We Are T.O.P.S!

     Looking back through the years I don't ever remember a time when I was really skinny. I was always a little chubby as a kid and then as a teenager. In case you didn't already know, hormones suck... As an adult I had tried to do different diets and exercise to get to a healthy weight but it was really hard and nothing ever worked for me. When I had my peeps I gained even more weight and was never able to really lose that. Now, I look at myself in the mirror and I don't even know who I'm looking at. I am not that person I see in the mirror.
     I have known about TOPS since I was a kid. Years ago my Mom and Aunt were members of the local chapter and I can remember them always going to the weekly meetings. I talk to my cousin a lot and she has been in a chapter where she lives for a couple of years. She's had great success with her weight loss and is an inspiration to me. She is the leader of her chapter and earlier this year invited me to come check out a meeting. I liked the structure of the meeting, all the members were really friendly and they make their meetings fun. One big thing that I thought would really help me is the weekly weigh in. I think it makes you accountable for what you do and eat during the week. I decided that I need to do something to get healthy so I looked into finding a chapter in my area. The chapter my Mom used to attend is still there but they meet in the mornings and mornings don't work for me. I decided to see if I could find enough interested people to start my own chapter.
    In March I started my chapter with 10 members. We are now up to 12 members and between all of us I think we have lost around 200 pounds. I'm the leader for our chapter and I'm so proud of all my members and myself. Having a weight problem can be a long lonely road but with the support I get from my members at TOPS I know I can do this. We are all in this together.

TOPS- Taking Off Pounds Sensibly. A support group for weight loss and healthy living.

     I know there are a lot of people out there that have struggled with your weight and I would love to hear your story, thoughts or comments. What has worked for you and what hasn't?

I don't know if it's global warming but something's going on.

     I have lived in Michigan my entire life and talking about the weather here can be quiet entertaining. In one week it's not uncommon to experience several different weather conditions. Sometimes even in the same day, seriously. Yesterday we needed jeans, long sleeves with a sweatshirt and umbrellas; while today is shorts, tank tops and heading to the beach. It's always some kind of crazy weather here so the sudden changes are not too unexpected. But something is happening.
     There have been extreme changes in our snowfall, rainfall, temperatures and the level of our lakes. I'm not saying that it isn't happening in other places too but I know it's happening here and I don't like it. We have had two earthquakes this year (May and June 2015). I think the last earthquake we had here was in 1994 and before that I think was 1947. There have been other earthquakes that happened in other places around our state that we were able to feel them in Michigan but now we've had two earthquakes this year originating in our state. I can't be the only one that thinks this is odd.
     It's not uncommon for us to experience a small tornado once in a while but it's not something that is commonly expected in our area either. This year we have had several confirmed tornadoes touch down around our state, if feels to me like more than usual and a lot closer to home than I like. My thoughts and prayers go out to all of those affected by these storms.
     I have never had much interest in the weather and I'm definitely no weather woman but things are changing and I don't know that it's for the better. Michigan is known for it's unpredictable weather and it seems that our weathermen often have a difficult job to do. I think I'm going to start reading the Farmer's Almanac...

     What is causing these changes to happen?

Art

     Art is a noun, defined as: the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance.
   

What does that mean to me? 

     According to aesthetic principles... I'm not fond of that statement. I believe everyone has their own interpretation of what is beautiful and knows what appeals to their senses. Who is to say that the quality of one work of art is greater than another when everyone has different taste in what they like to see, feel, and hear. What is ordinary? We all, to some extent, can choose our surroundings and tend to gravitate to what we find stimulating to our own unique personalities. We choose those principles for ourselves. I decide what I think is beautiful.
   

What is art?

     There have been many forms of art throughout time and across the world. Cave paintings that have been dated to 40,000 years old are believed to be some of the first art ever produced by humans. Dance more than likely started out as ritual and evolved into art but paintings of dance have been dated to 9,000 years old. Music is probably the oldest art form believed to have started by mimicking sounds in nature. It has been in existence for 55,000 years. That is a lot of time to develop human creativity...

     We've come a long way from cave painting, ritual dance and imitation of sound. Now there are seemingly endless forms of art in any mediums you can think of to use. Natural materials, metals, ink, words, photography, different kinds of paint, I've even made things from different types of tape. What started out as ceremonial or ritual dancing has transformed and evolved in to various forms of dance like ballet, modern dance, jazz and hip hop, just to name a few. The evolution of music is no different. In my neck of the woods it seems like there are a lot of polkas and country music but with so many genres I find myself listening to much more. Art is whatever inspires us.

Who can be an artist?

     Even though there are a lot of people who consider themselves not to be artistic I think everybody has the ability to create art. I've always enjoyed drawing and painting and choose to use my creativity in various forms. I do better with some mediums than others but I'm not afraid to try something new. My younger brother, who doesn't consider himself to be artistic at all, had taken a couple of art classes in high school and never thought what he made looked very good. I however love some of the things that he has created and asked if I could have them. Anyone can be an artist. Anyone can create art. If you have the passion to create something I have no doubt that somebody somewhere will find it appealing to their senses.

     Life is full of many feelings and emotions. These are the things that inspire us to create art. Being happy, loved, admired, respected, sad, experiencing great joy or a loss, extreme anger or sometimes feeling nothing at all. I believe there is a spark inside all of us just waiting to ignite, we just need the right inspiration to get it started. What is your inspiration?