in the stream of existence) will present itself without conscious effort.

If I walk enough, without a particular purpose in mind, I’m certain to eventually happen upon the man I seek.

I think I’ll practice some Qigong as well; it can’t hurt, will possibly center my being, and will surely increase the density of synchronistic events surrounding me.

But I’m convinced it is the walking that will lead me to the man I seek: “…a man returning home by climbing over a hedge, to the surprise of his walking companion. Oh, how I love to reach home by climbing over the back fence, and to travel on bypaths!” [from the preface of Lin Yutang’s The Importance of Living(p. v – vi)].

.

.

.