Today is Love Your Body Day. As I've already had to explain to my husband (Hi, Tom. Love you. Mean it.), that does not mean it is national masturbation day. Everyone knows that that distinction belongs to Joan Jett's birthday, and it's already passed us by this year. And, while I reckon that's one way to love your body, this day is about other ways. Love with a capital 'L'.
I spend a good bit of time on this blog talking about the things I don't like about my body. I'm a product of my environment, what can I say? But not today. If I start, stop me. Many recovery groups promise: Just for today, I will _________. Well, just for today, I will not hate my body. I will not say bad things about it or think bad thoughts about it. I will treat my body well today. I will feed it well and give it a chance to move. Move? I'll let it dance... I will be thankful for all of the wonderful things it can do rather than dwell on all of the things it cannot. I will be thankful for the battle wounds - the proof that it bore me children - that it has lived and loved for almost five decades. Those scars tell a story - and it's a good one. The story of me.
Just for today, I will love my body.
I will extend that love to everyone else I encounter today - not burdening them or me with unnecessary or unkind judgments.
I will encourage the young people in my life to love their bodies, too. I will remind them that they are not too fat or too skinny or too tall or too short or too - well - they're not too anything. They're just the right bodies to tell the story of them.
I will love my body, today - and I challenge you to do the same. Just for today. See how it goes. We may just find we want to continue the love affair tomorrow.
I spend a good bit of time on this blog talking about the things I don't like about my body. I'm a product of my environment, what can I say? But not today. If I start, stop me. Many recovery groups promise: Just for today, I will _________. Well, just for today, I will not hate my body. I will not say bad things about it or think bad thoughts about it. I will treat my body well today. I will feed it well and give it a chance to move. Move? I'll let it dance... I will be thankful for all of the wonderful things it can do rather than dwell on all of the things it cannot. I will be thankful for the battle wounds - the proof that it bore me children - that it has lived and loved for almost five decades. Those scars tell a story - and it's a good one. The story of me.
Just for today, I will love my body.
I will extend that love to everyone else I encounter today - not burdening them or me with unnecessary or unkind judgments.
I will encourage the young people in my life to love their bodies, too. I will remind them that they are not too fat or too skinny or too tall or too short or too - well - they're not too anything. They're just the right bodies to tell the story of them.
I will love my body, today - and I challenge you to do the same. Just for today. See how it goes. We may just find we want to continue the love affair tomorrow.
6 comments:
Oh snap! I had other plans today. I wonder if I can do this AND all the other things too. Count me in. I'll give it a whirl. (Already trying not to think negative thoughts about putting this Diet Coke into my body.)
I find it difficult to love my body. However, the things I hate it for are things that I've done to it. My body is not some anthropomorphic entity, it does what does because of evolution. The results that I "hate" are my own doing. So on the other hand I feel as if I hate my body because of the abuse I give it. However, I really don't abuse it out of hatred for my body. I think it may be best to learn to love your body to know it is not some Cartesian dualistic phenomenon but as part of the self as anything else applied tot that. French Existential philosopher Jean Paul Sartre said, "We exist our bodies." Chew on that a while.
Skavoovee,
Mark Plaid
I am trying so very hard to love it.
That was an excellent post. I don't know if I can follow suit....
It's SO hard to love my body!!! But I SO want my girls to love their bodies, no matter what, so I try to put up a good front, although the day will come when they see through it. Sometimes I feel guilty for being so hard on it, though, because after all, it did produce two of the greatest parts of my life.
Lovely. Truly lovely. I wish I had seen this yesterday. But I will try to follow your lead, just one day late.
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