Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Family Matters: Love Being Green

♫ It's not easy being green. ♫

I'm a little like Kermit. I sometimes wish I was different—you know: tall, lithe, sensuous. I'd like an angelic voice, high cheekbones, narrow feet, long fingers. It's depressing to list all the things I'm not, and boring to list all the things I am. Have you ever felt this way?

Recently, I listened to a lovely woman run herself down. Pretty soon I was believing her about herself, and she didn't seem so lovely anymore. I could actually see what she meant! She was monotonous and uninteresting, and her smile seemed fake. There was nothing positive or compelling about her. Everything, from her flawless skin to her big brown eyes, seemed dull. She wore her insecurities like big diamond earrings—you couldn't miss them. She appeared to be proud of them, as if they labeled her as humble or modest.

It's not conceited for a person to like herself! Kermit's song has lots wisdom to it. Here are the lyrics (by Joe Rapposo) with the word green changed to me.

It's Not Easy Being Me

It's not that easy bein' me;
Having to spend each day the color of the leaves,
When I think it could be nicer being red, or yellow or gold—
or something much more colorful like that.

It's not easy bein' me.
It seems I blend in with so many other ordinary things.
And people tend to pass me over 'cause I'm not standing out like flashy sparkles
in the water—or stars in the sky.

But I'm the color of Spring.
And I can be cool and friendly-like.
And I can be big like an ocean, or important like a mountain, or tall like a tree.

When I am all there is to be
It could make me wonder why; but why wonder why? Wonder:
I am me, and it'll do fine, I'm beautiful!
And I think it's what I want to be.


Oh, Kermie! Is he cute or what? No wonder Miss Piggy loved him. Come to think of it, she became famous because she flaunted herself. It inspires me to embrace my inner green.

In my church, the first concept we teach little children is I am a child of God. Two-year-old babies can sing those words. Teenage girls recite a theme every Sunday that begins "We are daughters of a Heavenly Father who loves us." Although we believe it of everyone else, somehow we forget that it's a truth that applies to us as well.

Our example is louder than our words. No matter how often a little girl is told, "Your red hair is so pretty," she unconsciously copies her mom when she looks in the mirror, and says, "I hate my hair." It's not surprising that a pre-teen obsesses about her weight, when she's heard her mother say "I am so fat" to her reflection every day. The real lesson being taught is that we're supposed to dislike ourselves. Wrong!

In family matters, WE matter. How can we project unconditional love to those around us if we don't deem ourselves lovable? Our unique traits should be worn like emerald earrings: with dignity. To honor our divine heritage we need to recognize the nobility in being—well, green.

Homework: Do these assignments privately.

~List at least 25 of your unique abilities and qualities. Words that might apply: caring, aware, generous, hospitable, tactful, open, able to teach, good cook, listener, optimist, creative, etc.

~List at least 10 things you love about your body. Ideas: pretty eyes, good vision, strong nails, round behind, balance, bouncy boobs, freckles . . .
(Hey, I've got to tell you this story. In 4th grade my son wrote his autobiography. When describing one sister he said she had lots of freckles. Then he described another sister: "She doesn't have any freckles, but she has lots of moles." In doing this assignment, don't mention your moles.)

~Give yourself a compliment whenever you pass a mirror. Suggestions: "You look happy!" "Your lips look luscious." "That zit doesn't even show."


P.S. I am love, love, loving visiting your blogs and reading your assignments. I'm marking down comments and participation and spot checking the posted written work and I'm so impressed. You are blowing me away with your enthusiasm and I'm totally motivated because you are. It's like a bunch of wild bloggers are roaming the streets with sharpened pencils ready to attack if I don't write a decent post! You've totally revved me up and I'm hoping I come across better than I am. Thanks for contributing to the total excitement of my week. I've had 186 readers join in, and that thrills me to pieces. Thanks for being part of my experiment!







38 comments:

Susan said...

My goodness, I just love your blog! I followed a link on Marta's webpage (I also love hers)and am so thrilled to have found you. Thanks so much!

Jake said...

Go, Mom! Way to bring in your sixtieth year.

anna jo said...

pete still describes people by their moles to this day... okay, really he doesn't -- at least not vocally.

love this reminder. we all need to embrace ourselves for who we are, because we are all pretty amazing.

crissy // mama boss said...

It's so easy to forget how incredible we are. Like you said, for those of is in the church, we are taght that we are children of God and as young women we are daughters of our Heavenly Father who loves us.
I recited that every week as a youth, and still had trouble remembering who I was and where I came from.
Thank you for reminding me again. Todays assignment is wonderful, and so are you! (And me, and everyone!)

soybeanlover said...

I love the part about teaching out children through the way we react to our own bodies. I'm blessed with two boys, and need to remember that how they seem me treat myself is how they'll not only treat themselves, but also their wives.

Great reminder

Hannah said...

