People are like stained – glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within. – Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
What a beautiful quote. I think my inner light needs re-lit! My flame seems to have died down to a mere flicker here lately. I’ve been in the doldrums for a few weeks now. And I know what the problem is: I have yet to accept myself AS I AM. I have spent a lifetime battling my weight and dammit, it really gets me down sometimes! I’m so fed up. The older I get, the harder it is to lose.
I need to just love myself the way I am and realize that this is simply the way God made me. It’s been a lifelong war and I’m just tired fighting it. For the last 7 weeks I’ve eaten nothing but hard boiled eggs, chicken and cabbage wraps and yogurt…and I lost a whoppin’ 2 pounds. Whippee shit. Very depressing.
Oh how I wish I could be happy just being me. What’s worse, the older I get, I find it even harder to love and accept myself. I used to have so much self-confidence…even back when I was way bigger than I am now. I was invincible. There was nothing I couldn’t achieve and my weight never stopped me from anything. Well, it stopped me from trying to water ski, but that’s another story altogether. I think you know what I mean. My self-confidence oozed from me and in turn I accomplished much. So what happened to that girl who was brimming with self-assuredness? What happened to my self-confidence? I can tell you one thing: It has up and left the damn building.
Could it be that I think time is running out? Truth be told, time is running out. I can’t let myself languish in despair. Maybe tomorrow I can get up and turn up that flame within so that my beauty can shine through again. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross nailed it with her powerful quote: “People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.” So true. May your inner light shine bright so the world can see how beautiful you really are!
So how does Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’ quote speak to you? Can you relate?
Angels Bark 
That IS a beautiful quote. She was such a wise woman. I know exactly what you mean about just accepting ourselves. Why is that so hard?? I am giving up trying to lose weight. I gained 50 pounds taking care of Richard and I have not the energy to care! Have a wonderful day!!
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How healthy of you to not waste your energy caring about the weight gain! As they say, life is too short to sweat the small stuff. Bravo for you! Way to go Paula. You have a great day too. 🙂
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Oh, yes, I relate. My “light from within” often goes dark. I don’t think you should put yourself on such a strict diet. In the past four years I’ve lost forty pounds by increasing protein and decreasing carbs. Obviously, that’s very slow loss, but it’s loss. I would like to lose another sixty pounds to get my weight back to where I felt really good. But I’m 56 years old, so I doubt that it’s going to happen. I try to console myself with the knowledge that most people gain weight as they age, and at least I’ve gotten some weight off. I eat more healthy foods now. It’s just hard, though.
Love,
Janie
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Hey Janie, congrats on getting that 40 lbs knocked off. And you’re so right: it’s not easy and it’s especially hard as we age. Damn metabolisms! I used to be able to lose 15 pounds a month but that’s when I was working out all the time and walking 3-4 miles a day every day. I just can’t do that anymore given that I have an ankle that isn’t fused. So I just need to accept it. I am doing kettle bell workouts though. Just started getting back into that…
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Oh yes – this definitely resonates! I’m constantly struggling with overweight too. (Gained a lot when I quit smoking in 2003, then more in the last couple of years. Sigh…..) The older we get the harder it is to lose – that’s a fact! Have you had your thyroid checked, Michele? That could be a contributing factor. Mine is under active, but even with the meds, weight loss is ridiculously hard. Arthritis and asthma make working out so difficult, as well.
Sounds like your diet was too strict. It’s known that if you consume too few calories, your metabolism goes into starvation mode and pretty much grinds to a halt.
You are a lovely, warm and caring person, my friend. Whether you think so or not, your inner light is shining! ((HUGS))
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Thank you sweet Debbie! I’m going to take your word for it!
My thyroid is fine. A little underactive…but I haven’t had it checked in years. I don’t think I was consuming too few calories and I try to eat small bits several times a day to keep the metabolism revved. I think it’s just age and I also believe in the set-point theory (where your body has a set weight and no matter what, your weight goes back to a certain point or stays at a certain point). It’s been proven to me over and over and over again throughout the years.
