Body Love xx

This image came up on my Facebook newsfeed this morning...

It resonated with me BIG TIME. As I have grown up [and out] I have really learned to appreciate who I am, what I've done and my authenticity.

As a younger woman, I struggled with all that. I hated so many things about me from the things I thought to the way I looked to the things other people thought and to the way they saw me too. At various times I was too skinny, too fat, too dark, too dimply, too Asian. My breasts weren't big enough. My bum was too big. My teeth were too crooked. My toes were too long. My finger nails weren't long enough. My hair was too straight. My arms were too hairy. My tummy was too flabby. My thighs were too stretch-marked. I wasn't funny enough. I wasn't rich enough. I wasn't smart enough. I wasn't popular enough. 

So, guess what I did?

I faked it. I tried to fit in. I tried to be the person I thought everyone else wanted me to be. Sometimes it worked. Most times it didn't. Almost every time, it meant a compromise of my authentic self. It made for bad choices, unhappy times, crazy fashion mistakes and toxic relationships. I know you know what I'm talking about. It's called teenage-hood.

Now... I couldn't give a shit and that feels AWESOME. 

I don't have daughters but I want my sons to grow up knowing that their mum loves herself. I want them to become men who think the most beautiful women are the real ones. The ones that know themselves. The ones that don't compromise their authenticity for anyone. I want them to see the most influential woman in their young lives being comfortable in her own skin. Being unapologetic about her body, her feelings, her fears and her love. Not in a creepy Oedipus way but in a 'my mum's cool and happy' way.

So, here goes. 

I LOVE my body... I love that I'm soft. I love that my hips are wide enough to bear children without complication. I love that my tummy has a pot. I love that my breasts bear the signs of nourishing two babies for years. I love the freckles I've earned from time outside in the sun. I love my shoulders. I love my hair. I love my strength. 

Are you brave enough to say what you love about your body??