10-19-2004, 10:36 PM
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Causer of Unrest
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Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Arizona
Posts: 4,005
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October 20th is "Love Your Body Day"!
Tomorrow is the annual celebration of Love Your Body Day, started three years back by the National Organization of Women, and I invite all of us, men and women, to try it, just for today. If you like it, try again tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow. Love your own body. Love the bodies around you. We all, I think, do the best we can with what we have, but insecurity is rampant, and that’s a shame. Literally. So many of us are ashamed of our bodies when we shouldn’t be. And we pass that shame on like a social disease. Self-hate, the gift that keeps on giving, generation after generation. It's an emotional fruitcake. Nobody likes it, but we keep passing it around.
It took me a long, long, loooooooong time to learn to love my body, and I’ll admit, we still have spats sometimes. But for the most part, we are friends. It does what I want it to do. It runs and dances and jumps and rests and loves and laughs and sings and hugs and smiles and carries. I’ve learned to love my curves. I am openly infatuated with my own muscles and will offer them up for appreciation, unsolicited, at any time, to unsuspecting bystanders. I’ve also learned to smile on the pudgy parts, the scars, and the stretch marks like an indulgent aunt on a sassy but adorable child. It was difficult, I'll admit. But so worth it.
I owe a lot of that to the folks here, so I thank you all so very much for your generous comments and encouragement.
On my bulletin board at work, and also hanging somewhere at home, I have the following that I picked up some years back. In honor of the day, I’d like to share it. When my women’s circle was still meeting, we closed every evening with it, and it always gave me chills. They are words to live by. I try to, anyway.
The Real Woman Creed
I believe that within me lies an extraordinary radiance,
and I commit to letting my light loose in the world.
I believe that the source of my power and wisdom is in the center of my being,
and I commit to acting from this place of strength.
I believe that I possess an abundance of passion and creative potential
and I commit to the expression of these gifts.
I believe that the time has come to let go of old notions and unhealthy attitudes, and I commit to re-examining what I have been told about beauty and dismiss what insults my soul.
I believe that negative thoughts and words compromise my well-being, and I commit to thinking and speaking positively about myself and others.
I believe that young women are in need of positive role models,
and I commit to being an example of authenticity and self-love.
I believe in the relationship between my well-being and the well-being of the planet, and I commit to a life of mindfulness that regards all living things as holy and worthy of my love.
I believe it is my spiritual responsibility to care for my body with respect, kindness, and compassion. I commit to balancing my life in such a way that my physical being is fully expressed and nurtured.
I believe that joy is an essential part of wellness, and I commit
to removing obstacles to joy and creating a life that is full of exuberance.
I believe that a woman who loves herself is a powerful, passionate, attractive force, and I commit, from this day forward, to loving myself deeply and extravagantly.
So that's my two bits. Ladies and gents, I invite you to share some body self-love comments here. I know there's been a similar thread, but reflection on the topic now and again never hurt anyone.
Y'all are beautiful. Every last one of you.
Red |
10-19-2004, 10:53 PM
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♦*♥Moderatrix♥*♦
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Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: on top of it all
Posts: 50,568
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I love my eyes because they give me away. I can't hide a thing, pleasure, pain, pride...all visible in two small orbs. They keep me honest.
I've loved me for 35 years...anyone else care to take a turn?
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10-19-2004, 11:01 PM
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Causer of Unrest
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Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Arizona
Posts: 4,005
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I'll love you for the next 35 years, Lil. Thank you, for this and all you do.
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10-19-2004, 11:03 PM
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♦*♥Moderatrix♥*♦
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Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: on top of it all
Posts: 50,568
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Oh and I love my arms....the arms that have held lovers, and babies, and grocery bags, and dirty clothes. Arms that have comforted those in pain, hugged those I missed, and enveloped those I've taught. They are strong, loving arms, they serve me well.
((((Red)))) Don't make me wax poetic about my freckles  |
10-19-2004, 11:52 PM
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Made in England
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Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 8,180
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I love my breasts. They provided my children with nourishment and comfort. Some may say that they are marred by stretch marks, but I all I see are the life lines of my children.They have provided me with many pleasures throughout the years.
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10-20-2004, 01:16 AM
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Causer of Unrest
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Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Arizona
Posts: 4,005
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Lilith
((((Red)))) Don't make me wax poetic about my freckles |
Please do, Lil. I love your freckles, and I know I'm not the only one 'round these parts! |
10-20-2004, 08:04 AM
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Everybody Stretch!
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Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Pa. USA
Posts: 11,637
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Classy, sexy, wonderful post AZ! TY for the early morning smile!