I really think not being able to walk has a lot to do with it too. But I just have to take it as it comes. Life doles out much that we just have to accept. That’s the hard part… ❤
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I love that quote. I’ve never seen it before, but it’s very true! I’m sorry you haven’t had much success with losing weight, but if it’s a concern and something that’s keeping you from loving yourself fully… well continue on with it. It’s hard, but nothing worth it is easy.
Do you also exercise? Because just eating right will only get you so far and really, what you say you’ve been eating doesn’t sound the best. Such a small calorie intake per day can actually have the opposite effect. A balanced diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, a limit on meat esp. red meat is the best. Drinking tons of water. I’m slowly working on changing my eating habits and such to become healthier, plus I’m going to school to be a dietitian, so sorry if the advice is pushy? Unwanted? lol
Either way, have a wonderful day!
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I’ve always been a believer that exercise is the key to losing weight. I’m doing kettle bell workouts but the one thing that I can’t do now is walk. And when I was losing 15 pounds a month I was walking almost 4 miles every day. But I had two ankle fusion surgeries that were absolute failures. My ankle did not fuse together so walking isn’t really something that I can do right now. I have to have yet another ankle fusion surgery soon. Not sure when that’s going to be but I have to get it done. I can’t live like this, in constant pain all the time. My body just wouldn’t fuse those bones. I am completely confident in my surgeon: he did both my knees and my other ankle so it’s not him, it’s my damn body not cooperating! Just another thing to throw onto the obstacle pile.
Oh yes, I will definitely carry on. Eating healthy is a way of life for me. I don’t eat crap (no junk food or fried foods, etc) but you may have something in the too few calories consumed. I have a hard time getting it in my head that I have to eat to lose weight! I know it’s fact but a lifetime of restrictive dieting is hard to undo. I shall soldier on…
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I feel ya. Eating habits are SO hard to break and it’s one of the things about being a dietitian I’m going to have to deal with: convincing people to break those habits.
That really sucks about not being able to walk. I hope the surgery is successful and you’ll be able to get back to it. Cardio is so important to losing weight and I imagine that’s part of the reason you’re having such a hard time losing since you’re no longer walking. Swimming, maybe? Less stress on the joints there…
I really want to buy some kettleballs! Right now I’ve just got three different sized weights and a jump rope haha
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Going to hang out in a pool tomorrow…not sure how much swimming will get done though because I’ll probably have a beer or two. 🙂
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This quote is brilliant in every sense of the word. I feel what you feel. I heard, this evening on an Entertainment show about models and that it is beginning to lean towards having models with a pinch of fat on them. It was stated that having a figure of 34-24-34 is ideal. I used to be that for a few years! Now I can lift fat to scratch. My uniform at home is sweats or pull up capris and a t-shirt with no bra…unless I go outside (Am I the only one who hates bras??) My upper thighs love each other so they are never apart and the other day, I could look in the mirror and make my neck croak like a frog. I actually believe that all this crap we get inundated with on TV and the media effects us and not just teens and young 20 somethings. I need to do some exercise that I can do (I have Ehlers-Danlos so must be very careful with what I do) and I should not love chocolate the way I do even though it is created by the Gods but I still do. When I hear women who say they love going to the gym and feel bad that they only ran 6 miles that day, all I think of wanting to trip them…or punch them in the face:) You know, my Aunt just passed away this spring-She was 92. Aside from starvation after WW@ (She is German), she was always pleasantly plump and ate whatever she liked. She was a great cook!! She loved how she looked and never thought twice about it. She ate healthy and loved her Tortes. She did walk but because she had to. Stop eating so little, it won’t help and will just make you feel worse especially since you are not getting the proper nutrients. The other day, my friend measured my waist because she is making a basic skirt for me. I have a 38 inch waist. When she asked me where my natural waist is , I told her I used to have a waist. I thought she was going to pee herself from laughing and I really didn’t know I was being funny:) So I try to keep saying I am Rubenesque, I don’t have the money that the stars do and I refuse to not eat what I like but I have to eat in moderation and only have the goodies once a month. That last bit has not happened yet. I want to shine and sparkle like my cards even when the lights are out. So if either of us are down we should just write to the other to perk ourselves up even if it is to have a bitchfest:)
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I’m all in for a good bitchfest!!! Thanks for your note Birgit! Natural waist: what’s that?? 🙂 I think your aunt had the right idea!! I need to adopt that attitude. Always great hearing from you. ❤
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What a quote. I must copy it down. I have a hard time accepting me for who I am. For the same reasons you state in your post. I think we both need to repeat that quote daily as our mantra. I hope you’ve eaten something yummier today than hard boiled eggs. They’re okay. But NOT everyday. I’ve gone grain-free. It’s really working. Slowly, but working. Hugs.
