Dear Belly

When I was 46 years-old I wrote a letter to my belly.  The intent of the letter was to accept and love all of myself.

Flashback – 2002

I think I avoid tons of things by saying I’m not interested.  For a person who doesn’t give a shit about what people think about her ‘internal’ sure seems to care a lot about what people think of her ‘external’ weight.

This is so obvious because I value my ‘internal,’ knowing I’ve really got it together that I don’t care what anyone would say about me, because I really like who I am.  Where I care what they think of the ‘external’ because I am not confident in my body shape at all.

This is really crap and I need to love my body how ever it is, because it is the only body I have.  My challenge to myself is not to let my own body image intimidate me into not doing the things I want to do.  I must learn to love my body and to treat it right.

I would rate my body esteem a 3.  I have taken all of my culture’s body messages to heart.  I need to stop buying into society’s attitude and start buying in to self-acceptance.

Dear Belly:

I have been unjust to you as long as I can remember.  Certainly ever since I was a teen and noticed that you were round while my friends’ belly’s seemed so flat.  And flat seemed to be the ideal.

I was about 13 years-old when I started feeling like this and I am 46 years old now.  This feeling, for 33 years must be my longest relationship with a negative feeling and I am more than ready to let it go.

You are important to me and I have abused you with food and a real lack of exercise because I despised you, and by despising you, I have despised me.  I want to now, and for at least the next 33 years, love you.  And in loving you, I will love and accept me.

You make sure to digest my food and you pushed my stomach up when I needed a comfort spot to let my three beautiful children grow in.  Without you, they wouldn’t have had a place to reside for the nine months that it took for their own little belly’s to grow, among other things their ears, arms, legs, etc.

I truly am going to commit to you to treat you better and to love you how ever round or flat you may be.

Love Renee xoxoxo

Present

Love yourself on your terms.  Don’t waste you life by focusing on one thing you don’t like about yourself.  Remember there are probably at least a trillion things wonderful about you.  Don’t berate yourself for one thing.

I am glad to say that after writing that letter, I did and do love all of myself.  And, if I don’t want to do something it is certainly not because of my dear belly.