A Letter for the Journey - Week 7

“A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow.”

                                                                                                                                ― William Shakespeare

Dear Negative Friend,

I have been instructed by my Personal Trainer to limit my time spent with you. You do not bring Joy or Sunshine to my life. Your negative attitude and words are like dark, oppressive clouds that quickly blot out my sunshine. I am trying to rid myself of guilt and rebuild my self-esteem and your not helping in that process.

I know that you don't intentionally intend to hurt, you are just expressing your opinion. Those words though are like shards of glass embedding themselves deeper and deeper into my skin.

Not every conversation has to be a debate. It seems, no matter what we are talking about, if I say black you say white. I don't need you to agree or disagree with me, I just need you to listen. In turn I am happy to just listen to you. We are sharing our lives through listening to each other. That's what friends do.

If you are unhappy about your body and your physical health and yet are unwilling to make changes and do something about it, don't make me feel bad because I am. I want a stronger and healthier body. I have worked long and hard to get to the place where I am ready to change, and I am unwilling to turn back. I have hopes and dreams and goals that I am shooting for. You don't have any idea what my goals are, because you don't invest the time in our friendship to find out.

I know that I have been a negative friend a time or two, or twenty. I am trying to change that, I want to be an encourager and a Joy Giver. I would love it if you would like to give our friendship a chance and walk the "Encourager" path with me.

Love,
Sarah

P.S. If you are wondering if this "friend" is you - it isn't. This "friend" is really a composite of people that have been in my life over the past 44 years. None of the people that make up this "friend" would ever read my blog, to them a blog is a silly waste of time. They have no true idea what my passions are, or that I enjoy writing and photography enough to write a blog.

SELF-PORTRAITS

I wasn't keen on the 52 of You prompt this week, so I decided to do my own thing with one of the flowers I got from my dad for Valentine's Day.

WEIGHT

This week I lost: 1.5 lbs

Total weight loss: 6.5 lbs

EXERCISE

Meet my new torture device that I meet every Monday morning:

FOOD

A recipe this week courtesy of skinnytaste.

Broccoli and Cheese Twice Baked Potatoes