Lately I've been wondering about this same question over and over.
When will we be satisfied?
When will I be satisfied?
Being that I'm a woman, obviously, I have a lot of other women in my life, old and young. Often the conversations end up being about someones new boots, new shirt, new jacket, cute hair, and coffee...We end up talking about the latest clothes we have purchased for fall, or the good deals we found at Target. Or we end up talking about how our boobs are too small, too large, or hang just quite a few inches too low. It's a perpetual conversation about our outer beauty. Now, I'm just as guilty as anyone else. It's the first thing I notice when I see a person. Cute boots, cute jacket, cute hair, cute glasses, cute watch...cute this that and everything else. And I don't think there's anything really wrong with talking about these things. It's all in good fun. We are ladies! The problem is when we start to put ourselves down in order to build another person up.
You know what I'm talking about. "Those jeans look so good on you! I've got NO butt what so ever, so I couldn't even pretend I could wear those." Or, "You're hair color is so perfect for you, don't look at mine though, I know it looks horrible I just can't afford to touch up these roots right now."
See what I mean?
As we complement someone else, we put ourselves down. All in one sentence.
When are we going to be satisfied?
A good friend of mine challenged me last year to not only complement every woman I talk to longer than 5 mins, she said to complement them on more than just their scarf. I remember her asking what we would be like as women if we said things like, you have beautiful cheek bones, or your eyes are so green. Or what if when another person puts themselves down by saying something negative about their bodacious booty, we tell them that they are just beautiful and curvy like so many other woman wish they were.
What if we verbally replaced the lies each one of us was saying about ourselves with the TRUTH. Often we don't see the truth ourselves, but other's see it before us. Take my Mom for instance. Whenever I'm with her she reminds me that my hair is so beautiful and how she wishes she had it. To be honest I never look in the mirror and think, wow this thick hair is beautiful! I think, wow, how much back combing do I need to do to get this volume to stay! She sees the beauty. I see the issue. Every time she complements my hair I'm reminded that it is nice hair and I should love it just the way it is, even if it's been a while since I've gotten it thinned out.
What if the next time I stood in a circle of women and the topic goes towards something like the song..."do your boobs hang low..." I reminded them that the reason those glorious girls are hanging lower than they used to is because they spent a good part of their life giving life and food to their precious children. How incredible is that? Why don't we remember those things? Your body BROUGHT LIFE and SUSTAINED LIFE THROUGH THOSE LADIES! Yes. I call them ladies my friends. Only for those a little more shy I presume....
When am I going to be satisfied and realize that this body is the body God created? He made me this way because he sees it as beautiful. Being that I am 23 I am still young. But that doesn't mean my body hasn't changed since high school. I now need to eat better and exercise throughout each week in order to sustain a healthy weight. I have to work for good health. Yet I still find myself looking back and wishing I could look like I did here, or there, or there, or in that photo. When am I going to be satisfied and realize that my body is changing because I'm human. When am I going to constantly remember that I exercise to be healthy, not thin.
Are you satisfied with the way you look? If so, I'm just so incredibly thankful! I truly am! And I would LOVE your words of wisdom because that means you have learned something so incredibly valuable that you need to share. For those of you who are not satisfied, why? What are you striving to look like? Those that live up to the unrealistic expectations our world has set? There's some pain deep down that they may not even realize just yet. Everybody struggles with something.
Today's challenge is for you, for me, for my close friends, and for those whom I have never met. My challenge is that we think about what it is we are striving for. Is it a healthy life? Or is it to be tiny, hot, and "sexy" according to the world.
Just think about it. When will you be satisfied? When will I love my body because it's mine and it's beautiful?
When will we be satisfied?
When will I be satisfied?
Being that I'm a woman, obviously, I have a lot of other women in my life, old and young. Often the conversations end up being about someones new boots, new shirt, new jacket, cute hair, and coffee...We end up talking about the latest clothes we have purchased for fall, or the good deals we found at Target. Or we end up talking about how our boobs are too small, too large, or hang just quite a few inches too low. It's a perpetual conversation about our outer beauty. Now, I'm just as guilty as anyone else. It's the first thing I notice when I see a person. Cute boots, cute jacket, cute hair, cute glasses, cute watch...cute this that and everything else. And I don't think there's anything really wrong with talking about these things. It's all in good fun. We are ladies! The problem is when we start to put ourselves down in order to build another person up.
You know what I'm talking about. "Those jeans look so good on you! I've got NO butt what so ever, so I couldn't even pretend I could wear those." Or, "You're hair color is so perfect for you, don't look at mine though, I know it looks horrible I just can't afford to touch up these roots right now."
See what I mean?
As we complement someone else, we put ourselves down. All in one sentence.
When are we going to be satisfied?
A good friend of mine challenged me last year to not only complement every woman I talk to longer than 5 mins, she said to complement them on more than just their scarf. I remember her asking what we would be like as women if we said things like, you have beautiful cheek bones, or your eyes are so green. Or what if when another person puts themselves down by saying something negative about their bodacious booty, we tell them that they are just beautiful and curvy like so many other woman wish they were.
What if we verbally replaced the lies each one of us was saying about ourselves with the TRUTH. Often we don't see the truth ourselves, but other's see it before us. Take my Mom for instance. Whenever I'm with her she reminds me that my hair is so beautiful and how she wishes she had it. To be honest I never look in the mirror and think, wow this thick hair is beautiful! I think, wow, how much back combing do I need to do to get this volume to stay! She sees the beauty. I see the issue. Every time she complements my hair I'm reminded that it is nice hair and I should love it just the way it is, even if it's been a while since I've gotten it thinned out.
What if the next time I stood in a circle of women and the topic goes towards something like the song..."do your boobs hang low..." I reminded them that the reason those glorious girls are hanging lower than they used to is because they spent a good part of their life giving life and food to their precious children. How incredible is that? Why don't we remember those things? Your body BROUGHT LIFE and SUSTAINED LIFE THROUGH THOSE LADIES! Yes. I call them ladies my friends. Only for those a little more shy I presume....
When am I going to be satisfied and realize that this body is the body God created? He made me this way because he sees it as beautiful. Being that I am 23 I am still young. But that doesn't mean my body hasn't changed since high school. I now need to eat better and exercise throughout each week in order to sustain a healthy weight. I have to work for good health. Yet I still find myself looking back and wishing I could look like I did here, or there, or there, or in that photo. When am I going to be satisfied and realize that my body is changing because I'm human. When am I going to constantly remember that I exercise to be healthy, not thin.
Are you satisfied with the way you look? If so, I'm just so incredibly thankful! I truly am! And I would LOVE your words of wisdom because that means you have learned something so incredibly valuable that you need to share. For those of you who are not satisfied, why? What are you striving to look like? Those that live up to the unrealistic expectations our world has set? There's some pain deep down that they may not even realize just yet. Everybody struggles with something.
Today's challenge is for you, for me, for my close friends, and for those whom I have never met. My challenge is that we think about what it is we are striving for. Is it a healthy life? Or is it to be tiny, hot, and "sexy" according to the world.
Just think about it. When will you be satisfied? When will I love my body because it's mine and it's beautiful?
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