So Chloe Marshall, a plus-size model, has been named Miss England. And the debate rages on. Is she fat? Well, she has a little extra fat on her body and she could use to lose it. How much extra you need to be labeled fat, I don’t know, but would you write it out about somebody in big letters in the newspaper. Shame on the Daily Mail and on writer Monica Grenfell.
Is Chloe lazy? You can bet your bottom dollar she is not. Nobody gets to be Miss England without putting in a lot of effort…especially after failing the mandatory anorexia test!
Is she a poster girl for ill health? I’ll buy that one from a fitness/nutrition perspective, because she is overweight (with a BMI clearly exceeding healthy proportions), but only if her detractors concede that she is no more a poster girl for ill health than 99% of models who show young girls how glamorous it is to be anorexic. The fact is that both anorexia and obesity are dangers women face and both are worrisome. And the modeling industry vigorously promotes anorexia. So taken in isolation, Chloe might be a poster girl for ill health, but taken in the context of the modeling industry, she actually represents a faint glimmer of balance.
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What short-sited observers like Monica Grenfell fail to recognize is that nutrition is not everything - that self-esteem and a healthy body image are also important. I do not think Chloe sends a message to young girls (or old girls, for that matter) that they should eat too much. No risk of that.
But in a world whose subtext is be skinny to get ahead, Chloe is the poster girl for “even if you fail at what everyone else says you have to be, you can still go out and do what you want and even succeed!”
So whether you happen to be born too short or too tall, with wide bones or narrow. Whether you happen to have challenges keeping weight off or pimples off. Whatever physical traits you might have, beyond your control or simply challenging to control, do not let them stand in your way of pursuing your dreams and reaching your goals. You are more than your packaging.
Let me share a little story with you. I have two daughters. Little Lady is a little overweight. Not surprising, as she loves to eat. As a result, we try to curtail her eating somewhat. You might describe our message to her as, “Thou shalt measure thyself when eating.”
Little sister was hard to feed as a baby, and although she is no longer underweight, we still put an effort into ensuring she eats enough, especially of fruits and vegetables. You might describe our message to her as, “Thou shalt eat in abundance.”
These are two different messages directed at two different children for two different reasons. Often, Little Sister will leave food on her plate, and we try to coax her to eat a little more. Little Lady, having scraped her own plate clean, wants to eat up what Little Sister leaves behind. But our message for Little Sister to eat it is not a message for Little Lady to eat it.
Our children receive different messages for a reason, even though neither of them fully understands the reasons or wants to understand the reasons.
Happy guy I want to ask you something are you a christian . DO you believe in Jesus. I really like your help but I ‘m learieÂ
My reply was:
It just so happens that I am a Christian. Like most people, I was born into my faith, and I am most comfortable with it. My words, however, are for all God’s children, regardless of how God has chosen to communicate with them. I hope he is communicating to some of them, however they practice their spirituality, through me.  :-)Â
Sometimes people get so wrapped up in their faith, that they become blind to all of God’s other messages. Sometimes they forget that what their faith is about is God, and God is not confined to any faith system. Sometimes they forget that people of other faiths might also be brothers and sisters with the same parents, but receiving different messages through other faith systems.
Let us all embrace each other and revel in the miracle of life that we have been given, however we receive God’s message.
What makes you “younique”? Sure, you have a unique retina and a unique finger print. And your dental records are all your own. You might even have your own personal file at the CIA, the KGB or Interpol.
But what makes you most unique is your experiences, thousands even millions of moments that nobody else has shared. So many moments that have shaped who you are. So many reactions that have programmed you how to process information and react now to any situation in your own special way. So many lessons you have learned, even without realizing, that inspire you to achieve, to share, to act, to think and to do everything you do.
Is there anything more important than love? Love is about caring for other people -unconditional caring. When we love, we go out of our way to make things better. We try hard not to hurt people. We try to make sure as many people as possible are comfortable. We try not to pollute the air others breathe. We restrain our baser instincts.
War could never happen if we all loved. It is a failure to love that creates war. Wouldn’t it be great if we could stop war forever, just by loving? Of course, your single decision to love won’t end war on its own.but it sure can brighten up your little corner of the world.
Bravo! You have just been awarded best actor. And best director. And best original screenplay. In fact, it’s a clean sweep. You are the best of everything in this production you refer to simply and humbly as “my life”.Â
Yes, we each direct the most fascinating and complex production imaginable - our lives. We write the script and choose the cast. We set the stage and make the choices. We pick out the costumes and makeup and edit the script.
People call me an optimist, but I’m really an appreciator….When I
was six years old and had scarlet fever, the first of the miracle
drugs, sulfanilamide, saved my life. I’m grateful for computers and
photocopiers…I appreciate where we’ve come from.
Saa-aay, was Hector Lara Lahoz reading my book when he said that. My book uses the analogy of the Great Wall of Misery and building a Stairway To Heaven to climb over it.
The fact is that happiness is what we make of it. Some people have a little of it, some have a lot. Every one of us can create more than we have now. It’s just a matter of climbing that ladder. Make the decision to climb your ladder, or stairway, to happiness today.
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