I take care of myself, which includes dieting, exercising and

"I take care of myself, which includes dieting, exercising and minimising stress. I joke that I've been on a diet since 1974, which is basically true." – Kim Cattrall

In these words, Kim Cattrall speaks not only of the body, but of the long, sacred art of self-discipline. Though she cloaks her truth in humor—saying she has been “on a diet since 1974”—beneath her jest lies the wisdom of endurance. She does not mean a life chained by rules, but a life guided by care—the continual tending of one’s physical and spiritual garden. To “take care of oneself,” as she declares, is not vanity but reverence. It is to recognize that the body is the temple in which the soul performs its work, and that neglect of this temple is neglect of life itself.

The ancients knew this truth well. In the schools of Athens, the philosophers taught that the path to wisdom began with balance. The Stoics spoke of moderation in all things—food, pleasure, even thought. “The strong mind,” they said, “dwells in a well-tended body.” The athlete and the thinker were not enemies, but reflections of one another, for both required discipline and awareness. So when Cattrall speaks of dieting, exercising, and minimising stress, she is invoking this ancient ideal of harmony: a life in which strength and serenity coexist, and health becomes the foundation for purpose.

Her humor—“I’ve been on a diet since 1974”—reveals the endurance of her commitment. It is not a lament but a recognition that self-care is not a season, but a lifelong practice. Just as the farmer tends his field through many years, through drought and abundance alike, so must each person tend their body through time. To live well is to understand that health is not a goal achieved and forgotten, but a ritual renewed daily. Cattrall’s words remind us that the path to vitality is walked in constancy, not bursts of effort. She embodies the truth that care, when embraced as habit, ceases to feel like burden—it becomes a rhythm of being.

Consider the story of Galen, the physician-philosopher of Rome. In his youth, he served the gladiators, whose lives hung upon the balance of their strength. Yet he observed that those who sought sudden vigor through indulgence or reckless methods fell swiftly, while those who lived in moderation—who cared for their diet, their rest, and their peace of mind—endured many seasons in good health. Galen concluded that the body, like the soul, thrives in equilibrium. Cattrall’s devotion mirrors his philosophy. She understands that minimising stress is as vital as movement or food—that the unseen storms of the mind can undo what the body builds.

Her words also reveal a subtle defiance against the fleeting nature of beauty and youth. For while the world chases quick remedies and false promises, she walks the slower, nobler road of sustained care. She acknowledges that to feel radiant at any age is not the gift of luck, but the reward of long stewardship. In her jest, there is also strength: the pride of one who has kept her vessel strong through decades, not by obsession, but by respect for her own well-being. It is a lesson in perseverance—of choosing daily devotion over temporary fervor.

The origin of this wisdom lies in the truth that all strength, all joy, and all peace spring first from self-respect. To eat with mindfulness, to move the body with gratitude, to rest the mind in stillness—these are not acts of indulgence, but of responsibility. The ancients called this virtue sophrosyne—soundness of mind, moderation of spirit, and harmony within. Cattrall’s lifelong “diet” is, in essence, an expression of sophrosyne: the art of tending to the self not out of fear of aging or vanity, but out of reverence for the life one inhabits.

The lesson, then, is both simple and eternal: care for yourself as you would care for something sacred. Do not treat health as a fleeting project, but as a lifelong dialogue between the body and the soul. Eat to nourish, move to strengthen, rest to restore. Let your care be gentle, not punishing; consistent, not desperate. Do not wait for crisis to honor your body—begin now, and continue always. In the constancy of that care, you will find not only vitality, but peace.

So let Kim Cattrall’s words echo through the ages as both wisdom and warning: health is not a pursuit begun in haste, but a companionship sustained over time. To live well is to live attentively—to rise each day with gratitude for the body that carries you, and to guard it as the vessel of your purpose. For in tending to the self, we do not feed vanity; we feed the flame of life itself, ensuring it burns bright through all the seasons of our days.