Amazing post. We talked about this topic in relief society a few weeks ago and the teacher had us write 5 things we loved about our appearance. I struggled. Some people shared their favorite things about themselves, and with every one I thought, "I don't like that about me." ha! It is hard to find the positive in yourself. This is a perfect assignment for me...

Tiffany said...

Oh, Oma! (Can I call you Oma?) This was so timely and wise! I have recently felt the motivation/inspiration to improve some things about myself, but simultaneously want to be loving and accepting of myself and my shortcomings. For some reason, I feel like I can't do the former without the latter.

By the way, my favorite line: "She appeared to be proud of them, as if they labeled her as humble or modest."

So true, so true!

Diane said...

I just got back in town, so my first three assignments are late, but here they are. I'll get to today's later...

assignment 1
assignment 2
assignment 3

sarah said...

I love reading your writing! All I have to add is a big

AMEN!

Thanks for helping us put into perspective what we already (deep inside) know... We're not God's rough draft- we're the FINAL draft! And he doesn't make mistakes....

Casee said...

I love this assignment, I know I could use some help in loving myself more. Thanks again!

Heffalump said...

I completed this one. It was harder than it probably should have been, but I did it.

Rebekah Writes said...

such a great reminder to believe in and love ourselves. If we don't, who will, besides our God? Thanks for such wonderful inspiration for today.
p.s. I so love that kermie song.Melted my heart!

Amanda said...

oh dear, that was a bit more difficult than i anticipated...but therapeutic.

http://edgeonlife.blogspot.com/2009/09/first-assignment-family-matters.html

Alana said...

I loved reading this! I had a smile on my face the whole time! "miss piggy became famous because she flaunted herself"... love it. there really is something attractive about confidence, even on a muppet!

Marissa Marie said...

Okay, this assignment was kind of hard, but I did it! I enjoyed your explanation of this assignment, it is true, we shouldn't berate ourselves to others...or ourselves!

http://happyhyperbole.blogspot.com/2009/09/what-i-like-about-me.html

audrey said...

This was hard, but good for me. Here you go.

Jennifer said...

Took me a while, but here's my assignment.

That's Who I Am

Allison said...

I think I'm going to take my lists, format them all pretty-like and print them out for my desk or next to my mirror or something. I've (almost) completely broken my magazine-reading habit because I got fed up with the models they use.

(I also think I'm going to go download Kermit's little song now.)

Diane said...

Here's today's assignment.

wk 1 assignment 4

You are wonderful at coming up with all these diverse and thought provoking ideas. Thanks for sharing yourself with us!

Melissa said...

This assignment was so easy because I really am an awesome human being ;)

diane said...

I'll admit that when I read the title I was afraid it was going to be about recycling...this is so important. It is easy to get into the self defeating behavior and I'm learning with a teen daughter that her actions mirror mine. Thanks for your insight.

Heather Scott Partington said...

great food for thought!

Pedaling said...

i signed up- and then got crazy busy!
i actually think i will have time tonight to complete this one.
thanks.
and my favorite comment came from melissa- she's got it figured out!
oh, and how cool- we have a man in our group! love it!

OurSoundHome said...

Done! My assignment is: here

Thanks for your thought provoking assingments - I've really enjoyed them so far this week. I'm off to journal!

dalene said...

done.

and thanks.

i needed that.

QueenScarlett said...

You are inspired.

You remind me of all the great English teachers I had...that I loved.

So much better to focus on the positives than the negatives.

Cannwin said...

I'm way behind on my homework... sorry, but at least I'm getting some ideas for blogs. Of course that could be a problem, I like blogging to much and tend to go WAY past the day I'm on.

Christina said...

We really are all amazing, if for nothing else than because we are children of God. It's one thing that I feel so strongly about teaching my kids!

Love this homework. Can't wait for the next assignment!

Kiasa said...

Awesome! I just had baby #2 and my body just ain't what it use to be. Finding 10 things I love about it was fun. I grew up with a mother who always talked down about herself and I'm trying SO hard to not do that; especially for my children. It's hard to break the habit. THANK YOU!!!

Sassy said...

My assignments 1-4 are at www.lewisdudes.blogspot.com Hopefully I can figure out how to attach a link.

Miranda said...

Thank you thank you thank you for this post. (skips up the stairs to find notebook)

Meg said...

This was a good one for me too. I had a hard time coming up with 25 things that weren't just the same things written 25 different ways. I had my husband help me and it was great. Thanks.

~j. said...

Thanks for making this one private.

Misty said...

Well, it took about a hundred years, but here ya go. :)
Realistic Expectations

Amanda D said...

This will be hard for me. But I know it will be good. It is so easy to be too hard on ourselves. I know I am my worst critic. Why is that? Thank you.

Mickelmonkey Mama said...

Beautiful blog. It is always nice to be reminded that there is so much more to ourselves than our imperfections.

J, K, L, and D said...

I love love love this post.
I needed it today. It's cold & rainy & I've been feeling sorry for myself, so this was much-needed.
I'm going to write it in my personal journal right away.
Thanks for doing.

Anonymous said...

Good article. Thank you.