Listening to friends and enemies

"Chris, you are getting fat."

Hummmm, this is not what I want to hear. This must be an enemy talking to me.  Or maybe it is somebody with great character and candor that is concerned about my well being.  No, no that certainly couldn't be the case, could it?.... Hummmm.

Sometimes our friends , our mirrors, our clothes tell us things we don't want to hear.  That doesn't mean we shouldn't listen.

The average American adult gains 1-2 pounds every year.  Now that is not much, but after around 30, you also start losing muscle mass.  So if you were a young, virile, trim 18 year old High School football playing Senior at 185 pounds in 1980;  you could be a 247 pound middle-aged man of little distinction in 2011.

I weigh 204 pounds.  The gods have been kind to me, but I defiantly have some issues that need to be taken care of.

Weight is pretty easy to see, once you decide to open your eyes.  Other things in life are much more subtle.  Perhaps it is wise to take an active role in listening to both our friends and our enemies, even when they are telling us things we don't want to hear.