This post is in response to the conversation started by Peter Dybing on his blog and with consideration given to comments made on his Facebook page. Peter was moved by the sudden death of David Grega.
There are many issues that the Pagan community could tackle. We don't have national conversations about many of the issues within our community. Folks are hesitant to get involved, to stick their noses into other people's business, to take a stand, to stand up and do what's right for the whole community. The conversations won't change everything all at once. But, they will make a difference. And, someone will make different choices today. Other people will make different choices tomorrow. Folks will know that they have different options and that they are supported by the community. And, the next generation will benefit from the conversations of today.
We do hold that every body is sacred. That the Earth Mother is nurturing. That we accept ourselves as we are, because we are magickal creatures. We are divine. That we partake in the many pleasures in life, and those things are sacred. They are celebrations of the gifts of the gods and of the Earth.
Obesity in the Pagan community is a part of the larger issue of health. And health is not just about weight. It is about treating our bodies as sacred. It's about what we put into our bodies and making sure that they are in the best condition possible for the long haul. It's about putting things into our bodies that were created by nature or the gods, not by putting synthetic replicas into our bodies as a substitute. It's something that not only Pagans struggle with, but health is a consideration for all humans. When we are at the height of our possible health (which is different for all of us because of genetics, injury, etc.), we improve the quality of our life. We reduce disease. We prolong life. We feel better for longer. I strongly believe that our bodies respond better to invasions and prevent disease when they are in optimal condition. We are better vessls for divine work. We are better able to serve. We are better able to participate.
As a practitioner of a nature-based faith, I got this itch in my brain, and I spent the last decade trying to answer the question of what humans were intended to eat. In the scheme of things, what did the Earth intend us to eat as we evolved? It seems obvious now, but It took me a long time to be happy with my answer to that question, and I am still refining my answer. But, I know that we weren't intended to eat chemicals. We weren't intended to base our health on chemicals that corporations tell us is food. We weren't meant to mess with nature and genetically modify our food.
In the U.S., it is so easy to opt for the conventional choice, to live by the standard. We get so much contradictory information about health, and this makes it nauseating to really pay attention. Our society doesn't make it easy for us to make the natural choices or the healthy choices. We have to sort through dozens of labels to find foods that don't include high fructose corn syrup and hundreds of other chemicals. We have to sort through labels that state "natural," "healthy heart," and other health claims and figure out if they really are healthy. We have to face eating in restaurants where we have no idea what happened to our food before it got to our plates, where they aren't required to tell us anything about our food, though we can assume it likely isn't good. We have to figure out what and how much to eat when what is on our plate is 3 times the serving size. We have to navigate an insurance system that doesn't cover holistic medicine. It's hard work, and even when you think you've dodged a good deal of the gunk, someone else is shoving another chemical your way. These are not Pagan problems. These are American and human problems. But, change starts with one person. It starts with Peter. It starts with me. It starts with you.
Making healthier choices is not an easy start. It hurts at first. It doesn't taste good at first. It doesn't bring us pleasure at first. It takes up time and money. But by making the commitment to change, even small changes, we start to condition ourselves to prefer the healthier alternative. We wake up and can't stand not exercising. We eat food and taste the chemicals within. We use products and feel the unnatural properties. We eat more than we should and we feel awful.
And, even in this conversation, every body is still sacred. We are all still divine.
The question that I have now: Where does the conversation go from here? How does the community, with the resources available, address health?
Although I do agree about frankenfood, I don't about the implication that weight = health. There are plenty of studies out there that prove that exercise, no matter what your size, will be an indicator of heath. You cannot tell a person's health status by their size.
ReplyDeleteHAES, or Health At Every Size, is a lifestyle philosophy based in science. If you wish to help our community with the issue of health, you may want to look into it. It goes against everything we are taught by doctors and the media, and it erases the hope that permanent weightloss is possible, but replaces that with the peace of knowing true health.
Best article to read is here: http://danceswithfat.wordpress.com/2012/07/06/the-deadly-war-on-obesity/ Read the links in the article as well.
Peace.
Primigenia, that was my point exactly. That the issue isn't about obesity, though that's where the conversation started, but that it's about the struggle of overall health in a society that puts the total burden on the consumer. I used the word "obesity" in the title to indicate that it was connected to the rest of the online conversation.
DeleteI try generally to avoid any mention of obesity because I find the topic almost entirely impossible to broach in a non-hurtful way, and the general principle of health is one that clearly merits mention. Still, morbid obesity is one clearly-visible warning sign of ill health. As a sometimes wrestler, I can assure you that obesity alone does not mean someone is not physically fit, but most of the obese folks I know who have spoken of their blood pressure, blood sugar, joint health and aerobic capacity are not bragging but rightly concerned. Perhaps more selfishly, I would note that fearful silence around this issue is odd sort of love. By staying loyal and or silent around the health of those we love we not only have unhealthy loved ones but also miss out on many pleasures that healthier/slimmer/happier and more active loved ones bring us.
