I think it’s important to love your body. To love your body for its purpose, not just its appearance. The term “body positivity” is thrown around on social media as a message of loving yourself for how you look, but what if it was used to spread the message that our bodies are beautiful because they are simply working? I think we too often overlook the fact that our bodies serve as a temple for our personal space that keeps us alive; our bodies are our homes.
I came to this realization the other night. Preparing for a shower, I took a moment to acknowledge my skin. I lightly pressed against the skin covering my rib cage to feel the heaviness of my bones. One of my beauty marks floated sweetly on top of my calf — the one that I had forgotten about but had always loved. Under the golden light of my lightly lit room, I mumbled a faint “hello” to my shoulders and collarbones, but the soft, sandy grit beneath my fingers was shouting at me to say “thank you” instead.
I realized right then and there that I hadn’t been showing gratitude for what my body was doing right — I got so caught up in the look of it that I had forgotten about the many wonderful things it was doing on the inside. That night, I recognized the many wonderful markings of me as well as the hard work that I had done to keep myself alive that day. And this incredible sensation of being nude and content with my body because it was purely doing its job was supremely invigorating. The vulnerability that I felt during this experience was unlike anything I had ever felt before — I had never thought of my body as something other than a physical being. Power and strength sprinted through my core at the mere fact that my body was working the way it was supposed to.
It is a selfless feeling to be able to accept your body because it is blatantly yours, and to understand that although we are all very alike, each one of us is completely different. Your body represents and exists as you, all day, every day. It is never someone else. Love your body because it’s yours. Gratitude and divine love for yourself only bring you closer to your mind and soul, and that is a joyous feeling.
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