Tv/Movie/Song that Provides Inspiration or Motivation?

Lyby

I had dental work done this morning and had to sit and spend a leisurely hour nibbling down my breakfast/lunch since I can't feel half my face. To keep myself entertained, I turned on the television and was pleasantly surprised to find a rerun of the show, "Designing Women". This episode happens to be one of my favorite, "They Shoot Fat People Don't They". In this episode, Suzanne (former Miss Georgia who has "gained more than a few pounds" to quote her skinny sister) goes to her high school reunion and is devastated by the inadvertently hurtful comments made by her classmates about the changes in her appearance. With the support of her friends she decides to buck herself up and triumph over adversity, when she is introduced by Anthony to a young Ethiopian boy who lost his family to famine. There is a whole sub-plot about the other Sugarbaker women going on a 40-hour hunger strike in support of resolving world hunger. Anyway, Suzanne is so moved by the courage that this little boy exhibits, that she tells her classmates off in a way that makes them realize that outside appearances mean very little ---- she talks about worrying because she eats too much when there are people who are dying because they don't have enough to eat. The first time I saw this episode, I probably weighed 130 lbs. and was young enough that I hadn't bothered with any of my high school reunions. Now that I'm at 185 and went to my 30 year reunion last summer, this episode resonates with me even more. New statistics say that every single day, the number of children worldwide who die of starvation is 10 times greater than the death toll from the September 11th attacks. I know that the forkful of food I choose to put down and not eat is not going to save the life of a child half-way around the world; but when I have that comfort-food-craving or I'm-bored-eating starts to sneak up on me, I can stop and remember that there are hungry children, not just on the other side of the world, but, also, in my community, in my school, and, embarrassingly, even in my church. If I take that negative energy and channel it into positive directions, maybe I can help make a difference. Maybe I can burn off some extra energy in my garden planting an extra couple of tomato plants so that in late summer when I have too many I can share them with the nice little old lady at the end of the block who lives on a very fixed income and no longer has the health to garden for herself. Gandhi said something to the effect of being the change I want to see in the world. I think if I take the action/choice to change myself, it must have a positive ripple effect in my little tiny corner of the world if I wish to sustain the change.

Has anybody else found a television program, movie, song, or other artwork that has provided them with inspiration or motivation?

maa59115

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsSC2vx7zFQ

derekj222

Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition
Biggest Loser
MTV's "I Used to Be Fat"

newdaydawning79

There have been a couple shows on Food Network that have addressed both the hunger situation (and food deserts) and the fact that we put such high standards out there for what we'll buy in stores that an insane amount of perfectly good food is going to waste every day in stores, on farms, and even in our homes.

- Hunger Hits Home
- The Big Waste

Those made me look at things in a whole other light.

I can't say I find any motivation or inspiration in weight loss shows or anything like that, because they're unrealistic. These documentaries showed a side of things I've never seen before and opened my eyes to a lot of things in our society.

Lind5ay90

Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition
Biggest Loser
MTV's "I Used to Be Fat"

I agree with the show "I Used to Be Fat" It's really amazing to see the transformations. I figure if they can do it...so can I!