Take care of yourself first, he counsels, and that way you'll be in a position to take care of others. There is wisdom in the old man's warnings, of course; but he repeats orthodox platitudes with unwonted self-satisfaction. (from Shakespeare quotes at ebook.com)This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Farewell, my blessing season this in thee!
I was married in 1971 and had grown up watching my mother, a typical stay at home 1950's mother who put her husband and children before herself. By 1974, Arden and I had two children when Marabel Morgan had a best selling book. The Total Woman sold more than ten million copies and was the bestselling nonfiction book of 1974.[1] Grounded in evangelicalChristianity, it taught that "A Total Woman caters to her man's special quirks, whether it be in salads, sex or sports,"[2] and is perhaps best remembered for instructing wives to greet their husbands at the front door wearing sexy outfits; suggestions included "a cowgirl or a showgirl." "It's only when a woman surrenders her life to her husband, reveres and worships him and is willing to serve him, that she becomes really beautiful to him," Morgan wrote.
My best friend and I read this book and like the good wives we aspired to be, tried to follow it. The
funniest incident is when I called my husband at work and told him to come home because I had on
my smallest bikini! Imagine my surprise when the Sunday School Superintendant knocked on the
door wanting to discuss my teaching Sunday School. Do I run and throw some clothes on or do I act casual and visit with my bikini on? I chose the latter!
About the same time, the Atkins Diet became popular and was my first official diet that helped me
lose the weight I had gained during my pregnancies. Because of my nursing background, I knew that fruits and veggies and whole grains were healthy and enjoyed preparing meals around them. But alas, my Scandinavian heritage led me to love rich gravies and sweet treats too. It seemed that once I started eating one treat, I couldn't stop!
Fast forward 40 years and I am a liberated woman. My husband can cook his own meals, wash his own clothes and does most of the vacuuming and floor washing! In the last 40 years we raised 4
children and numerous foster children so despite the fact that my husband did not need (nor did I want to) wait on him, I still lost myself to children and work.
We can also lose ourselves so much that we don't recognize when we are hungry or thirsty. We often aren't very good at reading our bodies signals. Part of the reason is because we have been told not to trust our instincts in regards to food. Studying and following different diet programs can be SO confusing. Basically they all tell us the same thing...what they say is the correct way to eat and we've been doing it all wrong. I wonder if current diet trends are simply a marketing ploy to sell more books or Snackwells or other chemical laden foods! The early Weight Watcher plans told us we had to eat liver at least once a week..there was no substitution...so we faithfully choked it down even when we didn't like it.
I believe the "clean eating" programs do a better job at telling us to listen to our instincts...enjoy the food we eat....don't eat it because we "should" but because it tastes good and is healthy for us. Trust your instincts. Experiment. If you don't like brussel sprouts, don't write off all vegetables but try
something else....maybe asparagus or bok choy. If you are craving chocolate or sweets or other unhealthy things, ask yourself why and investigate your cravings. Maybe investigate sugar addiction and experiment with ways to break the addiction. Find yourself and what you enjoy. Listen to that inner voice. Engage your friends in discussions or talk to a cook about the best way to prepare foods. Let kids help in this adventure of changing our appetites to hunger for healthier things. In the words of my granddaughter after a weekend of eating chips and other junk "I just want a really crisp red apple"!
Together, we can change!
“At the center of your being
you have the answer;
you know who you are
and you know what you want.”
― Lao Tzu
you have the answer;
you know who you are
and you know what you want.”
― Lao Tzu
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