ReplyDeleteBeing physically unhealthy is no fun. Loving someone who is physically unhealthy when one feels that one cannot do much to help is also decidedly sub-optimal. I wish there were a better way to have this conversation in a healthful way.
Morbid obesity isn't an indicator of health, but assuming it is is an indictor of ignorance and bigotry.
DeleteBeing someone that would be considered obese I have thought about this subject and how it pertains to my own spirituality. There were many different factors such as peer pressure, emotional situation, financial situation, and education that come into play with weight along with personal choice and the crap that is available. I won't get into all of those right now but as far as my body being my temple, I found that the answer was circular and not linear.
ReplyDeleteI started like a lot of over weight people focusing on the numbers and the way I looked. My inner vision of myself did not match the physical reality. This saddened me and I felt I had failed. This of course lead to low self esteem, lack of confidence, and even more weight due to eating to feel better.
I don't remember exactly what set off my change in mind set, but I went through a period of self exploration. I focused on looking inward and seeing what my body and my emotions really had to say. The more I began to know myself the more I felt sacred. As this happened I cared less and less what my scale said and I became proud of my body in its current situation. It was my body and it was my home, sure it has its problems but life is a journey and my body shows my scars.
I found that slowly over time the better I felt the more I was attracted to more healthy lifestyle choices. I wanted to be outdoors embracing nature and experiencing life. I wanted to get fresher food and I wanted to learn more about cooking, which lead to understanding what I ate. This all lead to more exercise and healthier eating. Best of all this lead to a much healthier mental state. The circle continues since the more in touch I become the more of a healthy lifestyle I craved, which in turn brings me more in touch.
I know I wrote a lot but to sum it up obesity may be a health problem concerning many people. But really it is a personal issue. Making a public issue of it can just make people with the issue feel worse. Obese people know they are obese, they know a lot of what they can do to change if they wanted to. We don't need people pushing their beliefs on how we should treat our bodies. It is our temple and we should be the only ones that choose how it is.
If you want to help us, help us know we are divine and beautiful as we are. Give us opportunities to do active things, perhaps offer cooking classes where we can pick up some healthier tricks. Most importantly help us feel connected and everything else will work it self out.
Pam, thank you for sharing your perspective and story. You are beautiful! My intention wasn't to focus on obesity, and I changed my question at the end to reflect that "health" was my motive in writing this. I love your recount of the cycle of feeling better as a motivator to awareness and continued education. I completely agree, and I feel like my own journey sounds like that. It's this spiral inward, and maybe one day, I'll have my own answer to my puzzle. Or a contentedness when I die that I felt good.
DeleteI agree that obesity is a personal issue. And, I also agree with the comments made around blogs and Facebook that skinny folks can be unhealthier than overweight folks. That weight isn't an indicator of health. But, I do believe that there's value in talking about health. Not about weight, but about making health a priority for everyone.
Creating opportunities for all is a wonderful way to encourage the community. I hope that our community does create more opportunities for folks to be active and to learn about healthy options. I do agree that everyone has to make the choices for themselves. And, there are many different paradigms of health, so hearing what a variety of people have to say about health would allow folks to figure out what works for them. I'm still learning, and there are so many more things that I want to learn. I want to learn more about herbal remedies, teas, acupuncture (it scares me a little), creating my own natural cleaners, and so much more. We did some natural spa days where we took organic foods and made home treatments that were just as good as the conventional stuff you'd buy in the store. That was pretty cool. We can share these amazing things that we learn and encourage others to embrace health.
Here's hugs to you. <3
I see a lot of illness in my own community that goes beyond issues with weight. As a priestess, I feel like it's my responsibility to encourage the members of my community to cultivate health in whatever way they are able. This means physical and mental health both. When we do the best we can with what the gods have given us, when we treat our bodies as sacred, we honor the gods and the gift of life they've given us. Healthy habits are absolutely more important than the number on the scale, but the number on the scale will also serve as a way to track how your habits are affecting the rest of your body.
ReplyDeleteI see it like knowing what your gas mileage is in your car. You'll get a different number depending on how you're driving or whether it's city or highway, even when your car is in perfect working order. If your mpg suddenly takes a nosedive or starts to trend downward, you'll know there's something wrong that needs to be corrected.
You don't address obesity, any more than you address tallness. If you want to tackle fitness, great. But obesity is not a health issue. Obesity is a discrimination issue, a societal issue.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to talk about obesity. I do want to advocate awareness for all people in regards to what we put into our bodies and how active we are. Not for obese people, but for every single person. That it's up to us to navigate a society that doesn't work in our best interest.
DeleteAs a fat woman in the pagan community, I would like to inform those who think that "eating healthy" is the way to keep fit, that you are deluded. I've eaten healthy all of my life! I was born with a stunted thyroid, and this wasn't found until I was in my late thirty-somethings. My thyroid function died at 40 years old, and by then, no matter what I ate, and even if I did NOT eat, the weight kept piling on.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to talk about obesity, then do so in a manner that is "informative" and shows how, more often than not, that obesity is a SIDE EFFECT of how food has been modified. Talk about how over the years our PARENTS were partakers of what the industrialized producers claimed were GOOD for them, when it caused birth defects that are just now being discovered.
