The Absurdity of It All
Published September 2, 2010
I ran into Border’s Books this week to buy yet another diet/lifestyle book that my sister told me is a must read. At the check out, I added some chocolates to my purchase. There’s no harm in eating a bit of dark chocolate now and again. Yet a few hours later, with the stress of the office enveloping me, I ate all the chocolates. And to think, I bought them as an aside to the new diet book. That’s absurd!
The additional absurdity is that this recommendation came from my sister, who has no business losing any weight from her super petite figure. And moreover, I proclaimed to a friend just last week that I am done with the scale. I have gained and lost much weight in my life, and right now I am at a healthy weight and relatively fit. But of course, it is not good enough. I would LOVE to be really thin and svelte. I would also love to get ten hours of sleep a night and make a fortune working in the non-profit sector, but I know that is not realistic either.
So why is it that I just cannot get past being the healthy size – not too big and not too small – that I am. Is it because I come from the Jewish tradition of tikun olam that teaches us to strive to repair the world and continually improve ourselves? But, hey, those fools of Chelm are also my Jewish ancestors.
At the end of the day, I am still planning to sit down and read the new diet/lifestyle book. Too bad I don’t have any chocolate to go with it!
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About Ronit: Ronit Sherwin is the Executive Director of Nishmah:The St. Louis Jewish Women’s Project, which she co-founded in 2005. Ronit has served as an educator in the Jewish communal field for 14 years, teaching families, teens and adults, with a particular focus on girls and women. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Ronit received her Bachelor’s degree in Education from the Ohio State University and then later completed a Master’s in Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School. Ronit is also the glowing mother of boy-girl twins, Natan and Batya.
