Radical Self-Love: It Can Be Yours!
Hello Body Positive Community!!
I am coming off of an amazing weekend at our Be Body Positive workshop at the College of Marin. I am full of energy and have renewed commitment to the work of self-love. There is something amazing that happens during these weekend workshops. By the end of two days, the love in the room seems to burst at the seams! Women and men are reclaiming their beauty, proclaiming their truth, and sharing their wisdom about LOVE!
I wanted to share with you something that came up this weekend: the idea of radical self-love. Radical means, departing markedly from the usual or customary; extreme, excellent, wonderful. You might wonder, "How do I get there? What would radical self-love look like in my life?"
You already possess the tools to unlock the love inside.
Start with what you know:
What do you know about yourself (your relationship with food, your body, relationship to others)?
What experiences have you had that have uplifted your spirit?
What obstacles have you overcome?
What we find is that when we start from what we already know about ourselves, we can follow a progression from what we know to what we like, and then to what we love. It is about giving yourself permission to discover what it is about yourself that you love. It is about opening yourself up to the possibility of loving your body, right now.
Ask yourself:
What would it feel like to love my body?
What would change for me in terms of my relationship to myself and others?
How would my life be different?
Something that I committed to this weekend was that I want the love for myself to swim in the world's deepest oceans, to climb the highest peaks, to rest on the smiles of children and elders, to hold hands with my brothers and sisters around the globe, to warm my heart and feed my soul. I want my love for my body to rest upon my hips, to sit between my toes like sand on a beach, to cradle my belly and to crown my head. I want it to surround every inch and curve in a warm and enveloping embrace. There is an infinite amount of love in the world! There is enough for us all to have some. There is enough for us to cultivate it and share with others.
The idea that love for your body can transform your life is radical. This is The Body Positive work. We believe that love for your body changes your life because you learn that you are enough, you are beautiful and worthy of living your life now. Loving your body gives you the wisdom to love yourself in every moment. Start with what you know. Go towards what you desire, and hold a frame that says that in this moment you are beautiful, and you are worthy of love, just as you are right now.