#501: Only a Moment in Time

Last Wednesday on FATROCKSTAR's blog, CARLANNIE's reply included this remark: I have this sign on my desk that says, "This is only a moment; it's not the rest of your life!"

How insightful!

It brought to mind one particular situation a number of years ago when I was in law enforcement undergoing initial training on using TASERs, non-lethal electroshock devices that use electrical current to disrupt voluntary control of a person's muscles. You've likely read about them or have seen them used by police on Cops or other similar shows.

During that training members of the class were allowed to voluntarily take a hit from a TASER from one to the full five seconds. Being the oldest in the class, I felt a need to prove myself so I volunteered, not for the wimpy one or two seconds most others asked for, but for the entire five.

When the electrodes hit and the electrical stimulation began, my immediate thought was that this was one of the most stupid things I've ever done followed by the feeling of the worse cramp I could imagine. That five seconds seemed like hours but was actually over quickly with no aftereffects. I got up and walked away still thinking it had been a dumb decision but proud to have shown the younger guys this old man had the guts to do what they didn't.

The point of this story is that when I read CARLANNIE's reply, "This is only a moment; it's not the rest of your life!" I could relate, not only to the TASERing but to other areas of life. As the shock continued, I kept telling myself it would be over soon, that it wouldn't last.

Maybe we will tell ourselves that the next time we hit a bump in the road on the way to our weight loss goals. While we may backslide and regain some of what we've lost, that backpedaling can be only a moment in our lives and does not need to become the rest of our lives.

So as we face stress and emotional turmoil from time to time let's remember the story of the TASER, regather our focus and determination and recall the advice offered by the sign on CARLANNIE's desk:

"This is only a moment; it's not the rest of your life!"