I had planned a more visually appealing/grabbing  Body Love Attack (as announced here http://bigfatblog.com/body-love-attack), but the trees outside of my cafe? Well, I just wasn’t sure how to attach the hearts to their branches without a lot of equipment. Ha! Go figure, poor planning on my part. But I did use the hearts in the way I intended originally, which is to share positive messages with people walking by or into my cafe.

On the back of every heart I wrote, “Love Your Body Just As It Is” I’ve already had people stop and read & smile at me!

One of my friends stopped by and said, “Oh I Love this! These hearts are great!” and I gave one that said, “You Amaze Me!” to her little girl. She left smiling from ear to ear! This is such a great thing! I love doing this. And the sign on my door about weight diversity? Fabulous! When my friend started to mention doing a body wrap with a friend I smiled and gestured to the sign, and she smiled back and said, “Oh don’t worry, I’m doing for the pampering and not for any sort of body issue.” I do love her. =0)

What are you doing for Love Your Body Day???

ETA: My business neighbor, man in his 70’s reads the sign on the door about weight diversity and says to me, “Oh good! Most people don’t know what the hell they’re talking about anyway!” referring to the no diet talk. Nice! Later he reads some of the hearts out front on my flower cart and comes back and says, “Those are really neat! I promise to love my body, okay?!” Too funny!

“Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.” George Carlin

stu·pid adj \ˈstü-pəd, ˈstyü-\Definition 1 a : slow of mind : obtuse b : given to unintelligent decisions or acts : acting in an unintelligent or careless manner c : lacking intelligence or reason

(This will be a long post, just to warn ya!)

I get these daily emails from “The Universe” (via www.tut.com, it’s free, check it out!) and this morning’s just made me laugh and smile and then Whoa! Made me think about last night, a lot:

They bring me to tears every single day, Sarah.

They’re almost too much to bear.

Sometimes, I even wonder how it’s possible…

Of course, I’m talking about your supernatural resilience, your steely courage, and your gritty determination.

YOU WILL MOVE MOUNTAINS, and they shall say THANK YOU, DUDE.

Thy kingdom come,
The Universe

(It was the “Thank you, Dude.” that made me laugh) Moving Mountains? Hmm…

Last night I was treated to an evening with Michael Moore. Yes, that Michael Moore! He was being honored that evening at San Jose State University with the John Steinbeck award. There was a vibration of sorts in the auditorium. Anticipation can do that, from a crowd of individuals to a humming sea of oneness. Though they started late (nearly an hour I believe) it was well worth the wait.  (for more info, video, etc http://www.michaelmoore.com)

I have seen all of Michael Moore’s films, read a few of his books and follow him on Twitter. I look up to him in a way that is difficult to describe. He’s sort of the hero of the underdogs, I think. He’s the hope for the hopeless at times. He’s the fearless for the fearful. Or something like that. If nothing else, he’s a great filmmaker and a patriot. Seeing him last night and hearing him describe how he grew up in an idyllic town, Flint, Michigan, in the 1960’s nearly broke my heart because I knew what would follow, the reality that is his great state, today.

I believe Michael Moore to be a humble man and a speaker of truth. And what a great speaker he is! I admire his mind like few others in this world. I don’t think that he gets the amount of respect he deserves and probably never will. His reputation and eventual legend will be the kind allotted only to the great authors of the 19th and early 20th centuries. He will be missed like a Truman Capote, possibly. Being in his immediate presence (first row, baby!) I had expected to feel his presence or spirit or what have you. I didn’t. What I felt was a kinship for a man who has worked tirelessly for decades seeking truth and justice for the working class folks of the USA. And last night, while speaking to a packed auditorium, laid out the harshest truth that could be delivered: it is now the Corporate States of America.

