Carole had it right
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
My thighs jiggle a little side to side. Doesn't that mean I'm human and alive? I've had men tell me I look great when I feel ten pounds overweight and that I was too skinny once upon a time. Others may whisper that I've gained a little weight and wonder whether or not it will come off at a later date.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I look at myself bearing all in the mirror and I know I can choose - beauty or distaste. For years I chose to see all that was wrong. I could never see a beautiful woman with a strong body and a strong will. I saw curves in all the wrong places. I wished for small where there was bigger and bigger where there was small. I couldn't appreciate the way things hung, the way things swung. But I finally learned to embrace the body that is my home. And in doing so I can listen to what feels good- like yoga and breath and finishing a hike and sometimes a couple of glasses of wine. And I know that when I feel strong I feel good and beautiful. Because I am. I am a woman. I have hips that sway and shoulders that show strength and a waist that shows femininity. I am not perfect. But my imperfection is perfectly human. And real. And beautiful.
I have curves and for that I do not have to apologize. Or lose weight. I am a real woman. And I like and embrace it some days and other days I don't and wish I was straighter and longer and leaner and meaner. Some clothes fit me perfectly and others look awful. What wasted time I spent trying to make my body fit certain clothes rather than knowing what clothes fit my body. Wouldn't it be boring if we all looked good in everything?
I wish and hope that someday my daughter will look in the mirror and know she's beautiful because of who she is. Because she will be - curvy or lean, short or tall, whatever she may be. I want to teach her to love herself and embrace all of her "differences" and to KNOW that she is beautiful.
We are all different and there is no standard of beauty we should conform to. We should live by the desire to feel strong and healthy and empowered and comfortable in our own skin. Your thighs are beautiful because they are yours. And they help you to sit down and stand up and dance. If you don't like them, then recognize why. Is it because you don't fit into an ideal or because you aren't taking care of yourself? There is a difference that it seems very few are taught in this day and age of thin=good. Inevitably when I don't feel good about myself, it has nothing to do with my weight. It has to do with what I'm putting in my body and whether or not I'm taking care of it the way I like to. And when I start to do the things that make me feel good, I don't notice what I look like so much as I notice that I feel strong and empowered.
If someone hasn't told you lately, know that you are beautiful. Because in the words of the great Carole King:
You've got to get up every morning with a smile on your face
And show the world all the love in your heart.
Then people gonna treat you better.
You're gonna find (yes you will)
That you're beautiful as you feel.
Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 3:45 PM
Labels: conscious living
What an amazing and powerful post. I want to send it to every woman I know. It's perfect.
This is beautiful. And came at a good time for me!
Also reminds me of the India Arie Video lyrics.