How Long Does It Take?

National Cathedral in Washington D.C.

October 19, 2010

While in the Washington D.C. area, Mr. B, Tish, and I enjoyed the Behind The Scenes tour of our National Cathedral.  It was a wonderful opportunity to be taken places within the Cathedral that one can only imagine when standing in the vast expanse of the main hall.  The very first time I visited the National Cathedral in the late 1970's, I remember that it was not yet complete.  When the final stone was laid in 1990, it had been more than 83 years since the foundation stone had been laid on September 29, 1907.  It remains Washington's longest-running construction project!  Don't you imagine there were a lot of people tired, impatient and questioning the whole project?  I suspect there were a lot of amateur contractors full of advice on how to speed up the process.  Few people, if ANY, who were present when the foundation stone was laid, lived to see the grandeur of the completed project.  In fact, the project outlasted three architects!

Why did the Cathedral take so long to be constructed?   The simple answer is that the Cathedral was built as funds were given to finance its construction.   When enough money was in hand, the next phase of building would commence.   When the last stone was laid in 1990, the fully completed and totally paid for National Cathedral was finished.  What an accomplishment, but what an exercise in vision, patience and dedication.  But oh my goodness, what an awesome treasure we have.  Its beauty rivals any Cathedral and yet a close-up investigation reveals intricacies found only decades after the work had begun.  For example, our guide revealed that the builders were given permission to make the lowest level of gargoyles on the roof "personal." Some reflected a love of fishing and others indicated the builder had been a hunter.  All these touches combined gave me a whole new appreciation for the finished product.  It also taught me that the Cathedral is not "perfect," yet I would challenge you to find some imperfections that I now know exist!  

How long would it take to build the National Cathedral?  No one knew and to those intimately involved, it really didn't matter.  The most important thing was that it was done correctly and built to stand tall and proud for centuries to come.

How long will it take for me to reach my goal weight?  I don't know, but to those who care about me and are closely involved, including myself, it really doesn't matter.  The most important thing is that I do it correctly and learn the lessons needed to make me stand tall and proud for the remainder of my days on this earth. 

I hope it doesn't take me 83 years (laughing hysterically!!), but one look at that Cathedral tells me that I want my body to be as strong and healthy when it is "complete" as the Cathedral that stands on the tallest knoll in the District of Columbia.

So I will continue to make progress when the time is right and my "bank" is fully funded!!  I will graciously consider all well meaning advisors (this has nothing to do with my advisors in BlogLand!!), but challenge myself to remember that only the "experts" knew how to build a Cathedral and the best "expert" for knowing how to build the Cathedral of my body is ME.  

What a great object lesson I encountered on that day.   What was your most recent object lesson?