*sigh*

My heart sank with the weight of this truth as it quickly absorbed into my mind. It’s true, isn’t it? We, Americans, own nothing. Everything worth anything has been bought or stolen. He got fired up about the state of our government, too. I wish I could quote him word for word, but it boiled down to a moment that I will describe here as white-hot, after being asked about certain companies: “We all know what they’re doing! We know it! We all do! I don’t need to tell you.” He slammed Obama about the Health Care Reform Bill, about the two wars, about keeping wall street insiders inside the white house, about liberals policing the left so they don’t go too far in that direction…he does give Obama credit for some things and hopes for nothing but greatness over the next two years in office. But?

Yeah, it’s very difficult for me to even consider myself slightly patriotic these days. I’m not treasonous or anything, but dang, man…this government of ours? They don’t make it easy for anyone, except the wealthy, certainly. Yet their greed dictates our nation. Their hatred and bigotry create nothing but exactly that. They destroy not only lives of individual families but entire cities and towns and states (California, Michigan…). For what? More money, more power, more say in what we can and cannot do in our personal lives.

Early on in the evening’s talk, the subject of Michael Moore’s “TV Nation” show was brought up and how he used to go to CEOs of corporations and ask them to do whatever it is that their company does. For instance, the one CEO who stepped up to the challenge was from an Auto Manufacturer, Moore asked him to change the oil in his Chevy Bronco, and he did! Wow! Sweet! But most could not oblige or simply refused to participate. This says a lot to me as a small business owner, because it is one thing to run or manage a company, but something entirely different to have the ability to quality control, in a real sense, what is actually going out to the public. For me that means every latte, mocha, smoothie and panini are made, by hand, by me, the owner. The bigger a company gets though? Yeah, the likelihood  of  the upper management being involved at all in the day to day or even month to month? Not gonna happen!

Please, don’t get me wrong, I was moved by Michael Moore. I was on the edge of my seat at one point, hanging on his every word! He asked who was voting in November. He asked if anyone intended on bringing ten people with them to the polls. He wanted to know who was running the phones that night, reaching out to voters or would-be voters. He has a way with words. I was very pumped up. But then of course the other side of this had to be addressed, that the democrats aren’t really doing anything at all. That our so-called majority is a bunch of cowards. And this I believe to be true.(For the record, I’m non-partisan, but lean so far left that I’m often seen as a hippie.)

I’m just going to lay this out there on the line, but as long as politicians are required to fundraise for their millions of dollars campaigns? They will continue to be lily-livered idiots who want nothing but more fame, wealth and glory. *barf* I personally believe that a congressperson should not be allowed an income greater than the median income of their own congressional district. They should also have to fly coach, stay in dormitories in DC (instead of 5 star hotels) and actually be held accountable for their actions. Crazy, I know! I also think it’d work best if congress & the senate were made up of regular folks in a sort of lottery system. Radical? Yeah, so?! It’s what I think. And we certainly need some seriously radical fucking change RIGHT NOW!!! Because I am sick of being ashamed of my nation and it’s government. I’m sick of feeling shit upon by a bunch of older, rich, white, men! I’m appalled by the actions of the people in power who are supposed to be representing the people when all they really do is represent the whims of the corporations who sponsor them. UGH!

I nearly cried when Michael Moore talked about his hometown in the 1960’s. It seems like a fairytale to me. But it also seems like what life should be and was and could become again. But dammit, we have to fucking rise up against these idiots of power and demand our rights back! We have to demand to be heard and fight for what’s right! Because they’re holding us fucking hostage and aren’t we all sick of it? Does anyone you know LOVE the way things are done (has anything gotten done lately?) in our government?

When Moore talked about his trip to Cuba for his movie (and excellent film), “Sicko” he correlated it to Iraq. Stay with me now. He said, “What did Cuba do to deserve a 50 year embargo?” Damned if I knew (I seriously need to read some history books, man). It seems the people didn’t like who was in power and they rose up against them. He said that if Iraq truly hated Sadam Husein, they would have risen up against him! That it wasn’t up to us to do it for them. He mentions how we asked for the help of France in our own revolution against the Brittish, yet they couldn’t have fought that fight for us. And in Iran, where we all feel as though we are on the brink of yet another irresponsible war, the people are choosing to rise up. They are organizing and they will rise up on their own. They will find a way, just as so many other nations have done so before them. And it is not up to us to do it for them, it is their fight and their revolution! Wow! The truth. It doesn’t need to be shouted from a rooftop when it speaks so loudly all on it’s own!

