Tender Reminders

Every week I get the chance to sit with people who have come in that day to Weightwatchers ready to change their lives. Most of them are coming in to literally save their lives.  Others to add quality and time to their lives. Each person's story is different. Each has a different journey they want to follow. They are all ages, sizes, and shapes. Men and Women joining into a group that can give them a common goal. Lose Weight.
As I sit and listen to their stories and watch them they all have that same look in their eyes. Some bury it very deep but the look is there. Sadness with a little swirl of hope. I want to use a recent encounter to show you how incredibly special these moments are to me. I sat with 3 people the other day. A man and two women. One had a journey of several years to reach a healthy weight. One had about 15 pounds to lose. One had a little over 60 pounds to lose. All sat and expressed their feelings and the tears were falling from all 3.  As we sat there together and could feel the emotions of that moment I was reminded once again of how hard a person can be on themselves. The world is good enough at dishing out the pain. I was reminded at how it hurts both mentally and physically to begin a healthy journey. How very very hard it is to walk into a room and get on a scale and be screaming silently in your head. Please don't laugh! Please don't say anything hurtful.  Don't stare at me!  PLEASE help me!
We sat. We cried. We learned. Most important we shared. We each talked about the hope we had to improve our  health. All 4 of us left lifted up and ready to face this journey together.
 They taught me so much I had forgotten and I don't want to forget. Thank you for the reminders.  I can see me in their eyes. The me I use to be. I only hope that they can see what I can see. The beautiful incredible hope, courage, and strength that just swirls slightly in the back of  their sad eyes. Grab hold of that hope and let it grow.  Just keep swimming.