It is Sunday night and I am tired. That is not unusual, it is my typical Sunday night condition. But, this cartoon got to me. There is enough of an American legalist Anabaptist in me to consider that the phrase that says that my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit may be a call for me to begin to lose weight. I do feel guilty about my weight. There was a time, and not that long ago, when I was in excellent shape, when I could walk hours and miles in order to reach a remote Quechua village.
But, then I returned to the United States of America. And, I began to gain weight. Our diet began to include fast foods that were not available in southern Perú. I now drive a car almost everywhere because there is no longer such a thing as a corner grocery store or easily available corner shops. In fact, there is no incentive to do anything manually. We live in a country where people drive in order to get to a place where they can exercise. And, I have fallen into the same habit as most Americans. This should not be a surprise. After all, I am an American.
But, I do feel guilty about it, as many Americans do. I would tell you all that I have committed myself to changing. But, I have done that often enough that I would rather not tell myself yet another deceptive lie. So, here I am, with my wobbly stomach, at 10 some pm on a Sunday evening, looking down at my wobbliness and wondering if I will ever get rid of it. I hope so. I am, as most American are, rather tired of looking down at my fatted calf of a stomach.
I feel your pain. When I stopped actually “working” and started “managing” my construction business and 55 employees, I gained 40 pounds. When I fired them all and started working again I could only lose 20 and I fluctuate up 10 now and then. If I didn’t work in construction I’d be a blimp, I’m sure, even now I look like a lower case “b”. I remember an overweight priest whose spiritual father was on Athos… after several years of being told to lose weight the Geronda saw him walk in and said, “Leave, don’t come back… a fat priest is no priest.” He went home and lost over 200 pounds and now runs 15 miles a day. It really does come down to motivation and self discipline for most of us. sigh….