The Story of Your Body

Do you have acne-prone skin? Short, pale eyelashes? Cellulite? Wrinkles? Bingo wings? Limp hair? Do you have amazing long legs and a disproportionately short torso? Do you have boobs so big that you can't buy bras at Macy's? Do you have linebacker shoulders? Do you have legs so muscular that skinny jeans look positively bizarre on ya? Do you have stubby fingers, multiple chins, a Happy Trail, a flat chest, scars?

Even if you have all of the above, there is nothing wrong with you.
NOTHING.

Just because you're not tall. Just because you've got unruly locks and blemished skin. Just because you don't look like a supermodel or an actress, or your best friend or Michelle Obama or that woman at the gym with those amazing abs doesn't mean that your body is wrong, flawed, imperfect, bad, or worthy of scorn.

You may not realize this, but you are an organic masterpiece. Everything about you exists for a reason. You may not know why you have big square knees or unmanageably curly hair, but your genes do. The story of your body is written by your genes, and every single thing about your body - from the way you gain weight to the way your eye color shifts - is described by them. And when your genes wrote the story of your body, they didn't want it to be boring or commonplace. They didn't want you to look like a generic human. They wanted to make you completely unique. So they gave you subplots and surprises, historical references and quirky characters. They made you YOU.

And shifting your appearance, manipulating your muscles, tending your body inside and out are all beneficial activities. They forge your relationship with your physical self, a relationship that should be based on respect, love, and stewardship. Wanting to exert some measure of control over your physical appearance is natural, and doing so with an eye toward self-care is constructive. But never forget that when you succumb to the belief that your body will remain shameful, weird, ugly, or sub-par unless you undergo drastic change or manipulation, you are denying the story of your body. And that story will be told, no matter how you attempt to quiet it. So don't slog through the story of your body weighed down by manufactured discontent and oppressed by unrealistic expectations. You're better served to celebrate it, every single day of your life.

So you, with the chin hair and the abundant freckles. You, with the skinny arms and legs, the stretch marks, and the monkey toes. You, with the spare tire, the graying hair, the apple bottom.
There is nothing wrong with you.
You are beautiful. Right now, today, just as you are.
Just ask your genes.

Image courtesy Paleontour.