I do love Michael Moore. I enjoyed seeing him in person and hearing him speak his mind in a fairly relaxed setting. I smiled a knowing smile when his shirt puckered open a bit exposing only a hint of white belly beneath it. I smiled knowingly, too, as he made so many familiar gestures to me. The gestures of someone uncomfortable being publicly fat. His tucking the rogue shirt button into his belt, the adjustments of his blazer, etc. And then he mentions his preference (true or not I don’t know) for fat-free brownies (discussing California’s Propisition 19 to legalize marijuana which Moore has never actually tried but said before he dies would like to try at least a brownie to see what it’s like). He said something funny about how the discussion had suddenly turned to dieting tips. He said “you can’t find a salad in Texas if you drove 100 miles.”

*bows head in sadness and frustration*

This man whom I respect so very much and I find to be a true American hero if there ever was one, appears to me to be a serial dieter. And who can blame him? He’s been attacked for his size in the media endlessly! Not one major media outlet can discuss his films or books without also referring to his girth, weight, insert other fat-hating euphemism here. How can such a great mind and activist be caught up in all of the dieting myths? I admit, I was saddened. So to him, I have the following to say:

Michael Moore, you don’t have to be ashamed of your body! You don’t have to stay on the dieting hamster wheel forever. You can be healthy at any size! You don’t have to follow the rules of the diet industry. You can enjoy food and your life simultaneously. You deserve to feel good in your own skin at it’s current size! I encourage you to poke around the interwebz a bit and maybe even check out this incredibly enlightening book by the wonderful and talented Linda Bacon PHD. I ask of you only to open your mind to the possibility that we’ve been lied to by our government for decades because the big food corporations and diet industry have been funding it! That big Pharma only wants sick Americans while the “health care” industry refuses to treat us for ailments created by these corporations. Look to our Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin. And look around and see that we deserve better than what’s being shoved down our collective throats! You are worthy of happiness and self-acceptance! And who knows? Perhaps getting off the dieting loop will free up some of that incredible brain of yours to do what even you thought impossible in order to change our country for the better. I know you can do this, because I have!

I am an average, hard working, small business owner, fat acceptance blogger, fat activist, wife, sister, daughter, auntie and friend. I weigh around 300lbs and I am happy and healthy! I care a great deal about my health. I care a great deal about the truth and fighting for what’s right. I believe that this lie we’ve been fed for all of these years was constructed similarly to those HMOs you mentioned last night, sir. For profit and nothing else! Just as you mentioned having to force these health insurance companies to pay for the very coverage they provide, we must force our government to stop oppressing Americans with the threat of OMG!OBESITYKILLS! It’s a bunch of crap and deep down, you know it! Please, consider a better life for yourself and for all Americans. Consider fat acceptance.

Together, I know we can move mountains!

*bows*

Thank you,

S

You may recall this post in which our Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin talks about being healthy at any size. Well, as refreshing and awesome as that and she is for saying it, it’s time for us to speak up and let her (and our government) know how we feel on the subject! I am personally hand writing a letter (on cutey tare-panda stationary no less) to her right now. Because I think it’s important for her to know that she has my support and a hand written letter, no matter the length, tends to carry more weight (ha-ha) than say an email or tweet. Please consider writing her a letter (because seriously, it only takes two minutes) and just imagine what that would look like? A stream of letters from fats all over the USA, uniting to be heard! Woot!

Office of the Surgeon General
5600 Fishers Lane
Room 18-66
Rockville, MD 20857

You know, almost anything you feel you “have to” do, like cleaning and washing, can become a chore, even a drudgery; while those things that remain optional, like Disney World and Twister, can seem far more inviting, even fun.

So, as you go down the path of life, particularly when it seems you must force yourself through the motions, it just may help if you pause and give thought to the countless souls who’d give most anything for the option of even your “chores.”

Life… it can sometimes be like one of those really, really “good problems,” huh?

