Beautiful
I am beautiful today.
Is that a controversial statement?
I just looked in the mirror and was surprised to find that I liked what I saw. 'Wow,' I thought, 'I'm so pretty.'
I'm telling you this because just yesterday I was looking in the mirror thinking, 'Oh no. My face is so fat. I'm a blob. I have to change.'
Has so much changed overnight? I doubt it.
Perhaps it was because when I woke up this morning, I immediately put on Meghan Trainor's 'It's All About the Bass' and danced around the lounge room for 10 solid minutes. Perhaps it was something else entirely.
But I wanted to share this precisely because my first thought after thinking I was pretty was, 'I'd better not tell anyone.'
And hey, why ever not? Why is not okay to say, 'I feel pretty today. I'm having a pretty day.'
Are we so afraid we will be told we're wrong, and that, in fact, we're just as blobby as we thought we were yesterday? I guess it often doesn't take a lot for the wind to be taken out of your sails. Or is it only fear that people will think us arrogant? There are good, blessed and necessary types of self-love. How else can you love your neighbour as yourself. We need to be kind to ourselves. It is too easy to beat ourselves up and put ourselves down. 'I didn't wash the dishes today; the kitchen is a mess. I'm such a failure.' 'I wasted my time instead of doing what needed to be done today. I'm so irresponsible.' 'I screwed it up' I can't do anything right. What a clutz.' I hear these phrases a lot, from myself, to myself. To hear 'Wow. I'm so pretty' for a change filled me with peace. Our self-talk makes a huge impact on us - how we feel, how we see the world, how we interact with others.
Don't be afraid to tell yourself you are beautiful. You're not hurting anyone. In fact, the opposite. It's okay to feel beautiful. You are.
How are you meant to recognise the diverse types of beauty of others if you can't see your own?
And watch that self-talk. If you want to be a kind person to others, you have to practise by being kind to yourself.
Is that a controversial statement?
I just looked in the mirror and was surprised to find that I liked what I saw. 'Wow,' I thought, 'I'm so pretty.'
I'm telling you this because just yesterday I was looking in the mirror thinking, 'Oh no. My face is so fat. I'm a blob. I have to change.'
Has so much changed overnight? I doubt it.
Perhaps it was because when I woke up this morning, I immediately put on Meghan Trainor's 'It's All About the Bass' and danced around the lounge room for 10 solid minutes. Perhaps it was something else entirely.
But I wanted to share this precisely because my first thought after thinking I was pretty was, 'I'd better not tell anyone.'
And hey, why ever not? Why is not okay to say, 'I feel pretty today. I'm having a pretty day.'
Are we so afraid we will be told we're wrong, and that, in fact, we're just as blobby as we thought we were yesterday? I guess it often doesn't take a lot for the wind to be taken out of your sails. Or is it only fear that people will think us arrogant? There are good, blessed and necessary types of self-love. How else can you love your neighbour as yourself. We need to be kind to ourselves. It is too easy to beat ourselves up and put ourselves down. 'I didn't wash the dishes today; the kitchen is a mess. I'm such a failure.' 'I wasted my time instead of doing what needed to be done today. I'm so irresponsible.' 'I screwed it up' I can't do anything right. What a clutz.' I hear these phrases a lot, from myself, to myself. To hear 'Wow. I'm so pretty' for a change filled me with peace. Our self-talk makes a huge impact on us - how we feel, how we see the world, how we interact with others.
Don't be afraid to tell yourself you are beautiful. You're not hurting anyone. In fact, the opposite. It's okay to feel beautiful. You are.
How are you meant to recognise the diverse types of beauty of others if you can't see your own?
And watch that self-talk. If you want to be a kind person to others, you have to practise by being kind to yourself.
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