Neil Diamond wrote a bunch of songs that made it to the very top of the Pop music charts…songs like “Sweet Caroline”, “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” and “Song Sung Blue” come to mind. However for you Neil Diamond fans out there like me (probably all 3 of you), we all have other songs of his that we really liked. For me, one of these tunes is called “I’ve Been This Way Before”, released in 1974. One of the passages from this song is:
And I’ve been this way before
And I’m sure to be this way again
Taking this stanza away from a Neil Diamond song and applying this to other aspects of our lives: When thinking about “this way before”, this could refer to a number of conditions of our lives, where/when “this way” meant happier/healthier times OR sadder/less healthier times. All of us have had experiences/times of our lives when either happiness/health predominate and unfortunately, other times when we experience illness and/or sadness.
Now, turning to the other line from this stanza: Are we sure that we will be “this way again”? If “this way” refers to great health/happiness, we are not always assured that we can attain previously held heights of health/happiness. Unfortunately, life-changing health events such as a massive stroke, a bad cancer diagnosis, or other similar catastrophic events could lower the chances of ever reaching the same happiness/health levels we had “before”.
Focusing on weight control and general health will markedly increase your chances of “Being this way again”, meaning getting back to a much healthier/happier condition when illness does occur. The less severity of an illness, the less chance of certain catastrophic illnesses and the enhance recovery time from surgeries and illness all add up to being “sure to be this (happier/healthier) way again. Stay focused on your weight loss and overall enhanced journey
Unfortunately, Mr. Diamond’s Parkinson’s Disease will not allow him to be “This Way Again” and this makes all of his fans, including me, sad. Let’s go back to 1976 and see him the way we would like to remember him.
