I recently saw the movie Eat Pray Love on the 16 hour flight back home to India (fun times), which follows the story of a Liz Gilberts as she travels the world to escape her humdrum life, and in the process rises above the petty, material things that bogged her down in the past. The movie instantly won me over just by having Julia Roberts in it. But as I actually got into the feel of what the story was about, I realized that we would all do well if he had a bit of Liz in us.
One of my favorite scenes in the movie was when Liz sits in a cafe in Italy with one of her friends, who is complaining about her weight (which is absolute crap, because she looks like a supermodel). Liz just shrugs at her worries and says, "If you think you're putting on weight, buy bigger jeans". If I could wake up everyday thinking that it was OK to be what I am, and accepting that there's nothing wrong with enjoying the simplicities of life like good food, family and God, then everyday would be a perfect day. :-)
Personally, I know how hard it is to find time to exercise, although we seem to have endless amount of time to binge on the most delicious food. The key to leading an EPL (Eat Pray Love) life, I think, is not just to balance diet and exercise, like most experts say, but also to achieve a mental balance. After all, there's no biological NEED to be size zero. Being size zero doesn't increase our chances of leading a better life, nor does it make us any more likely to make more friends (at least true ones). It only gives you a mask of superficial "perfection" that somehow seems to boost your confidence.
I've had many a day where I wake up, feel fat in the same clothes that I looked thin in the day before, and just gone back to bed feeling bloated and lousy. But I didn't even once stop to think that the way I looked really would not affect how my day would go.
So, I've started a new routine. Everyday when I wake up and look into the mirror, instead of wondering which pimples I should cover up and which ones weren't very noticeable, I look at my eyes, my hair and my smile, and I appreciate myself. I am beautiful, and so are you. No amount of weight, zits or size zero Hollywood models can EVER change that. :)
One of my favorite scenes in the movie was when Liz sits in a cafe in Italy with one of her friends, who is complaining about her weight (which is absolute crap, because she looks like a supermodel). Liz just shrugs at her worries and says, "If you think you're putting on weight, buy bigger jeans". If I could wake up everyday thinking that it was OK to be what I am, and accepting that there's nothing wrong with enjoying the simplicities of life like good food, family and God, then everyday would be a perfect day. :-)
Personally, I know how hard it is to find time to exercise, although we seem to have endless amount of time to binge on the most delicious food. The key to leading an EPL (Eat Pray Love) life, I think, is not just to balance diet and exercise, like most experts say, but also to achieve a mental balance. After all, there's no biological NEED to be size zero. Being size zero doesn't increase our chances of leading a better life, nor does it make us any more likely to make more friends (at least true ones). It only gives you a mask of superficial "perfection" that somehow seems to boost your confidence.
I've had many a day where I wake up, feel fat in the same clothes that I looked thin in the day before, and just gone back to bed feeling bloated and lousy. But I didn't even once stop to think that the way I looked really would not affect how my day would go.
So, I've started a new routine. Everyday when I wake up and look into the mirror, instead of wondering which pimples I should cover up and which ones weren't very noticeable, I look at my eyes, my hair and my smile, and I appreciate myself. I am beautiful, and so are you. No amount of weight, zits or size zero Hollywood models can EVER change that. :)
