Are We There Yet?
Congratulations!
With a helping hand, you have just stepped up the intensity of your workouts. I must say that I am truly 
impressed! This portion of the journey may lead you to previously untraveled territory in your quest for improving both your physical and mental state of being. Yes, this is certainly new. Yes, this is definitely difficult. Yes, the bar has been set high, but your expectations are that nothing short of your desired goal will be acceptable. You are, even now, making great strides as you tackle the tough incline on the treadmill or the increased resistance on the elliptical trainer. I see you progressing workout by workout. Those cute, little pink and green dumbbells stay in their place. You no longer pay any attention to them, because your weight training requires a greater, less colorful challenge. You do magnificently as you huff and puff and sweat and lift your way through each grueling session. I think you have finally realized that transformation is not a cheap experience. You must pay the steep price of sacrificing both your will and your body.
impressed! This portion of the journey may lead you to previously untraveled territory in your quest for improving both your physical and mental state of being. Yes, this is certainly new. Yes, this is definitely difficult. Yes, the bar has been set high, but your expectations are that nothing short of your desired goal will be acceptable. You are, even now, making great strides as you tackle the tough incline on the treadmill or the increased resistance on the elliptical trainer. I see you progressing workout by workout. Those cute, little pink and green dumbbells stay in their place. You no longer pay any attention to them, because your weight training requires a greater, less colorful challenge. You do magnificently as you huff and puff and sweat and lift your way through each grueling session. I think you have finally realized that transformation is not a cheap experience. You must pay the steep price of sacrificing both your will and your body.
I do have a question for you, though. Please don’t misinterpret my inquiry. Are you sitting down? No, of course, you are not. You’re exercising. Nevertheless, I do desire to know why you keep asking me when you will arrive at your destination? Hey, look over, I am not behind the steering wheel. You are. And don’t forget, this is a journey and I am merely your humble tour guide for a very small portion of it. I am not screaming at you telling you that you are in the wrong lane. I am not shattering your ear drums with bellowing commands to turn right here and then left there. I am only that still, small voice in your head saying you are on the straight and narrow path. Just keep going. I am that one clear voice whispering to you truths which you have always known. I will never lead you astray. But, remember this, I cannot do the driving for you. Never. It is not part of the plan. I am in charge of my own journey. Just because you perceive that I can drive with no hands on the wheel, which, by the way, could not be further from reality, does not mean I’m going to grab your controls. Even if I wanted to do so to help you even more, I am not permitted. I would be sited for the most egregious violation. I would be depriving you from making the choices that you must make for yourself.
So, let me be completely honest. I am not belittling you when I offer the following analogy in order that you might more clearly see what precisely you are projecting by your constant questioning. Imagine yourself as a child again. Your dad and mom are taking you and your siblings to your favorite park, or restaurant, or to grandpa and grandma’s house. You are excited beyond measure. Your parents are so happy that you are along for the ride. No sooner than your parent’s car has pulled out of the driveway from your house, you begin asking that wonderful question, which is music to mom and dad’s ears, “Are we there yet?” Dad laughs, “No, my precious, little ones, we have only just begun the journey.” Only a short time has elapsed, and now from the back seats comes the same hopeful pleading. “Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” “No, no, we are not there my children, but, soon,” Dad responds. This is not exactly the first trip you’ve taken. Never before had you not arrived safely. Maybe you had gotten lost once or twice with dad driving, though only momentarily, but you trusted your parents had not forgotten the way. Mom probably quotedMandy Hale, “You will get there when you are meant to get there and not one moment sooner. So, relax, breathe, and be patient.” Both mom and dad sounded reassuring. Yet, in your childhood enthusiasm to enjoy yourselves somewhere other than where you were stuck, in the vehicle, you couldn’t help but cry out, “Are we there yet?” Does this sound all too familiar? Of course, it does. How does it relate to you, today?
Well, here are a few things you need to take away from the analogy. First of all, be grateful for your parents. They were the absolute best individual teachers and personal trainers you will ever have. They loved you like no other person you will ever encounter could. Second, the lessons learned through your family training sessions in your youth are still very much applicable today. In your childhood, you had this idea that after you were all loaded up in the family car, you should be immediately transported to another place . So, quite frequently, due to impatience, you didn’t enjoy the journey. As a mature, intelligent adult, one might think that things have changed considerably. The problem remains the same. Instead of piling into the car, today you are hopping on the piece of cardio equipment. You still expect an instantaneous solution to your challenge. There is no portal to some point in your future when you have pre-determined that you will find the happiness which seems to elude you in the present.
“The word patience means the willingness to stay where we are and live the situation out to the full in the belief that something hidden there will manifest itself to us.”-Henri Nouwen You are on the cusp of something great. Learn to trust once again. You did as a child. You can do so now. I ask you to stop listening to the many discordant voices beckoning you from every direction. You will only become lost if you choose to make this journey more confusing than it has to be. It is natural to experience times when we doubt that we can make the journey’s end. It is completely appropriate to ask questions in order that you might acquire knowledge. It is not productive anymore to ask, “Am I there yet?”. You are here now. Enjoy it. In fact, love it. You will find the answer to your four word question. I might not be around when that occurs. I wish you all the best in the process of discovering it. For now, remember when your dad finally lost his cool on the way to your grandparent’s house. He said something to the effect of “Be quiet and stop hitting your brother!” Along a similar train of thought, Alexander Dumas once said, “All human wisdom is summed up in two words-wait and hope.” I know you’ll understand my final thought to you this day. Be still and keep moving!