I about choked on my scalding hot latte from Kean when my friend said to me, “Why should I care about those girls with Eating Disorders? That’s not my problem. That’s their parents problem. I adore you Irvina and I will always support everything you do, but I could care less. Don't get me wrong, I think what you're doing is cool, but it’s just not relevant to me.”
I rebutted, (and sort of shrieked) “But, how can you say that?!?! You have a wife and a mom and a sister?”
He said, “Yeah, but their healthy. This doesn’t effect them or me.”
I sighed and out of the corner of my eye I saw my friends beautiful wife in the distance a confident, beautiful woman that knows she has value in all the many facets that make her “beautiful”. And then I sat up in my barstool and said,
“And THAT is exactly why you should care.”
With a smirk he said, “You have the floor my friend.”
I explained, “Imagine if your beautiful wife didn’t think she was so beautiful? What if she was constantly talking about how much she needs to lose weight, asking you to confirm her beauty and was so insecure about her physical appearance that she feared food? What if she wouldn’t eat out at restaurant with all of our friends? What if instead of spending her day rehabilitating people to health she instead obsessed about her waist line and bra size? How would that affect YOUR marriage? How would that affect YOUR life? What if your mom avoided you by constantly making excuses that she had to go to the gym and never shared some chocolate chip cookies with you? How would that affect YOU? And what if growing up one of your sisters refused to eat her breakfast, lunch and dinner? How would that have affected YOUR childhood?”
I have had a handful of people ask if REWRITE BEAUTIFUL is a religious organization I say, “Well, yes and no.” We did not file as a church or religious organization because we want to first and foremost be inclusive not exclusive. We know that Eating Disorders are universal and we want the ability to REWRITE BEAUTIFUL to be pen to everyone and anyone. But, the yes comes in where we believe that every human being is a unique creation. Every woman on this earth is someone’s daughter, someone’s sister, someone’s mommy, someone’s aunt and someone’s friend and REWRITE BEAUTIFUL knows that a girl with an Eating Disorder can’t be the unique girl she was created to be while she has a gnarly diseases taking her down.
So if you wonder, “Why should I care about THOSE GIRLS?” I ask that you think about a girl you absolutely adore...A girl who makes you smile....whose laugh is contagious... and imagine that girl present in body, but dead in spirit and I think you’ll have your answer. This is the girl I think about...
Her name is Ever. Ever played a huge part in establishing REWRITE BEAUTIFUL in that she helped the vision for it to actually take place...I used to rock her to bed when she was a newborn baby. I would look at her, this tiny person who was happy, serene and playing with my hair (when she was supposed to be falling asleep) and I just knew that I didn't want her to ever believe that she was anything less than beautiful. It's because of Ever, that I care about THOSE GIRLS? How about you? Who do you want to REWRITE BEAUTIFUL for? I look forward to hearing...
Kiss, Paint, Create!
Irvina
