Where’s Your Village?

They say it takes a village to raise a kid, I think, maybe, it takes a village to do a lot of things.

Easy things. Fun things. Hard things. Sucky things.

There is almost nothing that you do completely on your own. Even if you are accomplished at something, say you write novels, or cook, or paint, you didn’t magically pop out of your birth mother knowing how to do those things. Maybe you had a talent for them, maybe you had the drive to want to do them, but you still had teachers, coaches, inspiration, along the way. Those people are your village.

Same thing when it comes to weight loss, or strengthening, or training for a fitness goal. You don’t accomplish these things alone, even though at times you might feel alone in your journey.

Your village is made up of the people that inspired you to start, taught you what you needed to know to work towards your goal, help keep you motivated when you struggle, provide guidance, and practical assistance, and the tools to get you where you want to go.

One part of my village are the chefs at my work, well, one of my works. I am spoiled at that job by the food that is considered a perk of working there. If your shift falls over lunch time you get fed lunch, same deal if you work over dinner time. It isn’t written in stone but the general idea is you eat what is being cooked that day, for that meal, with obvious exceptions to accommodate allergies, ethical food choices, and other restrictions.

Because I try to not be too big a pain in the ass to the chefs at work, but I am food picky, I generally ask for whatever the lean protein is for that day (as long as it isn’t pork, I don’t eat pork), and veggies. Or I ask for a salad with a lean protein on top. I don’t want sauces, gravies, starches, none of that stuff, which I’m pretty sure makes them cry a bit inside.

For the most part my dinners at work are either fish or chicken, with veggies. My lunches are salads with chicken or fish on top. I know it sounds like I eat the same thing all the time but each meal is different because of the creativity, flair, and seasonings, each chef brings to their dish.

I am well and truly spoiled by the chefs at work, and I do my best to never forget it, and never take it for granted.

One of the chefs has gone on vacation, one of my village, and it has tilted my food world a bit, making it hard to feel like I’m keeping on track.

Yes, yes, I know I could have taken my own lunch, but have I not already explained that I am spoiled?

I’m used to feeling like I am on my get fit journey on my own, even though I know I have a support system out there. There are few people in my village that directly affect the food I am eating on a given day. Those work meals are meals I don’t have to think about, they will magically appear, they will always fit in to my meal plan, they require no effort on my part. I am so grateful for that because I find dealing with food exhausting a lot of the time. The planning, the buying, the cooking, ugh, I hate it.

So to have one of my village gone, and being immediately affected by that loss, made me realize that the comment I have made to the chefs often is in fact true:

I would not be where I am in my journey without their help. They make it easier for me to succeed.

They, in their willingness to accommodate my food requests, make part of my journey easier, more do-able, they make my being able to stick to my plan a thing I can actually do.

I don’t think it is often we notice the people that make up our village, they are just there, their actions taken a bit for granted. Not because we aren’t grateful but because we are all a bit spoiled. And you know, I think thats ok. It’s human nature.

I don’t know if I am a part of anyone’s village, I hope I am, and I hope whatever it is that I do that helps someone I keep doing it, so I keep inadvertently helping them.

Just like I hope I keep being grateful for the people that make up my village. Without them this journey would be so much harder, perhaps impossible.

Some of my work meals. Didn’t believe me when I said I was spoiled did ya? 😉

Tags: fitness journey, food, grateful, my village, people who help me, spoiled, who helps you, work meals