Tallyho,
The Universe

Touche` Universe! My head was in that exact same space. I was driving in to work this morning and listening to KPFA(.org) and I am not sure who the guest was, but they were talking about the disappearing middle class versus the sprawling of poverty in the U.S. I may not have that quite right, but the point is that their conversation made me think about myself, my friends and my family and how in the last two years our lifestyles have gone from comfortable, but not by any means rich, to struggling every damned day to pay the bills.

I read something yesterday about the cost of health care having gone up some astounding percentage and this made me think of England and France and every other country who has free universal health care for it’s citizens. *sigh* And what a mess we’ve made of our own health care systems here. I mean, it’s not the like the actual cost of doing the same procedure/job/etc went up…no the insurance companies simply keep raising their prices! No real reason for it other than the fact that they can. Plain and simple! And how sick it makes me feel to think or even to know in some instances that I will probably be denied medical treatment at some point in my life due to nothing but my size.

This made me realize that I should talk to my husband about this, specifically, because if something did happen to me and I was unable to advocate for myself, he would have to and I think he should be well informed when the time comes. And we never know when that time may come. Sobering thought.

Taking a moment each day to be humble and grateful for all that I have and even for what I don’t has really helped me stay grounded and happy. It has given me sort of a check-in moment and allows me to see that even on a “bad” day, things aren’t so bad at all.

I’ve been reading Linda Bacon’s “Health At Every Size” and every day something just sort of slaps my face and says, “OH MY GAWD! EVERYTHING I’VE EVER BEEN TOLD ABOUT MY BODY AND DIETING IS A DAMNED LIE!” and it makes me so very thankful that she wrote this amazing book. I seriously want to buy a copy for everyone I know! I wish it was in every school library in the universe! I know I will be buying at least five copies for various family members who truly need this information. I want to send one to Michelle Obama! How could I do that, or more to the point, how could I get her to read it?

I wish I could commit the entire book to memory. I want to carry it with me so that when ignorance attacks I can defend myself or fight back with actual knowledge and wisdom and facts…scientific facts! (Oh man, I so held back the urge to type “scien-fucking-tific facts!” Ha-ha!) It pains me to the core when I think of the amazing and incredible people who’s lives have been shortened or taken away entirely by a corrupt and misguided medical industry. To find out that it’s the exact same people (sometimes) that are screwing up our own government with the lobbying and whatnot. UGH! I want to scream at the heavens and shake my fist at, well, everything!

How do we get the truth out when it has no corporate backing?! Reading “Health At Every Size” has made me realize that all of the anomalies in my life actually aren’t anomalies at all! I’m normal in the sense that I am healthy. My numbers have always come back normal (blood pressure, cholesterol, fasting glucose levels) and always to the chagrin of doctors & nurses who read them to me.

The “thin is in” trend comes and goes, but mostly goes as larger lovelies always come back into vogue. I think the only reason it’s held us in it’s grips this long this time around is due to the invention of marketing either in print or television or what have you. It’s taken hold of our society and while I have begun to see more and more people of size in the media, it’s nowhere near normalized yet.

And that’s where fat activists come in: we must be publicly fat! We must stop using words that make other people comfortable and start using the word FAT! Make them shift in their seats if they must, let them hold onto the lies if they insist, but they will never be able to tell me again that I am wrong or other or not worthy of any damned thing! We need to encourage each other and support one another and for once I just want to see a happy fat on t.v. instead of the continuously humiliated and depressed or abused fats on reality shows.

This weekend, while I’m out walking or shopping or serving organic goods to my customers, I will hold my head up high with a full heart and a knowing smile. I will welcome conversation and open dialogue. I will use the word fat in places where I would have otherwise referred to myself as a “big gal” or “plus sized” or “my size” and I will not allow other people’s negativity to seep into my consciousness!

Because I am worthy and strong and fat and happy and healthy (and many think I shouldn’t exist)…too bad for them, I AM A UNICORN!!!

*If you would like your own messages from “the universe” sign up for free here: www.tut.com