Do you look in the mirror and focus on what you think you lack?
Do you see the places society has told you aren’t beautiful and make them your focus?
Do you compare?
Do you look at images on social media and feel like you are somehow not enough?
Do you avoid taking up space because you’ve been told you have to be small to be accepted?
I think as we age, we gain acceptance around our imperfections. We embrace the beautiful awareness that perfection is a myth and our beauty lies in our gifts, our voice, and filling out every inch of our space.
When I look at this photo of me and my son Matthew, I realize my body has lived through some pretty extraordinary circumstances, and it deserves to be celebrated and loved in its current state of being.
This body has given me 51 years of remarkable memories. I’ve hiked to the top of mountains, ran endless miles, given birth (twice), survived multiple miscarriages, stood up, and reclaimed my life after tragedy struck and rose from the unthinkable more than once.
For way too many of those experiences, I hid, ashamed that I didn’t fit a mold of perfection, not realizing that each moment of my existence, my body was loving me enough to carry me from one moment to the next.
My body has never asked me to love it back. It’s taken my hateful thoughts and words, abuse and overtraining, under-eating, and so much more, all to shrink so I’d fit a mold of beauty.
I think it’s time to thank our body for all the big and small things it does for us daily. I think it’s time we speak to ourselves with love, acceptance, and abundant gratitude.
I think it’s possible to love ourselves while we work to improve ourselves, but my emphasis has shifted from improvement to love. This moment is all we have, and if we wait around for someday in the future to feel love for our bodies, we may never get the chance.
So today, stop hiding.
Change the narrative.
Change the conversation.
Change the self-loathing and hate.
Love your beautiful body because it takes up space, gives love and life.
Remember, the people you love most already love you just as you are; now it’s your turn.
Michelle ❤️
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