Saturday, February 4, 2017

what a body really is

I am purchasing glasses online for the first time.  After 20 years of being a mostly contacts wearer, I now have a condition (giant papilla conjunctivitis- don't google it!)  that makes regular everyday all -day glasses necessary.

If you haven't done it before, to buy glasses online you upload a picture of yourself looking straight at the camera and then you virtually try on glasses by selecting them.  It does save time and is a lot cheaper, but I found myself going through the same litany of internal dialogue that I have in the brick and mortar glasses store.

"that makes my nose look too long. . . that one does too . .. maybe my nose is just too long!  That makes my eyes look old  . . . so do those  . . . so do those. . .  maybe I am just old!!"

and on it goes about chin(s), hair etc, etc

A variant of this goes on in the dressing room at every store, a catalog of all the parts of me that don't fit the clothes on the hanger.

 I know this discontent with my body is part of the burden I bear as a woman living in America.  I have seen this same attitude in the women in my family and my friends.  The voices from the outside telling us how we should look have come on so strong for so long, we have forgotten how to see ourselves as we really are and rejoice in that.

Ironically, I was interrupted in the middle of writing this by a sleepy preschooler needing cuddles.   To give cuddles, you need a lap and arms and that quality of tenderness that comes with a heart of love.  You don't need to be skinny, you don't need great abs, a tight butt or any other part of your body to be "perfect".  

And that is what our bodies are-  they are a gift.  A gift to us to help us live,  and a gift to others to give them what they need to live and thrive.  They are not bad, they are not to be judged, they are to be honored and used in service to others. 

And that is what I will say to myself when I put on my new glasses. 

1 comment:

  1. I like this. Especially the part about cuddling. Children are good for putting all those negative thoughts in their place, aren't they?

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