Choose To Thank Your Body, Not Attack It

I struggle a lot with insecurities, as a lot of women do. When I see myself in a mirror I see all the flaws. I focus on them. “My nose is too big”, “I have cellulite on my thighs”, “Ugh, look at my arms”….and I do it All. The. Time. I will pick my looks and body apart but do I ever thank it for all that it does for me? Today I did a 5k walk that raised money for Cystic Fibrosis and later on today I took my dog for a 2 mile run. Some people could not have done those things. Lots of people actually. So why can’t I seem to remember to be grateful for my body instead of attack it? I look at my face and see more wrinkles around my eyes and inbetween my brow, but those wrinkles tell a story. Some are caused from laughing with family and friends, some are reminders that grief and stress can wear on you. Grief/stress will take a toll on your body, not just your mind. But I try to remind myself that having those wrinkles are ok too. Isn’t that what we all want? To grow old. Isn’t that such a privilege denied to so many? So tonight I’m telling myself that no matter what I’m feeling about my looks or body that today I need to thank it. Thank it for carrying me through some of the darkest times in my life. Thank it for the belly laughs. Thank it for forgiving me and still pushing through when I didn’t give it enough sleep, or didn’t eat, or ate too much, or had too many glasses of wine…it pushed on. It picked me up off the floor after sobbing so hard I could hardly breathe. It has woken me up everyday to start another day. So while no, I’m not where I want to be and I’m working on that, I still need to be pretty grateful for where I am. So thank you to the body that God gave me, for all that you have endured and for all of your “flaws”. You are strong and you are beautiful.