whew, somehow i finally am able to finish this stinkin post! haha!! ;)

okay so first, i was sooooo freakin excited to be DONE on tuesday that tuesday night i couldn’t sit down long enough to write a coherent post!

then early yesterday when i tried to write i was having a brain fart, or something similar, and couldnt think straight.  must have been the reintroduction of calories to my diet! ;)  and then i tried to write again last night but started having MAJOR intestinal cramps!  oyyyy, the joys of the-day-after. HAHA!!

soooo, a little summary of day 10.  other than being very happily overwhelmed with excitement for having successfully completing this 10-day cleanse, i also felt this looming pressure to continue my high level of happiness, energy and consistency with my morning quiet time and good eating habits. 

i already started anticipating falling off the wagon and how i would deal with it.  and last night when i started having those cramps it made me come crumbling down, all grumpy and frustrated.  i donno why, it just did.  i guess it was only a matter of time til i fell off the top of the world.

and then today i woke up feeling zombie-ish, lazy and a little hopeless.  then i scolded myself for having so little faith in the progress i made in those 10 days.  then i comforted myself by saying it’s okay, just let it pass…ride out the frustration.  then i scolded myself again and pounded it in that the happiness i felt was REAL and sustainable.  i reminded myself how intentional i was during my quiet time, especially the visualization.  it really was starting to re-route the tracks of my derailed brain back to the main road of gratefulness and joy!

so did you notice??  i made my first mistake before i even finished the cleanse!! :-(  i used to always think that thinking ahead about how to deal with a setback was a good thing.  newp.  it just destines you to fail.  i gare-OHN-tee it!! (thanks, justin wilson!)

the outcome will NEVER change until i believe i can do this.  anything in life can be inserted into that phrase.  and i don’t mean i will succeed through sheer willpower.  i mean actually changing my train of thought…those inner-most-personal-self-talk-thoughts.  you know what i’m talkin about.

so in my finale, i actually have a new beginning :)  i have a new awareness of what it’s gonna take for me to reach my goals, now and for the rest of my life.  i was really hoping somehow this cleanse would be a fork in the road for me (no pun intended. LOL.) and it was!  i’m not doin a 180, but instead choosing a new path to follow.  it’s one that i’ve been heading toward for a few years and NOW it’s time to make the choice.  the same ole worn-out familiar trail or brand-new, exciting trail with heaps of potential for happiness?

i think you know where to find me! :)     

a few more closing thoughts…

for some of you, many of the health-related things i talk about will be unfamiliar and very strange territory.  they were to me, too, not more than a few years ago.  

it’s been 3 years now since i took a leap of faith and said no to my dr’s offer of Lupron injections for my stage 3 (out of 4) endometriosis and made an appointment with a naturopath instead.  since then i’ve gone so far as to heal myself of an endometrial cyst, among improving my health all around.  i’m no rocket scientist; i’m just a normal girl with a stubborn streak ;)  during that time i was constantly trying and “failing,” but still apparently doing more good than harm with my inconsistency! 

if you take away anything from my experience, remember you dont have to be perfect!  you don’t need to take the same approach as i have, but i want to encourage you to think outside the box you’re in. 

educate yourself on your ailments…still trust your doctor…but know there are other options OUTSIDE of what you currently have.  sure, many of those options require a personal responsibility, a taking-charge-of-your-own-health mentality.  it will require change on your part, in the beginning it will feel like a sacrifice in a sort of way…and many people will scoff at your boldness and look at you funny. 

you’ll encounter a lot of roadblocks, but the journey will bring you more joy in ways you’d never imagine!

thanks for stickin out these 10 days with me!!  i couldnt have stuck with it myself without journaling it and having the support of my family and friends.

love ya!

~jos~ 

p.s.  one other “reward” i got for finishing the cleanse…let’s hear the oooohs and ahhhhs for the best hubby ever!!