April 12th - Your Body

"A woman's relationship with her body 

is the most important relationship she'll ever have.

More important than husband, lover, children, friends, colleagues. 

This isn't selfishness-it's just fact.

The body is, quite literally, our vehicle for being -

for giving,

for loving,

for moving,

for feeling..."

-Diana K. Roesch 

I've had a revelation about our bodies in the last month or so.

I had discovered that I loved (and hated) watching Dr Pimple Popper, and I thought of Shelby. I loved, I mean LOVED popping her pimples. I was the only person that she would let touch her face, and even then she would look at me and say "no more" and get up off my lap and walk away. 

My train of thought then led me to thinking about her spirit, and how 

she isn't suffering from any physical ailments anymore. 

Then I thought of the resurrection, 

and how our spirits will be returned to our perfected bodies.

Perfected bodies, with no ailments, 

probably including no acne ever again. 

And then I had a thought that had never occurred to me before. 

Our bodies are so special, so important, 

that we get to be reunited with them forever. 

How cool is that?

I've always thought that our bodies are important. 

I fell in love with physical therapy watching my sister going year after year, every year helping her do so many things, like learning to walk. 

I fell even more in love with the body 

getting my Bachelors Degree in Kinesiology Exercise Science. 

It was sometime around college when I finally learned 

to love and honor my own body.

"The time has come for us to realize that until we work on 

increasing our self-esteem by loving ourselves in small ways,

we can't begin changing ourselves for the better in big ways."

You have to have a firm foundation, 

or everything you build will crumble.

"We must start by choosing to break the 

self-destructive cycle of unrealistic expectations, 

especially our own.

STARTING TODAY,

shun the world's ideal of beauty,

because it's constantly changing..."

I love these 100 years type videos. Talking about shunning the world's ideal beauty made me think of this video, Women's Ideal Body Types Throughout History. I hardly fit into maybe one of  those, if so, then in all the other ones I'd be considered ugly or unattractive. 

Well the world can suck it.

"Don't wait for the world to celebrate you.

Carve your own niche. 

Focus on what's great, forget what's not. 

Find joy in your own reflection.

Instead of obsessing about a body that's impossible to achieve 

without a personal trainer [or an entire new set of genetics], 

begin to discover how you can feel better about 

living in the one you now inhabit."

Sarah suggests eating healthy and drinking plenty of water.

Breathing. Yeah, breathing would be good. 

"Rediscover how marvelous it is simply to move:

stretch, dance, walk, run, jump, skip, play, embrace.

Pamper your body with comfortable clothes, 

quiet moments, and soothing beauty rituals...

Today, instead of hating your body, make peace with it."

I love my body. 

Do you love yours?

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Gratitude Journal

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1) Cleaning. Cleaning and more cleaning. My room and bathroom are clean, like clean clean, for the first time in what feels like forever.

2) Getting time to myself. The quiet is so calming.

3) Not having to cook dinner.

4) Washing machines.

5) Line drying clothes, feeling the breeze against my skin and seeing it move the clothes around, and hearing the music of the wind chimes while the kids eat popsicles. It doesn't get much better.