Let me start off by saying that I never watch an Oprah show while it's airing at 4pm. I had turned the tv on this afternoon to make sure Sarah's House on HGTV was going to be recorded this Saturday via my DVR. When the tv came on Oprah's show had begun and it really intrigued me. She had a special Author guest Geneen Roth with a wonderful new book.
I believe that this book has the ability to single handedly change the mindset that a lot of women are experiencing as it pertains to weight. Whether it's a battle with 100lbs or 10lbs, it's not the food that is the problem. It goes much deeper than that. You may have heard that concept before but I believe this book is dramatically different. Despite this post's title which is actually Geneen's book title, the book doesn't focus on God in the religious way that you might think. It is all about our inner longing for something greater, in causes us to look into our past to better understand how we can move forward and love ourselves as women, and so much more.
While doing the interview, Oprah was brought to tears because after many years of struggling with her weight and not really knowing what the deeper issue was, she was finally able to have one of her famous 'aha' moments and did not hold back from sharing it with the women of the world. She was able to pinpoint the exact time and belief from her childhood that she has channeled and let hold her back, it has prevented her from becoming the very best self that she has always dreamed of. Once again, just one reason why I view Oprah as the classy woman that she truly is. She doesn't proclaim to be perfect, with all of the world's celebration of her and her life achievements, even she was stumped as to what was holding her back from loving herself completely for so many yeas and from losing weight for good. That was until she read this book.
All of us as women want to be and feel beautiful, lovely, loved, desired, important, special, meaningful and the best version of ourselves. It's been a harder road for some than others. Many don't love themselves or see theselves as the beautiful women that they truly are because of a number on a scale or the size of their thighs. What's worse is that many women have passed on the same self-loathing to their daughters (and in some cases their sons too) without even realizing it. While it's true that father's play an important role and this can be passed down from them, it is generally women that are guilty of beating themselves up on an almost daily basis in the pursuit of achieving their ideal image of beautiful and thin in their mind.
The biggest message in this book is about loving yourself and kindness. Be kind to yourself. Look into your soul and feel who you truly are, not your mistakes, past disappointments or failures. One of the deep messages in this book was about feeling. We've all heard about how many alcoholics or drug addicts numb the pain of their current situation or past with these bandaids. Have you thought about your relationship with food? Many eat because they are bored, overwhelmed, in pain or worse-want to prevent actually feeling any pain at all. The feelings and pain that aren't experienced get buried for a while but actually double as the food attempts to cover it all up. Then not only is pain felt but so is dissatisfaction with one's self.
On a personal note, while I can't personally attest to having had a lifelong battle with weight or food; I will say that I have fallen into the category of eating when bored, overwhelmed or diving into a chocolate bar to temporarily de-stress from a crazy day. Like most women I have beaten myself up about a few pounds here or there from time to time. In my early twenties I did some modeling, an industry notorious for telling women that they are not good enough, thin enough for runway, not edgy enough for editorials, not pretty enough for commercial shoots, etc. During those three years I experienced a lot of highs and lows after every go see, audition and job. In some ways it changed the way I saw myself at that time. While the photo shoots were a lot of fun and the money was really lucrative at times, I chose to move on and leave that world behind which I knew was in my best interest. Since I had started later in life, I was at least wise enough to know what was good for me and healthy and what just contributed negatively in some ways to my life.
If you get a chance to watch the later airing tonight of this show "Why Oprah says she'll Never Diet Again!", I highly encourage you to watch it or program it into your DVR. That link includes the page on Oprah's site which provides more information. Here is the link to the book, at just $12.99 on amazon I think it is a great investment that every woman struggling in this area should consider buying for themselves or even their daughters.
The purpose of life it to grow, love, renew ourselves and completely understand all that we were intended to be.
Have you read this book? What things have you learned about yourself in life over the years that have made you the woman you are today. Anonymous comments are always welcome. :)
Be well.
xo
P.S. Don't forget to enter our $50 Stationery Giveaway from Pear Tree Greetings!
