Finding Love for Our Flaws

​My life has shifted in a big way over the last 6 weeks. I have transitioned from a very internal, introverted, spend most of my time at home, space to now becoming more external, step back into the world to move and create, space. I am very grateful for this shift because my journey inward was long and isolating at times. My cocoon is breaking open and I can feel myself coming alive and spreading my wings. On some levels though the past several years have taken its toll on me. My physical body is only just starting to heal and find strength again. I know many people in these times can relate to how isolation and inactivity can affect us physically. As I was getting myself ready to venture out the other day, I was struggling with the way my body looked in a certain shirt I picked out. Clearly this is not the first time I’ve felt this way. This is such a common occurrence, especially among women. But in this moment something hit me in a way it never had before. I realized that it’s not the actual roll on my stomach that is the issue with the way I look. It is the beliefs around the shape of my body that creates this negative reaction in me. After all the deep work I’ve done the most prominent need I came back to over and over was the need for connection. To be loved and accepted unconditionally. This need is inherent in all of us and is the driving force in most of our decisions, needs, desires, and perspectives. Unfortunately there is a lot of wounding around what will get us connection and acceptance, so our beliefs become distorted. I’ve learned a lot about this within myself. In this moment I was able to recognize in a more profound way that I love my body even knowing that I may not be at my healthiest. It’s not my shape that the world will use to determine my value it is the level of value that I have for myself that will resonate outward and ultimately be reflected back to me. I can see more deeply how a person who may judge another for their appearance is just like anyone who has struggled with connection and acceptance and is trying to reconcile what that all means. It takes a lot of courage to love the parts of yourself that feel unlovable but with persistence and patience the healing will be profound