To the Woman Struggling to Love Her Body

We have all been struggled with our body in one way or another. It is hard to remember sometimes all that our body does for us and just how beautiful we are. When you look at your tummy in the mirror remember the feeling you got when you first saw the little bump that got bigger and bigger as it surrounded a growing baby. Remember how bad it hurt when you laughed so hard you cried. Hold onto that feeling and tell yourself that it is giving you the nutrients and energy you need to keep laughing and helping those around you whether it is chasing the babies around, working tirelessly, or holding another up when they are weak. When you look at your legs remember the feeling of running towards a loved one you haven’t seen in awhile. How they carried you so effortlessly. Remember all of the mountains you have climbed and just how beautiful the view was and how you wouldn’t have gotten there or even gotten out of bed this morning without them. Hold onto that feeling. Look at your arms. Remember the feeling of a warm embrace. How they gave you the ability to hold something close to your heart. Be it a person or a thing. Remember that. Hold onto it. Look at your face. Look at your eyes. Remember all of the sights they have seen and the looks of others eyes locking into yours letting you know you seen, you are safe, you are beautiful, you are loved. Remember the fire that burns inside of them when you set your mind to something. The lines that lay gently next to them. Remember all of the laughs you have laughed in order to earn those. All of the bright skies that have blinded you and made you squint, but it was a blessing because that means you have gotten to see a sunny day. Look at the skin on your face and remember all of the times it has been touched by a gentle hand, the warm rays of the sun, the kisses of babies and puppies. It may look tired, but that is because it has been through another day. Another day that you have gotten to live. Look at your mouth. Remember all of the times it has allowed you to say I love you. Remember the countless smiles you have given and how you have completely made someone’s day with your smile. Think back to the last stranger you smiled at and how they smiled back at you. Remember that feeling. Remember the feeling of making silly faces to make others laugh. Remember words that have been spoken to let others know you care. Remember the times that you haven’t had to say anything at all. They way your expression allowed you to say 1000 words without a single peep. Remember looking at yourself in the mirror at a low point and telling yourself you can do this and you did. We often take our bodies for granted and only see the flaws. We don’t remember the sunsets painted across them that almost reflected the bright and beautiful souls on the inside. We don’t think about how others see us and the fact that they see us for the actions we are doing and not the flaws that we think we have. Our bodies are something to be proud of. Every stretch mark, wrinkle, scar, and anything else we see as a flaw is really just a reflection of how much we have lived, the things we have gone through, and how strong we are. We are only ever given one body and it is our job to keep it healthy, but it is also our job to live and we cannot do that if we are to self conscious to do something based on how we look, worried about the calories we are consuming instead of enjoying the meal with our loved ones, or spending countess hours trying to change the way we look or covering it up when we could be doing something far more important, because remember that people see you for your actions and what you are doing with your body and not how you actually look. Those that are looking are looking at how beautiful you look and are thinking how blessed they are to have you in their life. All of these negative thoughts are in our minds and we project them onto our bodies, but most of the time the only place they really are is simply in our head. Remember all that your body has done and try to look at it as a child does. They do not know flaws. They only know bodies and how each are different and unique, but never flawed. You are beautiful and try to paint these memories across your body the next time you want to portray a negative thought onto it.