You’re looking at f***ing determination and truth and creativity. You’re looking at loss and sorrow and the effort for a deeper perspective. You’re looking at satisfaction and happiness. You’re looking at a manifestation of a connection so deep and rooted that it’s more real than I am. You’re looking at my face.*
FACE: One Square Foot of Skin by Justine Bateman
*https://time.com/5953951/justine-batemans-aging-face-and-why-she-doesnt-think-it-needs-fixing/
Daughter of mine,
please cease to dine –
you must watch your diet
and be very quiet
For to be plump is no longer considered fair
economics dictates wealth=beauty=thinner than air
I’ll admonish you at the refrigerator
for I am your fat extinguisher
I dream of food
but have not chewed
anything for hours
this, the secret to my powers
Listen to me, my lean baby
can’t you see, I’m happy
follow my suit and you will be
as happy and as thin as me
Chloe liked to hang out with Liz. They swam around the neighborhood on weekends and talked about work, politics, and dating.
They worked at the magazine, “Fish and Trips,” a travel guide for les poisson.
He didn’t mean to be mean
He was just playing when he grabbed you too hard
He’s sorry and you should just move on
He’s not stalking you, that’s your imagination – you need to work out it, both of you
What did you do to make him do that?
What were you wearing?
Why were you alone with him?
He’s just a touchy-feely kind of guy
He does that to everybody
I sat down to work on my Teachers’ National Board Certification.
I got a lot done:
Three loads of laundry, the dishes, my car, and refrigerator are clean, and my dog got a bath.
And now this post.
Ok. Here I go. I’m really going to do it.
I just turned 50 and everyone is asking me how it feels
“amazing, wonderful and miraculous!”
At 27, I got in a horrible car accident (I was on a scooter)
Had I entered the intersection seconds sooner, I would have died
At 34, I gave birth and almost died from blood clotting
I had breast cancer 8 years ago
now I’m cancer-free with a beautiful family and a job I love
My new (and just fired) financial advisor said,
“I won’t say your age out loud”
as if growing older is shameful
as if getting older is bad
Last night, a friend of mine told me
she has a friend who has three months to live (cancer spread)
that woman is a mother and in her thirties
to her, turning 50 would be a miracle
Turning 40…50…60…(70…and on) is a miracle
It should be embraced (!)
Fearing aging is fearing life
Our culture is kind of sick in that way
The good news is,
we don’t have to buy into it
“I think your whole life shows in your face and you should be proud of that.”
Lauren Bacall
Recently, I (wo)manned a booth at our school’s International Festival. We were making maracas using empty toilet paper rolls, duct tape and (uncooked) beans and rice. Kids of all ages and sizes came to make their maracas.
After just one hour, I realized something: six and seven-year-old girls came up confidently and chose their colors without hesitation. “I want blue! And red! And green!” They taped their rolls, scooped up rice, taped again and smiled radiantly.
Teenage girls, however, hemmed and hawed, wracked with indecision. “Ummmmm. I dunno. I dunno what to choose! Ummmm…” It took them far longer to decide and even after they decided, they second-guessed their decisions and did not seem entirely happy with their results.
What happens to girls?
You’re on your 18th diet. You’ve lost weight before – many times – and you’re planning on doing it once more. You’re going to the Bahamas this spring and you want to look good.
Why do you find yourself back in this place again and again?
You had the wrong kind of motivation.
There’s short-term motivation and long-term motivation. Short-term motivation is fueled by factors outside of the goal. For example, you’re motivated to lose 15 lbs. because you want to look good for your trip to the Bahamas. “The Bahamas” is not only outside the contiguous United States, but it’s also outside of being healthy and fit. You’ll be able to take the weight off, maybe. But the weight will come back. This is because your motivation lies outside of you. It’s external.
If you want to lose 30 lbs. because you want to be more ambulatory or because you want to get off your blood pressure medication and you want to feel more energetic, then your motivation is internal and you are much, much more likely to stick with your exercise, diet and all the other healthy habits that you need to adopt for the change.
This goes for any goal you create for yourself. If you want to ensure that you make a long-lasting (permanent) change, define for yourself the internal motivation for it. The externals are easy: more money, the respect of others, prestige, etc. But the internals? These could include: new skills, peace of mind, confidence, mental strength, and physical strength.
Of course, there are consequences for hard work. You very well might make more money by gaining new work skills. You might get noticed and gain fame. You might look great on the beach. But make sure these are not part of your motivation and it’s more likely that you’ll sustain your success.
It’s the WHY, as well as the how.
True Beauty exerts and sweats
she’s strong and flexible
she’s persevering and unstoppable
she likes to eat (!)
she’s assertive
outspoken
positive
active
opinionated
creative
resourceful
and
relentlessly, tirelessly, defiantly
independent