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Thanks Robyn! Yes, I definitely think saying this as a mantra would help. Good idea! And haha, I was just about to go eat my 2 hard boiled eggs this morning!!! 🙂
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Gorgeous quote. I’ve been struggling with self-confidence lately, too–I guess we all do from time to time, some more often than others, some more deeply than others–but I do believe that these bouts of I’m-unhappy-being-me serve a higher purpose: through them we grow, we discover things about ourselves, we dig into parts of our psyche maybe we hadn’t really sifted through before. And it makes us better people. Stay strong 🙂
Guilie @ Quiet Laughter
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Wise words. Thanks Guilie!
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Beautiful quote! You are a beautiful person! I have always thought so! I’ve always been jealous of your hair. You do have an inner flame- more like a bomb fire! We all get down about ourselves though from time to time and you will find your way again. Please know though that you are a wonderful person and I am blessed to know you!
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Thanks my friend. Looking forward to hanging out tonight. Diet, be damned! 🙂 I’m ready for a drink… Love ya.
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Here, you can borrow my lighter. I stole it from my son, who probably took it from his older sister. She never buys her own lighter; her hubby gets them from employees who offer him a light, and forget to get their flame back. Borrowed flames teach us life lessons about how imperfect we all are. Yet the torch continues, bright and cheerful, sullen and diminished, yet always beautiful. And sizzling hot in its very existence. Angel; messenger of God, spirit of human potential.
Size is irrelevant in nature. Just be who you are.
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What a beautiful comment!! Thanks Delorah! I love how you describe the flame as being beautiful no matter how diminished it becomes. LOVE LOVE LOVE your last line. Touche!
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I think I’m the opposite of what you describe: the older I get the more content I am with myself. Sure there are still things I’d like to change, but I don’t let my imperfections get me down like I used to.
The quote is beautiful though. Too bad that so many people have snuffed out their inner light with disillusionment and unhappiness.
Lee
Wrote By Rote
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I’m trying to get to that point Lee! I’m glad to hear that you are more carefree in your current years. That’s a blessing for sure.
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Very good quote. Our bodies work different and more slowly by age, no matter we do exercise or not.
Years ago I found out that it is necessary to drink water several times at day and eat a little every second hour for the body to get enough energy. Not all fat is bad. Our body needs some fat daily otherwise it will not let us lose one gram, but healthy fat like olive oil or nuts oil, as taste good at the salad etc. One kind of exercise as you can try is yoga, then you force your body even you have troubles with your ankle. You can find different kind of videos at YouTube with yoga.
Thank you for visiting and like at my blog, now I found your blog again 😀
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Hey Irene! Good to see you here! Thanks for your comments and thanks for stopping by. I agree about the good kind of fats. All that low-fat food is making people think all fat is bad but nuts and avocados are great sources of healthy fats. I love avocados and nuts!
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Thank you, nice to be back 😉
Nuts are also great for a small meal between the bigger meals. Avocado is usable for much food, I use it also in pieces in salad.
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