Love Your Imperfect Body

 
Bodies are amazing things. There are so many small functions they perform that we don’t even think about. The number of times our eyes blink or our heart beats or every second of every breath we take; it’s part of a beautiful creation. Most of the time, we stop to think about our bodies only to offer judgment on them. Perhaps when something is wrong; when feel a pain in our ankles or our knees or within the parts of our bodies we can’t see. And then we consider these pains a disruption – at least for the many of us who are privileged not to have any major disabilities. Oftentimes, only when we are stopped in what we consider “normal,” in terms of our bodies, do we take the time to wonder about it. Of course too, the more common types of judgments we inflict on our bodies are superficial. Everything from not being thin enough, to not having the “right” curves in the “right” places. We critique everything from our eyebrow shapes to the shape of our feet, our booty sizes and our waists. Our bodies have become a site for our most violent rhetorical judgments.And when we do it to ourselves, we continue to participate in the culture that is always ready to pounce on the imperfections of one’s body. It’s a vicious and seemingly-endless cycle if we do not become participants in our own lives in changing how we look at ourselves. Learning to love our imperfect body while making sure we treat it the healthy way means it's not the work of a splendid moment, or a series of good days. No, it’s the work of a lifetime. Because in the end, you have to live in this body. And It's best to enjoy the place you live.