Mother Teresa, and Having a "Fat Day"

I wonder if Mother Teresa ever had a "fat day."

I wonder if she ever stepped into her bathroom, feeling good about the difference she was making in the world, only to weigh herself on her digital scale to find that she was up 2.4 pounds, and then walked out, feeling defeated.  And then moped around all day, grumpy, crippling her ability to live out the life of servanthood for which she has come to be known.

Or Abraham Lincoln.  Did he ever stand shirtless in front of the mirror and feel like a loser because he didn't have biceps the size of Arnold Schwarzenegger's?

Did Benjamin Franklin worry that he didn't have 6-pack abs?



Did Harriet Tubman spend hours upon hours at the gym to get the body of her dreams, yet if she noticed cellulite creeping around her thighs, did she go back to bed, depressed, pint of Ben & Jerry's in hand?

No?  Why not?

True, they didn't live in an appearance-obsessed culture like ours, but even if they did, I suspect they wouldn't have been tripped up by what so often befalls many in our society.  These heroes had their eyes on something much higher than how they looked in swimwear.

They set their sights on serving others.  Their goal was to make the world a better place for those around them and those coming after.

While most of us won't end up impacting humanity to the extent of these heroes, we do all have our own sphere of influence in which we can make a positive difference.  Health should have a rightful spot in all of our lives.  It should serve a purpose:  to make us strong enough to accomplish the things we're called upon to do, and to enable us to enjoy the many blessings by which we're surrounded.

Is there anything wrong with attending fitness classes, trying to lose a few pounds, training for a marathon, lifting weights?  Of course not.  These are all great things.  They are life-enriching and life-saving.  Exercise helps prevent and treat a host of maladies, such as diabetes, high cholesterol, cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease and depression.  A healthy, strong body makes for a healthy and strong mind.  Discipline builds character, and our society is in desperate need of people with strong character.  Physical exercise is one way of building a virtuous temperament.  The sense of accomplishment is empowering.  Doing hard things physically prepares us to handle hard things in other areas of our lives.  Learning to suffer a bit in physical pursuits prepares us for the battles in life.

But fitness for vanity's sake is a dead end road.  It will never ultimately satisfy us.  We will always feel like we're not quite good enough.  Slightly broken.

If you've ever fallen prey to a bathroom scale that's talking bad to you, or beaten yourself up for not looking a certain way, give yourself a break.  You deserve good health.  You need good health.  You'll feel GREAT and have the energy to do the things you need and want to do.  But 2.4 pounds isn't a reflection on who you are as a person.

Look for a path that leads to health and wholeness, not a broken one leading to a dead end.