NOT ENOUGH

Recently, Khloe Kardashian, 41, announced what she has done–so far–to make herself more beautiful: nose job, laser hair removal, chin implant, lip fillers, Botox, salmon sperm-facials, (yup) and soft-wave laser planing to tighten her skin. One wonders what more she’ll have done, or have to re-do, by the time she’s my age. The example she sets for both her followers and her own children? You need plastic surgery to make yourself look more acceptable. It’s just not enough to have been born lovely.

Every day, I work with people who feel they are not enough. They’re not rich enough so they work themselves to death. They’re not loved enough so they have affairs or their partners aren’t enough so they become porn addicts. They buy things they don’t need to fill their loneliness. Their next meal is more important than the one in their mouth. One obese fellow said his motto was, “When in doubt, Door Dash!” He doesn’t leave his house for fear of ridicule. The irony? He feared the ridicule before he became fat.

He’s not alone. Some consume entire cakes before getting their Ozempic shot. Others fantasize about their next conquest while they’re having sex! Still others imagine their impending fortunes while blowing entire paychecks on FanDuel. No wonder obesity and mental illness have more than doubled since the advent of social media. Never in history have we been plagued with so much idle time to contemplate our navels and everyone else’s on our iPhones.

We don’t come into the world thinking we need plastic surgery, another tattoo or a Maserati. We’re happy in our own skin. We’re happy with what we have. When someone smiles at us, we smile back. Life is simple. We make friends in a heartbeat. We don’t second guess our every move or anyone else’s. We are simply ourselves and our selves are simply FABULOUS!

Yesterday, I was getting out of the pool, where a little fellow was paddling around in a floatie. The second our eyes met, he smiled. I smiled back. He began paddling towards me, so I back pedaled a bit to give him some room. He wasn’t having it. He swooshed right up to me, took hold of my arm and just grinned.

“Oh! He likes you,” his mother cooed.

That moment when his brown eyes looked straight into mine with love and acceptance made my day. It’s been almost a week now and I’m still smiling. May you be so lucky to have someone like that in your life. If you’re not, maybe you can be that someone.

P. S. As I left the pool today, about 10 six-year-olds were waiting to swim. “Hey, you guys,” I asked, “How many of you think you’re awesome?” Every kid but one put their hand up. Would you?