Feeling good - In your own skin.

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” 

~Proverb

Like many humans, I've struggled with my body image for most of my life.

A few years ago, when I decided that I was ready to reclaim my health, I knew I had to take an honest view of my condition. And, because the outward was such a focus put upon me by the world around me, I was tempted to start there and stay there. At 55 years old, I was beginning to see the wages of unhealthy living habits and excess stretching of the skin. Looking in the mirror, although determined to make this the very last time I had to make a concerted effort in this area, I was pretty despondent. How in the world would I ever recover and heal from the damage I had done?

It was at that seminal moment in time that I saw a flickering light.

It was in my eyes, shining through. It radiated from the tears and flowed from my smile. It was a beauty. Not the skin deep kind, but the inner type. It was a firestorm of gorgeousness just aching to explode out from me. When I closed my eyes, I felt that person who lived inside the skin. That person knew how to live healthier. No one needed to teach her anything. She knew what needed to do. And while right now, she didn't feel so great, she knew she had to start doing something very different....

I had to learn to feel good, in my own skin.

No matter how the skin looked to the eyes of those around me, I had to love what was inside of the skin. I had to want to take care of what was inside. I had to believe it could respond and be impacted by how I treated what was inside of it. 

Our skin is our home for our time on this Earth.

We should be profoundly grateful every single day that we have a body, which is our home and our vehicle in this lifetime. We can do so many things with our bodies: dance, swim, run, walk, talk, sit, move, hug our beloved, smile, eat, write, type, pick up objects, work, paint, cook, and so much more!

Instead of focusing on the color or shape of our eyes, which we may not like, we can concentrate on how fortunate we are that we can see. Instead of focusing on how skinny, thin, short, or fat our legs are, or how much cellulite we have, we can focus on how blessed we are that we can use those legs to get us places. 

When we appreciate what our body does for us, we can begin to understand why it deserves our care. 

We can go boldly forth taking steps to bring the insides into their best state so they will radiate from within us, giving us a confident glow that far outshines flawless skin.

We can be the best version of us.

Right in this very skin.

Cheers.