In the game of chess, SPACE is particularly important. This allows the player better freedom to move across the board. This also plays very well for a TOPS member. When I joined TOPS, I had a preconceived notion that I was going to be handed a specific plan to follow. Now, at that time, it would have made me feel…
As I struggled with my weight imbalance during my pre-TOPS POSITION, I often felt that words like exercise and diet were harsh. I was not willing to give something up or make changes. My refractions on 64 years on this marble (I am 69, but I do not remember much of my first five years) have changed as much as…
When I saw this chess term, I was not sure how it would fit in this blog series. FORCED in a chess game refers to a move or several moves that are needed to avoid a bad result. Reading recent letters received at TOPS and further refraction on my journey, it all fell into place. When I turned 45 years…
During my TOPS-now POSITION, I have made several bad moves that have caused me to stray away from my KOPS status six times. I am still in an ATTACK mode, though, to get back there for the seventh time. I have often referred to these bad moves as a blunder, failure, glitch, lapse, miscue, misstep, flaw…well, you get the idea.…
The game of chess has many terms that describe various moves of the game. Soon, I will be using the names of actual pieces used on the board. However, there are still a few more terms for me to refract on. I believe this next term will motivate your spirit. In terms of chess, EXCHANGE refers to trading pieces of…
I finally started losing again. However, I am stuck on a hamster wheel, losing and gaining the same five pounds month to month. Some call it a plateau, others may refer to this as hitting my set point. I do not like either label. But sometimes, it feels like something is preventing me from moving forward. A BLOCKADE in chess…
I have previously refracted on my first time I went to a TOPS chapter meeting: the fear of the unknown, being extremely uncomfortable and being weighed by someone I had just met. My thoughts were racing on what world I had just stepped into. Twenty-plus years ago, an in-person meeting was the only option. Given where my head was during…