Mermaid Or Whale?
A while back, at the entrance of a gym, there was a picture of a very thin and beautiful woman.
The caption was “This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?”
The story goes, a woman (of clothing size unknown) answered the following way which can be found below.
This post may contain affiliate links that will not change your price but will share some commission. Please read my privacy policy.
For some reason, women seem to have a huge amount of undue pressure placed on them by the media, society and more importantly themselves, to look a certain way. If you are reading this and you have never felt this pressure, you are truly a blessed person.
As someone who has struggled with my weight all my life and the pressures that we spoke about I am here to tell you, it can be devastating. I know women who have gone to extreme lengths to become what they “believe” they are supposed to look like. I had a friend that has had at least two surgeries to have her stomach made smaller because she was obsessed with being thin. I have friends that have had liposuction done because they had cellulite. I know others that have had breast enlargements, tummy tucks, Botox and the list goes on. I have also known people and have experienced myself, great self loathing and depression associated with not fitting into that “perfect” ideal.
Please don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that any of the face creams, cosmetic procedures etc are wrong and should never ever be done. I’m saying that I have seen people use them to extremes to desperately try to be what they think they “should” be. Hell, I’m all for a little “maintenance” as we get older if that is what we feel, but to do it because of some warped sense of being what someone else feels we should be is dangerous.
I am here to inspire and lift women (and men) up. In that capacity I thought I would share a story with you. I hope you enjoy it.
Tracey
PS Keep an eye out here on the blog! In the next couple days we will be looking for someone special people who not only want to inspire and lift others up, but also want work on that exact same thing for themselves. I really hope you will decide to join us.
Mermaid or Whale?
A while back, at the entrance of a gym, there was a picture of a very thin and beautiful woman.
The caption was “This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?”
The story goes, a woman (of clothing size unknown) answered the following way:
“Dear people, whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, seals, curious humans), they are sexually active and raise their children with great tenderness.
They entertain like crazy with dolphins and eat lots of prawns. They swim all day and travel to fantastic places like Patagonia, the Barents Sea or the coral reefs of Polynesia.
They sing incredibly well and sometimes even are on cds. They are impressive and dearly loved animals, which everyone defend and admires.
Mermaids do not exist.
But if they existed, they would line up to see a psychologist because of a problem of split personality: woman or fish?
They would have no sex life and could not bear children.
Yes, they would be lovely, but lonely and sad.
And, who wants a girl that smells like fish by his side?
Without a doubt, I’d rather be a whale.
At a time when the media tells us that only thin is beautiful, I prefer to eat ice cream with my kids, to have dinner with my husband, to eat and drink and have fun with my friends.
We women, we gain weight because we accumulate so much wisdom and knowledge that there isn’t enough space in our heads, and it spreads all over our bodies.
We are not fat, we are greatly cultivated.
Every time I see my curves in the mirror, I tell myself:
“How amazing am I !?!?!”
If you enjoyed this post you may also like…
50 Things Every Woman Should Have By Age 50
30 Things I Learned From My Mother
Be sure to leave us a comment below to let us know what you thought of this post.
One Comment
Ren
I had a lap-band in 2011. Not because I wished to be skinny, but because of my health. I have gone from 30 units of insulin a day to one pill in the morning. My blood pressure meds were cut in half. I don’t pant when I try to walk up steps. Many many improvements in my life has occurred because of this simple operation.
My wrinkles show clearly now and I’m still not much on wearing make up. My upper arms wave good bye long after everyone has left and I doubt if I’ll ever lose my “apron” due to two caesareans in 17 months. BUT and it’s a very big but…I would do it again in a heartbeat. I’ve lost half a person (my evil twin) and am enjoying life. Like was stated, sure you can do all sorts of stuff to make yourself fit an image in your head, but nothing beats the real you, so you don’t have to be a size minus double zero to be happy with yourself. Sure, I’d like to lose the other half of my evil twin, but I know I would never be happy with being so underweight that I’d need suspenders and a belt to hold my underwear up,
I’m 63, a widow working on 16 years, no men in my life except for my four sons and no men in my future. Do I get lonely? Heck yeah, but if and when I meet a man I want in my personal life, he’ll have to take me as I am; not his or anyone else’s image.