Calling all women!!!!
Are there any women out there who love their bodies inside and out?
Are there any of you out there who NEVER put down your body parts?
Are there any ladies who look in the mirror each day with nothing but 100% LOVE from their very cores?
After our May Circles--I'm not sure many of us exist!
We started our discussions this month aiming to chat about the relationships with our changing bodies at midlife----did we expect our bodies to change, do we love our bodies as they are, would we have chosen what we've got, do our bodies have a mind of their own, do they respond to the negative and positive thoughts we have about them?
But what resulted from our discourse was the eye opening revelation that every single woman in our Circles have dealt with or are still dealing with feeling "less than" when it comes to their bodies. The consensus is that learning to love our God given forms has been a life long pursuit with no sign that anyone is close to winning the battle! WOW!
Between the messages many of us received from our families and communities when we were young about how we looked--to the endless ones from television, print and social media that looking "perfect" is the pathway to feeling good and being happy-- to the burgeoning plastic surgery, dermatological and cosmetics businesses--DO WE EVEN STAND A CHANCE?!
To add insult to injury, our conversations quickly revealed, that perfecting the art of feeling good and learning how to fill ourselves based upon our feelings didn't really even enter anyone's thinking orbit! So how on earth can we effect positive personal growth, which these Circles of sisterhood endeavor to support and uphold, if we can't find a way to make peace with our bodies?
I, for one, have so many thoughts, ideas and feelings about this topic swirling in my head! I'd really like to shout from the rooftops "Does it occur to anyone our bodies respond to our thoughts and feelings about ourselves? Don't you think as we get older and wiser, it's time to let go of self body sabotage given what experience has taught us about what's really important in life?
Let's start with advice from those who have made it to the other side of body self struggle. Are there any readers out there who have a healthy, helpful perspective and relationship with their bodies they can share?
Please join the conversation! We certainly could all use it!