Skipping stones

Have you ever skipped a stone across the water?  Have you ever noticed that a single rock causes multiple disturbances in the water and for each time the rock hits the water, it causes multiple ripples? Making an important decision for your life is like tossing the stone into the water and hoping for the best.  Once you take the initial plunge and make a "big decision", the consequences of those choices begin to affect things in your life and that change changes something else and its a domino effect. 

My decision was to have weight loss surgery (i.e. the stone thrown into the water).. The consequences of that choice.. my ripples (if you will) thus far are:

• I am losing weight - which I knew would happen, but its still the first ripple
• Less stress on my joints
• Seat belts fit me in almost every vehicle I am in
• My feet don't hurt as bad. At the end of the day, they would just throb.
• My clothes are hanging on me now and I am getting to the point where I will need a new wardrobe; always a positive thing!
• Tight places (walking between things) are now not as tight, even though I still instinctively turn sideways to go through narrow openings even though I can go through them head-on now.
• My stamina/endurance walking and doing other things (cooking, cleaning, etc) has multiplied. 
• When I stop to have a conversation with someone, I can do it standing and am not struggling to find a chair to sit down to take the pressure off my back. I am still having back trouble, but I think its because I slept funny on an air mattress. 
• My opportunities have broadened
• Options I didn't think were options have now become choices (i.e. having kids, going to medical school, taking jobs in other departments that wouldn't require me to be as sedimentary, etc).

I had an epiphany - the realization that my ripples have only begun.  The rest of my life will forever be little ripples and positive consequences of this one decision that I made.. and my life may be longer because of it.

Have a big decision to make?  Do you ever think about when your ripples will begin? They already have.. Your ripples can be the consequences of an important choice that you have or have not yet made. Think about that the next time you skip a stone across the water.  Your possibilities are endless.