Until or unless you are willing to spend the vast amount of time looking into all the things that cause obesity, and can come up with a solution, then leave it alone and let us FAT people speak to our own. We might as well be a separate species, judging by the way some people treat us.
Actually, I don't want to talk about obesity. In a conversation that started out about obesity, I wanted to interject that I believe that the conversation should be about how overall health is a concern for all people, no matter one's weight. I completely agree that food modification is an issue, which I mentioned. And, I also completely agree that we inherited a lot of issues from what our parents were told was in their best interest. That is exactly why it's up to be aware of what we're putting into our bodies and not just accept what society hands us.
DeleteI do recognize in my post that the height of our possible health is different for all people because of genetics, injury, etc. And, that does include issues like your thyroid.
As someone who had to change her diet due to medical issues (Kidney Disease) I have to watch the amount of protein I consume in a day. This did mean cutting out meat as my primary source of protein. What you wrote about it "hurting" at first is so totally true. It won't taste good right off the bat, because our taste buds have been in a chemical coma! For myself who thrived on fast food and salt-aholic, I can totally relate. It took about a month for my taste buds to wake up from their slumber to trully appreciate what real food tastes like.
ReplyDeleteDuring a trip recently I did not have the opportunities to eat like I have been at home and ate out in alot of restaurants. Yes I made some bad choices by eating fast food and I could instantly taste the salt in them. If someone would have told me a year ago that I would be eating things like Kale, Brocolli, and Avocados, I would have laughed in their face. Now my body actually craves them!
I don't think that Obesity is a Pagan issue or a spiritual one, I do think it is a human issue. I also think each person makes the choice of what they put into their mouth to eat and drink. I also think that when it comes to weight many factors are involved not just food.
I enjoyed reading your post. Thank you.
PS. I am what the majority would call obese. 5'9" at 271 lbs as of this morning. I may have the body of Venus of Willendorf, but I think she's a sexy and sacred lady! My hubby 5'11" at 170 lbs thinks I'm pretty sexy too. :)
I know what you mean, I get some serious 'health food cravings' just like in those commercials. Especially for avocados - OM NOM NOM.
DeleteI will join this conversation with I think hasn't been addressed. Everyone reduces fatness to healthy choices.... eat correct food and do exercise.
ReplyDeleteFine... what if you have no money, and all you can afford is bread and bread products? My neighbour received ADC and Food Stamps, she tries to shop for healthy food at the local supermarket. Whole Foods is too expensive. So she does what she can with what the gov't allows on Food Stamps and what her children will eat. They do eat fruit when they can and vegetables when they can. However, the majority is bread and dairy products with peanut butter thrown in for good measure. The assumption in making healthy choices is that we are all middle class folks who make a lot of money and have supermarkets to choose from. There are food deserts in the cities and in the urban areas. Did I mention my neighbour has to walk everywhere since she can't afford a car? So what is in walking distance - a Giant Food Market. So what do the people with no money, no transportation, and no choices do for healthy eating????
Also the other thing that folks forget are meds. There are those of us who needs meds to live. Unfortunately for us, there is a lot of research into the fact that modern drugs have as a side-effect - weight gain, especially the ones for mental health. Now there are folks who say, well get off the meds and eat healthy, and you will be fine. They propose wheat free diets, cave people diets, etc, etc... again if you eat healthy, you will be able to be well without meds....
Fine, live my life sometime. Yes, I eat what I can for brain health which includes eggs, nuts, no-corn products, fruits, brocolli, and the like. I am 100 pounds overweight because I am on a shit load of brain meds. I do not drive and walk 5 miles a day. When I am off my meds, I am dangerous to myself and to others. Yes, the doctors have tried to stop the weight gain, but it works for a short while, then well back up we go.
Fatness should not be reduced to simply healthy choices and healthy living. It is a complex issue that needs to be addressed from all perspectives. There is more to the problem that the public and various Pagans want to address. So which of us will address the food deserts in the cities? The poverty that forces people to cheap wheat based products? The drugs and their side-effects?
Genetics? I haven't got into that. I think a lot of folks have been taken by the dominant cultural myth of diet and exercise, which puts the blame directly on the fat person. It is easy and simple and gives the thin person a feeling of wellness. Did I mention that my
underweight mother-in-law was one of the most unhealthy people I knew?
The problem is a complex one and takes a lot of thought to work out what needs to be done.
I am always afraid to bring up topics such as fitness, wellness, and food in any setting, pagan or otherwise, for fear of being accused of things like fat-shaming, or misdirected anger at their situation and/or self taken out on me (it's happened many times before).
ReplyDeleteMy attitude now on the matter is a bit defeatist perhaps, or maybe just more selfish? I can't change how other people choose to eat/live, because it is their body and their sacred temple (or playground!). I can only influence how I choose to eat/live, and respect my sacred temple.
I am having thinky thoughts, though, that how we treat our bodies is relevant to how we treat Mother Earth. If we can't respect our bodies, is that why we can't respect Mother Earth?