Standing on a basalt column of the Giant’s Causeway (known in Irish as Clochán an Aifir or Clochán na bhFómharach) the jewel in the crown of the fabulous coast of County Antrim, I cannot help but marvel at the 60 million year old volcanic wonder.
I was drawn to the site by the folklore that goes with it whereby Finn McCool, an Irish warrior tore away large pieces from the cliffs to make a sturdy causeway to Scotland so that he could fight his adversary, a Scottish giant called Benandoneer.
I was also intrigued by the hexagonal shape of the basalt columns which together resemble a beehive’s honeycomb or the scutes of a turtle’s carapace. However, there is a purpose for the shape and size of the columns. The hexagonal pattern is known for structural rigidity, density and optimal economy.
Everything that we see around us comes in all shapes and sizes. Yet, appreciation of shapes and sizes is relative: it differs from civilisation to civilisation and from age group to age group.
I am referring especially to the human shape and size.
While some societies think that big is beautiful there are others that worship the wasp-shape femme fatales or six-pack hunks.
I overheard a beautiful teenager complaining of having ‘bat wings’(The hanging flap under the arm seen on older women) and a ‘muffin top’. ( overhanging flesh (fat) that spills over the waistline of pants or skirts).
All I could see in front of me was a well-toned body that anyone could die for.
In this case, what does that say about the human perspective of oneself?
Perceived imperfection and low self esteem.
Whether we like it or not, the environment around us screams ‘you are not good enough’. With every feeling of imperfection, there seems to be a solution. So we try to become thinner or fatter, shorter or taller. We enrol for workout classes, we go on crash course diets, we go for special protein diets and we wait for the miracle to happen.
If we are food lovers or if we live in a society where eating is a national joy, we end up promising ourselves that we will start our diet tomorrow. Anyone from 15 to 50 years of age who likes to look good has gone through this rigmarole of going on a diet, promising to keep to the diet, breaking the diet and then going on a new diet.
Unfortunately, this becomes a struggle as age catches up and metabolism slows down and it is much more difficult to shed those extra kilos that you piled on during winter and promised yourself that you would shed them when summer came. Except that summer had gone and it is now autumn and approaching winter again and those extra kilos are still there.
Unless we are sitting on a time-bomb of high cholesterol and fats, it is good just to take stock of ourselves. Is it real or perceived imperfection? Are we who are healthy beings and structurally a size that is different from the mannequin feeling poorly because we cannot be a size 0? Can we walk into a department store, pick out a comfortable dress that gorgeously goes with the flow of our bodies or are we longing for that tiny, whimsical dress that promises the charm that we think we lack?
To be honest, it is very difficult.
Even so when we are surrounded by others who perceive themselves to be imperfect and have low self esteem and somehow want to include you into that very same sisterhood. We just have to grit our teeth and listen to the same old unsolicited comments like ‘You’ve lost weight’ or ‘You’ve put on weight’ never mind if a great catastrophe has struck a neighbouring country or the economy has crashed. Sometimes it is as irritating as a single person going to the annual family function only to be asked the same question, ‘You are not so young, when are you going to get married?’
Hopefully like most things age has a way to help us become more confident in the way we think or in the way we look. I have seen ladies, (definitely not a size 0) looking regal and charming in attractive dresses, sensible shoes and matching accessories.
I have seen men with flat caps and tweed jackets (definitely with no abs) looking classic and smart. A plus point is when they converse and they reveal a wealth of knowledge and experiences.
What they have is not show but character.
Source: The New Straits Times 20 Nov 2011 http://www.nst.com.my/top-news/finding-the-perfect-shape-1.8364?localLinksEnabled=false
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