Wednesday, September 21st, 2011
I’m not sure what people did before Facebook, but my friends are using the social networking tool to post some rather personal prayers for all to see.
Just today I was rather taken aback by a Facebook friend’s status update prayer for forgiveness for one or other transgression.
Hopefully the recipient of their prayers is connected via social media as well.
Makes one wonder what happened to whispered or even silent prayers in a church or bedroom.
It does make for interesting Facebook feeds though. And makes you aware of your friends’ states of mind – allowing one to know where to get the gossip or who to avoid.
Or our colleague sitting quietly in his/her office might send out a prayer asking for forgiveness for those they offended today. And you think “Yayyyy! They are aware of their bitchiness towards me.”
Only to realise they also offended their husband/wife /girlfriend/hairdresser, etc,
But what do you do if a close friend or family member updates their status/prays for guidance about a rather serious personal matter?
Do you comment with advice (for all their friends) to see? Or do they expect a divine response to their prayer. On Facebook?
If you are anything as nosy as I am, you wonder why the anxiety ridden prayers for deliverance from current torment.
What did they do, you might wonder. As I sometimes do.
These things are not as easy as they used to be.
Prayers were private matters between you and your God/god. People shared with those they felt closest to and trusted.
Everything was on a need to know basis.
Now it’s between you, your God/god, your Facebook friends and everyone you include in your feeds. And every time Facebook changes their privacy settings, your profile is open to the entire Facebook world!
And then there’s that fervent prayer for the Boks to win their rugby matches, to which I want to say “amen”. But I already set my profile status as “not religious”.
Posted in Facebook | 3 Comments »
Saturday, September 17th, 2011
So last week at work I took some photos for a newsletter article we are preparing.
While we knew the photo had to be eventually taken, we did it on the spur of the moment. With a bit of begging and pleading. And a few “but you looking so pretty today, perfect for a photo” comments.
I took the photo while joking and laughing with the group of 6 and we got a few good ones, I thought.
I e-mailed it to them and immediately got a response: “Oh Abby, I look so fat!”
This from someone who is neither fat nor thin. Just perfect. And I have told her many times.
She is a young, beautiful, educated woman definitely going places if she chooses, with a matching partner and gorgeous little boy of less than two years old. And she is sweet and friendly.
But she keeps telling me she’s fat!
So I’ve been wondering why women do that. Why make that statement at all?
It’s not like I ever get e-mails saying “Oh, I’m so short/tall/white/black/brown/orange”. Please Photoshop me perfect. Well, not in quite the same numbers nor with the same level of shame and anguish!
Is being more than skinny really that bad? Is it worse than being a rude, angry person. Or a hypocrite? Or a criminal?
Why is there this focus on diets and food in the media? In magazines, on tv programmes. Just about everywhere you can find ways to slim down.
To stay healthy and live longer they tell us, almost with self-righteousness.
Lose some weight – fast or slow. Just do it!
For all the good she has done, Oprah hasn’t helped women’s self-esteem issues where weight is concerned.
When do we see her at her most vulnerable? When she’s confessing her addiction to food or something to do with losing or gaining weight.
She’s a billionaire. And she’s smart with a perfect partner, a best friend above all best friends and cute dogs. And has amazing houses all over the show.
But her weight issues make us not envy her too much. Makes her one of us.
Maybe if we took the focus off weight issues and put them it where it belongs, on being who we are meant to be, women would be less likely to be so critical of their physical selves.
Oprah and my colleague are both successful in many ways (and in their own ways), so they likely think it makes them easier to relate to when they talk about their weight.
But it continues the cycle. Because some other woman hears this, compares herself to the thinnest woman she can find and thinks: “I look fat!”
Posted in diet, fitness, Healthy living, Life | No Comments »
