Yes I Can

The longest, most costly election in history rumbled to its astonishing, climatic, epic conclusion with the first person of color set to be the forty-fourth president of the United States. Whether one supported Mr. Obama or Mr. McCain matters not, for we ride these waves together and all share a common fate. Barack Obama is developing his team to be our president, and without exception, it is essential to believe and work in concert towards the greatest good.

Innumerable pundits and historians will proclaim the meaning of such an historic event. Some will do so with great insight and acuity. Others will pontificate and blubber with bluster and little substance. I dare say, will most likely be the only writer who understands how Mr. Obama's campaign applies to weight loss.

Before you seek a cold compress for the neck strain you just received as you whipped your head back, saying, "Huh? President Obama will help me diet?" I must clarify my thoughts.

As he accepted this honor, with tens of thousands in attendance and the eyes of the world watching, he restated his familiar refrain. Referencing a centenarian he met along the campaign trail, he said, "And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change."

And the crowd - already expecting his next words - said together, "Yes we can."

Three monosyllabic words, eight letters, an expression repeated countless times; so uncomplicated: "Yes we can."

The simplicity of the phrase belies its power. No matter the size of the endeavor, whether negotiating political boundaries, crafting magnificent sculptures, or curing the sick, what cannot be accomplished once one believes, "Yes I can"?

I am in charge of my fate; it is I who makes decisions about whether to be healthy or not, to stick with my diet or abandon it, to follow my exercise program or give up. I am where I am due to whether I opted for "Yes I can" or "No I can't."

As I listened to Mr. Obama speak, I was reminded of my days prior to losing 70 pounds. I would wake up, in pain, distressed, and unhealthy. When the possibility of shedding my extra bulk crossed my mind, my first feelings were "It's too much work" or "It'll take too long." No I can't. And for that, I remained cemented, fossilized, and unchanging.

Finally came a morning when I dared utter, "Maybe...just maybe I can." In that spark, that brief newborn flicker of possibility, began change.

Personally, I wonder why Mr. Obama - or anybody - would want to be president. With tribulations of biblical proportion ready to swamp our ship of state at every turn, why, oh why, would somebody willingly take the helm? The quandaries are overwhelming and unknown. The likelihood of failure is immense.

Yet the answer becomes obvious when one thinks in terms of, "Yes I can." The concept, "I can" is so commanding as to drive men and women to seek out the opportunity to at least attempt great endeavors.

It is a far cry from diplomatic crises to changing one's diet or exercise. Yet, what underlies them all is one everyday, simple - yet enormously powerful - thought: "Yes, I can."