Me Monday. It's Your Life!

Stop Body Bashing!

In last Monday’s post I shared the story of a conversation I’d overheard between two women at a restaurant.  They were hell-bent on pointing out every perceived flaw on their body.

This is simply a photo of attractive women.  They look happy to be together.

What if these women, I called Barbie and Sandy, had accepted a compliment instead of bashing their bodies?  How different would the conversation have been?  

Since it is my post, I am going to re-write the dialogue:

“You look great!” yelled Barbie over the din of the restaurant, “Lucky you.  I would love to wear shorts like that.", she continued.

Sandy, a tallish forty-something woman with a dark knot of a bun at the nap of her long neck, looked fit and vibrant; she possessed a confident posture and rich smile.  “Thanks.  I feel great.” She replied, punctuating her words.  “Jack and I haven’t been doing the nightly cocktails, I feel like a weight has lifted off my shoulders!”

“You what.  How in the heck are you doing?”,  Barbie, a petite, rosy-cheeked blond, asked.  Her eyebrows pulled up at the bridge of her button nose framing her concerned blue eyes.  She shook her pixied head in disbelief, “Aren’t you going crazy without your vino?  Geez, I’m proud of you.”, Barbie put up her right hand to Sandy’s reciprocal hand in a gentle high five, they held them together for a moment.

Sandy laughed then said, “Look at those ‘guns’ of yours!  What have you been doing?”

Look at those guns, Barbie!

“Nice of you to notice.  I started doing push-ups against a park bench during my regular walks.  Amazing how a little goes a long way.”  Barbie flexed her right biceps beaming her signature “inside-out” smile.

When we take care of our bodies to the best our lifestyle can handle, what more can we ask of it?  Do we suck fat from our thighs, add saline to our boobs, break a few ribs or squeeze into a suffocating body slimmer?  These are our choices, too, but when do we say, “when”?  When do we say, “thank you” to our bodies for the thirty, forty, fifty, sixty or more years it has nursed babies, run after toddlers, sat on freezing, hard bleachers, jogged around our neighborhoods, scrubbed floors, herded through airport security, pretzeled into yoga poses or simply functioned in good health?

"I'm just getting started?"

There is so much more joy in life when we cease to focus on how we measure up to some rating system of the acceptable body.  When we focus on feeling good in our body without shame, we are more present for our loved ones and careers.  Even better, we are more present to ourselves and, as a result, exude a confidence that is irresistible! 

I am asking each and every one of you NOT to body-bash the entire day.  Tell me how it feels. Was it easy or hard for you?  I’d love to hear your experience!

We are still those women from our past.  We still want to play.  We still want acceptance.
 It starts with the one looking at you in the mirror!