Strong Words from a Witch.

I just finished "The Witch of Portobello" by Paulo Coelho - he also wrote "The Alchemist". It was good. Not as good as "The Alchemist" but I did enjoy it. There were two particular passages that I found particularly noteworthy.


The first goes along with what I have actually been thinking to myself these past few weeks:

"Changes only happen when we go totally against everything we're used to doing...One of the most aggressive things things a human being can do is to go against what he or she believes is nice or pretty..." (186)

Lately, I have been pushing myself even harder than before. Last spring I decided I needed to shake things up and so I joined the local kickball league. Really, one of the best decisions I have made in a long time. I now have a new set of friends who I have a great time with, and I have reached out and met their friends giving me a great network here. Any of my teammates can tell you I threw myself into the whole idea. I can swear that I never really wore pink or had any real feelings for the color...now, its kind of a trademark of mine, up there with my sunglasses.

The second passage goes along with something I have always had thoughts on, and that is our nations obsession with thinness. I completely agree that the US has a weight issue, childhood obesity is on the rise and that all needs to be addressed. What I don't like is that women and men now feel that they need to be so small and fit. There is nothing wrong with a woman wearing a size 8, 12, or 16.

"What is it that makes us, at forty years old, want to have the same body we had when we were young? Is it possible to stop time? Of course not. And why should we be thin? We don't need to be thin. We buy books, we go to gyms we spend a lot of brain power on trying to hold back time, when we whould be celebrating the miracle of being here in this world. Instead of thinking about how to live better, we're obsessed with weight. Forget all about that. You can read all the books you want, do all the exercise you want, punish yourself as much as you want, but you will still have only two choices --either stop living or get fat" (246-247)

If obsessing about weight and going to the gym every day is keeping you from seeing your friends, that is a problem. If your diet gets in the way of enjoying pastries from Mike's Pastry that is a bigger problem.

I wanted to share these passages with you all. Maybe they spoke to you too?