Today I'm thinking about beauty, both superficial and deep, and health, and self-improvement, and what's real. Look at all this Easter candy lying around the house! D.H. and I have been talking about how we both want to lose ten or fifteen pounds, but neither of us wants to give up our favorite foods. Like candy. And we keep eating the candy.
On the bright side, I have been making small changes in our family meals for the better. I made vegetarian chili last night, with tomato-olive salad, and cornbread (flaxseed tossed into the batter). For dessert, we had whole-wheat brownies (with flaxseed tossed into the batter.) Then, D.H. said he got a bad stomach ache, (which he had also gotten a few days ago) and is sure it's linked to all this flax.
We looked it up online, and yes, flaxseed can create gas and intestinal distress if the eater is not used to a high fiber diet. You're supposed to take in extra water, and gradual, small flaxseed doses, as you learn to eat flax.
But, here's the thing. We are healthier with flax and whole wheat in our brownies; our fiber and protein and lignans and Omega-3's are up. Yet, we are still getting the same high calories and we are no leaner!
(Speaking of not exercising, it's utterly, truly, poundingly snowing today. End of April! Snowing!! AJ is planning to go sledding after school.)
Back on topic. Some of the wisest people on the planet tell you to focus on "deep beauty" — the kind of beauty that "cannot be painted on, surgically created or purchased. It is the kind of beauty that doesn't wash off." (Sister Dalton's talk http://lds.org/general-conference/2010/04/remember-who-you-are?lang=eng&media=video) She calls it "spiritual attractiveness" and says, "Deep beauty springs from virtue. It is the beauty of being chaste and morally clean. It is the kind of beauty that you see in the eyes of virtuous women like your mother or grandmother. It is the beauty that is earned through faith, repentance and honoring covenants."
The world, she said, places so much emphasis on physical attractiveness. (Do we, also? We can't just blame the world. We do this to ourselves; at least, I do, too often. I want to do this worrying and wasting energy much less.)
Sister Dalton said, "The Lord would tell you that you are each uniquely beautiful... When you are worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost, you are confident and your inner beauty shines brightly."
She said, "Look into the mirror of eternity," and "See yourself as our Heavenly Father sees you... You were born to be a queen. Live so you are worthy to enter the temple and there receive 'all that the Father hath' (Doctrine and Covenants 84:38). Develop deep beauty. There is no more beautiful sight than... [someone] who glows with the light of the Spirit, who is confident and courageous because she is virtuous.
Another healing, soothing talk (about beauty and self esteem) is from Elder Holland. http://lds.org/general-conference/2005/10/to-young-women?lang=eng He says the same basic thing Sister Dalton says, but adds:
"We should all be as fit as we can be—that’s good Word of Wisdom doctrine. That means eating right and exercising and helping our bodies function at their optimum strength. We could probably all do better in that regard.
"But I speak here of optimum health; there is no universal optimum size. Frankly, the world has been brutal with you in this regard.
"You are bombarded in movies, television, fashion magazines, and advertisements with the message that looks are everything! The pitch is, 'If your looks are good enough, your life will be glamorous and you will be happy and popular.' That kind of pressure is immense in the teenage years, to say nothing of later womanhood. In too many cases too much is being done to the human body to meet just such a fictional (to say nothing of superficial) standard."
I don't want to be a Hollywood idiot who spends my life at the gym and the hair and nail salons and the malls, trading precious cuddling time and homework time and play time with my kids for vanity. Never! But I also don't want to be a frumpy looking housewife, who spends all my time cooking and grocery shopping and changing diapers and never puts on a pair of cute shoes or a dreamy dress.
I read recently that people fear things they really don't need to fear, and don't fear things they should. Like, we fear Tsunamis and terrorist plots but we don't fear eating so much cholesterol that our hearts stop working, or wasting our lives in worry, jealousy, and busy-ness that eclipses what matters most.
Now I don't have time to finish my thoughts. The baby wants to play.
On the bright side, I have been making small changes in our family meals for the better. I made vegetarian chili last night, with tomato-olive salad, and cornbread (flaxseed tossed into the batter). For dessert, we had whole-wheat brownies (with flaxseed tossed into the batter.) Then, D.H. said he got a bad stomach ache, (which he had also gotten a few days ago) and is sure it's linked to all this flax.
We looked it up online, and yes, flaxseed can create gas and intestinal distress if the eater is not used to a high fiber diet. You're supposed to take in extra water, and gradual, small flaxseed doses, as you learn to eat flax.
But, here's the thing. We are healthier with flax and whole wheat in our brownies; our fiber and protein and lignans and Omega-3's are up. Yet, we are still getting the same high calories and we are no leaner!
(Speaking of not exercising, it's utterly, truly, poundingly snowing today. End of April! Snowing!! AJ is planning to go sledding after school.)
Back on topic. Some of the wisest people on the planet tell you to focus on "deep beauty" — the kind of beauty that "cannot be painted on, surgically created or purchased. It is the kind of beauty that doesn't wash off." (Sister Dalton's talk http://lds.org/general-conference/2010/04/remember-who-you-are?lang=eng&media=video) She calls it "spiritual attractiveness" and says, "Deep beauty springs from virtue. It is the beauty of being chaste and morally clean. It is the kind of beauty that you see in the eyes of virtuous women like your mother or grandmother. It is the beauty that is earned through faith, repentance and honoring covenants."
The world, she said, places so much emphasis on physical attractiveness. (Do we, also? We can't just blame the world. We do this to ourselves; at least, I do, too often. I want to do this worrying and wasting energy much less.)
Sister Dalton said, "The Lord would tell you that you are each uniquely beautiful... When you are worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost, you are confident and your inner beauty shines brightly."
She said, "Look into the mirror of eternity," and "See yourself as our Heavenly Father sees you... You were born to be a queen. Live so you are worthy to enter the temple and there receive 'all that the Father hath' (Doctrine and Covenants 84:38). Develop deep beauty. There is no more beautiful sight than... [someone] who glows with the light of the Spirit, who is confident and courageous because she is virtuous.
Another healing, soothing talk (about beauty and self esteem) is from Elder Holland. http://lds.org/general-conference/2005/10/to-young-women?lang=eng He says the same basic thing Sister Dalton says, but adds:
"We should all be as fit as we can be—that’s good Word of Wisdom doctrine. That means eating right and exercising and helping our bodies function at their optimum strength. We could probably all do better in that regard.
"But I speak here of optimum health; there is no universal optimum size. Frankly, the world has been brutal with you in this regard.
"You are bombarded in movies, television, fashion magazines, and advertisements with the message that looks are everything! The pitch is, 'If your looks are good enough, your life will be glamorous and you will be happy and popular.' That kind of pressure is immense in the teenage years, to say nothing of later womanhood. In too many cases too much is being done to the human body to meet just such a fictional (to say nothing of superficial) standard."
I don't want to be a Hollywood idiot who spends my life at the gym and the hair and nail salons and the malls, trading precious cuddling time and homework time and play time with my kids for vanity. Never! But I also don't want to be a frumpy looking housewife, who spends all my time cooking and grocery shopping and changing diapers and never puts on a pair of cute shoes or a dreamy dress.
I read recently that people fear things they really don't need to fear, and don't fear things they should. Like, we fear Tsunamis and terrorist plots but we don't fear eating so much cholesterol that our hearts stop working, or wasting our lives in worry, jealousy, and busy-ness that eclipses what matters most.
Now I don't have time to finish my thoughts. The baby wants to play.
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