Love, honor and respect your body

By Lori Hanson

What do you think when you look in the mirror? Do you smile and feel good about yourself, or do you curl your lip and snarl back at what you see? How you respond to what you see in the mirror has a strong impact on your life, whether you realize it or not.  And after all, it’s only the wrapper you came in.

So many of us miss the point. I did for over 30 years, I hated my body and what I saw in the mirror. Until I finally started down the right path and rediscovered how to reconnect my mind and body. In that process I came to fully realize that it’s what’s inside that really counts.

Sure I want to be healthy and my health is important to me. I work out regularly, I eat healthy, whole foods, I get plenty of rest and drink water so my body has the high-grade fuel it needs to keep me energized, upbeat and loving life. But all of those things don’t affect “who” I am. All of those things don’t determine whether I’m a good person, a person of character with values I can be proud of.  They don’t influence how I treat other people on a daily basis.

The real stuff, the good stuff, the “who you are” lives in your heart. And those are the things you can choose to change to make yourself a better, more likeable, more loving person. You can’t change how tall you are or your bone structure. But you can change your character to be a person worthy of wonderful friends, experiences and outcomes in life.

So…recognize that your body is just the packaging, the wrapper you came in. And take some time to think about all the things your body does for you without needing any assistance or awareness from you. All the nightly maintenance cycles, keeping your blood pumping, getting you through a hard day when you have no energy because you didn’t eat – or you ate crap. Keeping you healthy in spite of all the germs and viruses you were exposed to. And continuing to support you through the never-ending stressful situations you put yourself in, topped off with heaping doses of worry and fear.

Your body is a pretty incredible machine. Give yourself a hug and vow to honor, respect and celebrate it for all it does to keep you on this planet. It’ll make a world of difference for you.

If you need help developing a better body image, join our online community www.FindingHopeEDSupport.com.

©2013