Why strong is the new beautiful

We often fantasize about working out. Some of us are disciplined enough to continue our regime even on the busiest of days. However, today I read a motivational story about the unexpected consequence of staying fit.

A woman who lives in the US got a call from her sister in April that her father is not well. When she visited him in Delhi, she learned that he had been diagnosed with the final stage of lung cancer. She decided to spend the last few months with him. He was frail from the illness and unable to go even to the restroom on his own. She lifted him and carried him when no one else in the family could. Her strength was from regular exercise that she had started only a few months prior. Maybe she was preparing herself even before she knew. Unfortunately, her father passed away. But she will always be content to know that she could help.

Similarly, I was happy to read about the woman who carried her fiance to safety after they had a hiking accident. He had fallen off a ledge and broken his leg. Waiting for help would have resulted in further blood loss. She decided to take the matter in her hands. Quite literally. And that saved both his limb and life. I thought- what a lucky man! Wish I could be a woman like that. Of course, the adrenaline rush helped. But she needed the mental strength along with the physical stamina.

Gone are the days when dainty was beautiful. Women nowadays are strong, capable both physically and financially. The soccer mom who shuttles her kids in an SUV from one activity to another, the daughter who cares for her aging parents/in-laws, the wife who offers to pay the bills- are now the ne plus ultra of muliebrity.