I love my hands because, despite the fact that I hate it, I can sew what some may see as a rag, into something lovely and useful!
I love my feet because they get me there and get me back...and have been doing so for 46+ years now!
I love my hair! It's an outward expression of the inner me. I'm neat, but not too fussy. I'm a leftover hippie with a today outlook. I'm fresh and clean...but I ain't so shabby when I'm down and dirty either! I love my hair!
I love my lips! I never used to...wished they were fuller...but as the years go by and I look in the mirror as I apply lipstick or brush my teeth...I see that those lips have loved a lot of people. Some people in more ways than others. *giggle* I've kissed and slurped with these lips. I've bit them and burned them and had fever blisters from time to time on them...and they look back at me from that mirror and they still smile!
Yep! I love me!
(((((AZRedHot)))))
__________________
Minds are like parachutes. They only work when they are open.
~Thomas Dewar~
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10-20-2004, 08:31 AM
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is not this trim anymore!
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Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: New England
Posts: 21,709
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I love my eyes too. I think they show the light inside that the rest of me might fail to let out.
My hands are strong and coordinated. I can swing a hammer without hitting my thumb, and I can type quickly with reasonable accuracy.
My penis is slightly curved and very tempermental...but it's held up over the years and knows how to take a beating. It doesn't stand out in a crowd, but it's mine, and I love it.
Thanks Red, great thread.
__________________
Though I am different from you,
We were born involved in one another.
For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.
Complete surrender should not just come at moments in which one faces overwhelming odds, but in the calm when it seems one is personally in complete control of one's life.
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10-20-2004, 12:58 PM
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Causer of Unrest
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Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Arizona
Posts: 4,005
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I'm smiling so big...I love reading everyone's love stories--I hope there will be more.
Silly question--are all those parentheses hugs? If so, many thanks Lil and LixyChick. I'm feeling doubly warm and fuzzy.
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10-20-2004, 01:30 PM
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~figment of imagination~
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Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: hot sticky wet south
Posts: 2,310
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I love my feet. They aren't so wonderful to look at but they have never let me down. Saving gas and hauling my ass is just one of the many reasons why I love them so.
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10-20-2004, 03:45 PM
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pixie of the wood
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Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 10,575
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i love my hands. they can create some wonderful things. from baking to drawing to comforting, they are good at what they do.
i love my mouth. even though it can get me into trouble on occasion, it is the best boo-boo kisser (my daughter tells me so ).
i love my eyes. besides communicating without speaking, they afford me a view of the world in all it's splendor (and iniquity). plus, i think they're a really cool color  .
great thought AZ, thanks! |
10-20-2004, 04:53 PM
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♦*♥Moderatrix♥*♦
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Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: on top of it all
Posts: 50,568
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by BIBI
I love my breasts. They provided my children with nourishment and comfort. Some may say that they are marred by stretch marks, but I all I see are the life lines of my children.They have provided me with many pleasures throughout the years.
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I was getting dressed today and looked down and saw those lines and smiled thinking about what you said! |
10-20-2004, 10:58 PM
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Causer of Unrest
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Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Arizona
Posts: 4,005
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Boo-boo kissing lips, house building hands, feet that travel the world and the years, lavish hair, and smiles galore....
does it get any better than this? |
10-21-2004, 12:11 AM
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Loungin' Around
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Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: West Coast
Posts: 30,587
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When I consider every item completely...with the exception of my mind (which is a physical attribute but so much more), I think I love my hands the most.
My hands:
* Enabled me to administer insulin shots and care for my father from the age of 4
* Taught me how to coax music from a violin at 5
* Found food for me....when I was hungry...at 6
* Got me into cheerleading when I was 10
* Showed me how to play tuba at 12
* Closed my father's casket at 13
* Blocked a knife coming for my face when I was 16
* Got me through LOTS of terrible math and Chemistry from ages 17-20
* Taught me how to exercise (even with rheumatoid arthritis) at 23
* Comforted my mother when she was sick, and my stepfather died, at 25
* Displayed my new wedding ring at 28
...and the list will continue.
TY, Red...for reminding me that life is precious.
__________________
Life is too short not to love and be loved....preferably multiple times in one night.
I think men talk to women so they can sleep with them and women sleep with men so they can talk to them. ~ Jay McInerney
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10-21-2004, 12:15 AM
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Causer of Unrest
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Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Arizona
Posts: 4,005
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What a beautiful list, Osuche. I was a violinist once upon a time, too, although a later bloomer than you. I've spent this evening playing the guitar. Hands are so important to me, too.
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