Nearly a year ago I wrote a post about Oprah's public battle with weight. Back then I wondered whether anyone could "win" the "battle of the bulge," if Oprah with all her money and resources couldn't.
Now the comment is a bit different: If Oprah, with all her ups and downs, her struggles to accept herself as she is, her repudiation of her body and her appetite, can't learn to love herself, then who can?
The answer: You can. I can. Even Oprah can.
But to do that, you've got to let go of the fantasy image of yourself as you wish you were.
You've got to grieve for the vision of yourself you've held dear for so long. You've got to grieve for that perfect you, the one who floats effortlessly through the world, svelte, unsinkable, emotionally airbrushed. You've got to learn to love instead what you've got: your thighs and your big heart, your dreams and your pores, all of them part of the same imperfect and vastly more interesting package than any airbrushed toothpick-thin fantasy could ever be.
Oprah, if you're reading this, I'm rooting for you--not to lose that weight again, but to gain something infinitely more precious: yourself.
