I have been saying that internally ever since I can remember. Pressure from my peers to be prettier, watching a mother obsessed with her body (who I thought was beautiful) but she certainly didn't think so...diet pills, exercising, tummy tucks, all kinds of diets. A younger sister who becomes anorexic at 13, and goes back and forth between twig skinny and huge obeseness. Not to mention the pressure from society, media....ALL SCREAM AT ME: YOU ARE NOT PRETTY ENOUGH, YOU ARE NOT THIN ENOUGH AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN! The harsh reality that this message has even gotten into my church, as I get a call to join the other ladies for some crazy acupuncture to lose weight. Where does this madness end. I'm not saying I plan to let myself go and become sick and obese, but I want mental health, peace, joy in who God created me to be and you know what? I don't even know who that is...so many voices telling me to change, improve, not good enough, work harder, exercise harder...DON'T ENJOY THAT ICE CREAM WITH YOUR KIDS, IT WILL MAKE YOU FAT! It's funny the more I struggle with this I seem to spiral down the path I don't want...and now, with health issues and unable to exercise temporarily, putting on a few pounds...I fight the urge to curse myself in the mirror as I saw my mother do day after day. Reminding myself that God says I'm beautiful, so I am, right?
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ReplyDeleteIf god says so, then for sure it is true.
ReplyDeletedon't know if it means anything coming from me, but I think you're beautiful. Personally what i have learned and discovered is all you need is confidence. That's a key factor to truly loving oneself in my opinion. When you achieve it, it becomes a shield from all those adds and promos that try to tell you otherwise. eventually, they don't work anymore. It's not easy to get, but it is reachable.
I don't mean to sound like I know it all, but I'm basing it on my own personal struggle to self— loving.
well those are my two cents.
peace
So true and for sure not easy, but a goal worth the effort and fight.
ReplyDeleteall i did was when ever someone would complement me, I would say thanks followed by an I know! I mean at first i didnt believe it at all and though it sounded kinda conceited, it wasn't. it helped me so much to say it when ever i did. After a few years, It slowly started to embed itself within me and after a few more years, I believed it.
ReplyDeleteEven now those thoughts of "you're ugly" and now, "You're getting old and wrinkly" come up once through out the week. They don't stop, but i tell them to shut up and i am beautiful no matter what age.
I think now that have confidence, i realize that those thoughts are not my thoughts.
two more cents.