We have all seen the ads, the claims, the promises. Eat this food and you’ll be thin. Drink this drink and you’ll be thin. Take this pill and you’ll be thin. Exercise in this way for this length of time and you’ll be thin. Have this surgery and you’ll be thin.
Our desperation creates fertile ground for our belief in these promises. We want to believe that a pill or a diet or a magical cure will work for us “this time.” We long to be thin because being thin, for many of us, represents so much more than “being thin.” Being thin represents happiness. Being thin represents security. Being thin represents perfection. Being thin represents acceptance. Being thin represents love.
We believe that something outside of ourselves will save us from ourselves. We believe that the next diet plan, or the next diet book, or the diet next pill, or the next surgery will give us the body we long for. And we believe in our hearts that having the body we long for will also give us the life we long for. We believe that, once we are “thin” we will be happy, accepted, and loved. Being “thin” represents so much more than being “thin.” Being thin represents the solution to all the things about ourselves that we don’t like and would like to fix. Being thin represents a salvation to the pain we feel when we’re fat. Being thin represents salvation. Being thin represents heaven on earth.
In looking for the ideal life that will happen to us when we’re thin, we forget about the present. In anticipating a new size, or new clothes, or new measurements, we place all our ability to find pleasure in the future. In addition to giving our power away to a diet, or a pill, or shake, or doctor, we also give our power away to the future. And when our power lies in the future, then we find ourselves living in the present moment with a continuous flow of dissatisfaction, frustration, resentment, anger, and depression. We aren’t happy now, but we know that, when we’re “thin,” we will be happy.
We forget about taking pleasure in the present moment. We forget that, no matter what we weigh, we can enjoy ourselves, in our bodies, right now. We forget that, no matter what we weigh, we can enjoy the pleasure of a cool breeze on our skin. We forget that, no matter what we weigh, we can enjoy the sounds of a bird warbling. We forget that, no matter what we weigh, we can be fully present and alert as we are eating delicious food. We forget that, no matter what we weigh, we can find something beautiful to feast our eyes upon. We forget that, no matter what we weigh, we can nourish ourselves in ways other than food.
We don’t have to wait for our weight to diminish before we can enjoy our bodies. We don’t have to wait for our weight to diminish before we can be happy. We can take pleasure in our physical senses today.
Don’t wait until you’re “thin” to love your physical body and allow it to bring you pleasure. Don’t give your power away to the future.
Use your body to experience physical, sensory pleasure today.
Starting now!
Up next: Ten Tips for Weight Loss Success
