Everything is connected to Marilu Henner

Marilu Henner, my guru

Everything is connected to everything.

I say that to myself all the time.

Ten years ago, I read the whole "everything is connected to everything" concept in a book by Marilu Henner. Yes, the same Marilu from the hit TV series "Taxi." Don't laugh. She's a fascinating fitness guru now and was explaining how the way you eat is connected to the way you feel.

Everything is connected to everything.

It's not revolutionary. It's a basic concept that's common sense, but I like how it works in almost every situation where I'm learning something new (because everything's connected to everything, always).

Recent example:

I'm an editor at a college. Almost every day, magazines from other colleges across the country arrive in my mailbox. Last week, I received one from Dickinson College with an article about my generation, the Gen X-ers. One of the alums featured was author Jennifer Haigh. She sounded interesting, so I tore out the profile of her and put it on my desk.

Minutes later, my phone rang. It was my teenage son asking me if I needed anything from the library. My son has never asked me this before. (He was checking out some movies for a no-cost date night with his girlfriend.) Without missing a beat, I said, "Get me 'Faith' by Jennifer Haigh."

He texted me a few minutes later: "Found the book."

I love books, but the only chance I have to read them is late at night when everyone else is asleep. I get through a couple pages and fall asleep with the book on my face. My husband then marks my page and puts the book atop the stack of others I've never finished.

I read "Faith" in two days. During the day, late at night, in the tub, during my lunch hour. Told from the point of view of a woman whose brother (a priest) is accused of molesting a child, it's a riveting family drama. While he's being investigated, she writes about how weird it is for her brother to wear regular clothes and have people call him Mr. instead of Father. He's forced to move from the rectory to an apartment complex (that has a playground). Under the care of a housekeeper at the rectory for decades, he now has to learn to grocery shop and cook for himself. Their uber-Catholic mom is ashamed but indignant at the implication her son could do anything wrong. Their younger brother--a former cop--is convinced the priest is guilty and goes to the child's house to investigate. That's when things REALLY get crazy.

And then yesterday the pope resigned. I'm not Catholic. What the pope does is his business. He can do what he wants. Because I'd just read "Faith," though, I wondered what the return to the outside world will be like for him. Maybe he has an older sister giving him a hard time about it. ("What? You quit your job?! Does Ma know?") Where will he go to worship now? Does he have to cook for himself? He's also the first pope to resign in 600 years, which makes him a pure rebel. I bet the HR office in the Vatican was like, "Ugh. Does anybody have a copy of those resignation forms from the Middle Ages? I need one. Yeah, Benedict just quit."

In case Benedict has to do his own grocery shopping now, I sure hope he eats right. Because....

"The way you eat is connected to the way you feel. And the way you feel shows in the way you look. The way you look influences the way people respond to you. The way people respond affects how you think of yourself. How you think of yourself is reflected in your behaviors."

--Marilu Henner

Everything is connected to everything.