It's difficult, but I'm trying to get everything onto an even keel.

I have done two things -- two important things well -- since returning from Texas a little more than five weeks ago. I have continued losing weight and I have exercised every single day since I got home. Some days it isn't easy. Today was one of those days, and I literally had to force myself to go out after dinner and walk 3 1/2 miles.

I upgraded my surfboard today, getting rid of the short board that really wasn't going to work for me and buying a used eight-footer that ought to serve me fairly well. It's heavier and more solid than the first one, and I'm looking forward to getting out and seeing what it can do for me.

What has frustrated me, though, is that I haven't been doing a whole lot of writing or podcasting since I've returned.

[caption id="attachment_607" align="alignright" width="300" caption="One starfish at a time"]<a href="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/starfishCM_450x450.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-607" title="starfishCM_450x450" src="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/starfishCM_450x450-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" /></a>[/caption]

But yesterday I started working on that, too. I started a new blog site -- <a title="One Minute With Mike" href="http://oneminutewithmike.blogspot.com" target="_self">One Minute With Mike</a> -- and I've written two posts for it. If I can get that writing on track, I can really start to accomplish something.

I always keep coming back to the starfish motif, the idea that we can tackle seemingly impossible tasks one step at a time, and even if we can't save everyone, we can make a difference to the people we do reach.

It really is quite simple:

-- Love God to understand your place in the world.

-- Let go of any and all regrets from your past.

-- Love your neighbor as yourself. Do your best to put other people first.

If you do those three things, you immediately become a positive force, a transformational force, in the world.