Transformation means to go beyond your form, beyond who you thought you were, beyond your conceived capabilities. Mind, body, and spirit are all connected within the vessel that carries you through your existence. How you care for that vessel effects the impact you have on the world. If you don’t believe in your own worth, your voice, your passion- no one else will. It starts inside.
The boy on the left is a piece of me that I hid away for two decades. I didn’t think he had any value in the present. He was bullied, introverted, confused, and angry; punching holes in walls and spitting out hateful words. He was someone I wanted to forget about.
When this photo was sent to me last summer, I was disgusted. I wanted to delete it immediately. Horrible nicknames came back to mind. Feelings of loneliness and years of depression. But I didn’t delete it. I kept it, and every time I looked at it, I saw a little bit more lightness in his smile. I started to remember when I turned all that angst and hardship into fuel for hard work.
Both images are only representations of who I am. I don’t look like the guy on the right all the time. And I don’t feel like the guy on the left all the time.
Embrace where you come from and where you are. This is the journey, your unique journey, happening right now. Be grateful for the simple gifts that life has afforded you: a capable body, a hungry mind, and an infinite spirit that may not know all the answers but is engaged in the right questions.
“Where you stumble is where your treasure lies” said Joe Campbell.
Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone out there that ever supported me. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all the people that bullied me until I finally stood up for myself. Thank you to all the random influences in my life that I zig zaggedly collaged together to create my unique version of the man I am today. Thank you 50k!! Thank you Men’s Health for the cover!! Thank you little chubby Parker for not giving up, for never giving up!! I promise I’ll keep making you proud.
#transformationtuesday #repost #menshealthmag #fitforlife #balance
