Biggest Loser

I am a die-hard watcher of The Biggest Loser on Tuesday nights. This past Tuesday, it was usurped from its usual time by a Yankees baseball game. I was bereft! Every day I searched on line to find when it might air at a later time, all to no avail. I realized that only in New York was it usurped by the Yankees, not the rest of the country. On line, eventually, I read some articles about what happened in that episode. I saw a live commentary about the show. So I did manage to find out what had happened. Still with longing and need, I kept going on line seeing if I could find out how to watch it.

For me, the attraction to the show it is not so much the weight loss as it is the internal transformation that takes place for the contestants. They learn to like themselves; they confront their emotional baggage; they learn to appreciate their bodies, they gain confidence; they push themselves beyond their limits; they change the way they look at life, and on and on that transformation goes.

I realized that finding out what happened at the end of the episode (who would be the the final two; who would be voted on by America; who lost how many pounds each) did not satisfy my need to watch that show.

I finally figured out that with a credit card I could watch the whole thing, via Amazon.com, which I finally did last night. I began to feel satisfied. I rejoiced with the hometown folks who celebrated the contestants' accomplishments; I cheered as they ran the marathon; I understood when they struggled with the temptations of home, and tried to readjust to their old lives.

In the end, it was very clear to me that my great need to see the show had nothing to do with how it ended, or who lost how many pounds. It was about me needing to be part of the process.

For an athlete, the real point is clearly not the gold metal, but the striving, the competition.

For a student, the most important thing is not the grade, but what we learned about history or math or ourselves.

For the believer, the focus is not about how or when we were converted, but how we live our lives of faith.

How true the old saying is: Life is not about the destination, but about the journey!

And the journey is about endurance and character.