Love Yourself

Love yourself. Even when it’s hardest.

Even when you look in the mirror and you see reasons not to.

Lines, circles, puffiness, dark roots, blemishes, frizziness, blotches, wrinkles, saggy-ness, drooping, roundness, dimples, scars, folds, bones, stretch marks, veins, thinning hair, calluses, split ends, no makeup, too much makeup.

Imperfection. Too much. Not enough.

It’s always that, right? We look in the mirror and we see too much of this, not enough of that. And the only thing that feels complete is our imperfection. Complete imperfection. We look at a magazine cover and wonder how we could ever possibly achieve that look. We look at other women and wonder how do they do it? How do they look so put together and whole and polished and UNTIRED?

We take that old language arts lesson of compare and contrast and we apply it to our bodies, our relationships, our lives. And it knocks the breath right out of the courageous lives we’re living.

Let it go.

It’s not easy. I know. I fight this battle over and over and over again. Daily, if not multiple times per day. I have lived this life for forty three years; I’m half way to forty four. And I still fight this ridiculous war. Me vs. Her. Exhaustion is setting in. Why waste this precious time waging a war? Even more sobering a fact, this war is a war that I declared on myself.

Think about that.

I declared war on myself. 

Sure, sometimes the war gets started from social media posts we see, pictures in magazines, the beautiful people on tv. And then there are times it’s deeper and darker than that. Sometimes it starts with a seed planted by those who love us. Unkind words. Thoughtless actions. Feeling disregarded by the very people who were supposed to hold us close and love us most.

These are the kinds of seeds that grow in the darkness. And don’t need water.

These are the kinds of seeds we don’t want to grow.

And the only way to make them stop is to open the shades, peel back the curtains, open our eyes…

…and allow the light in.

Feel it on your face. Your heart. Your body. Your soul.

You. Are. Beautiful.

Every single inch, inside and out. The lines, circles, puffiness, dark roots, blemishes, frizziness, blotches, wrinkles, saggy-ness, drooping, roundness, dimples, scars, folds, bones, stretches, veins, hair, calluses.

ALL OF IT. BEAUTIFUL.

Because every single one of these ‘too much’ and ‘not enough’ things tell the story of the life you’ve lived. They’re reminders of the blessings you have; they’re reminders of your life. The life you were designed to live.

So live it. All of it. The too much and not enough of it. Shine the light on it. Stifle those seeds of doubt, self hatred, comparison, and scarcity.

End the war you’ve waged on yourself.

Begin the life you were designed to live. Look for the abundance. It is there. In the light.

And love yourself.