I am realistic, I get that the world view can't be changed by my one post on the subject. I get that my 3 friends are going to read this post and probably agree with me but that's about where it will end. I'm still going to post it, because I love my daughter and I love my fellow females.
The other day a radio hostess was talking about how some hollywood star was complaining that she gained weight because her sister is pregnant and she is so upset about it. The radio hostess then went on to say that, first off, no one can tell that she gained 5 pounds and second off, there are so many people around the world that would give anything to have enough food to be able to gain a much needed 5 pounds. There is a reality check. Now I get it, most people have never had to really see hunger up close and personal. I have had the privilege of living in 3rd world countries and seeing that starvation is real. I'm thankful that I have had my eyes opened to the true poverty in the world because it is life changing, but that is not what I want to talk about right now.
I weigh 155 pounds right now. I gained about 10lbs when I moved to Fiji and I was mortified that I now lived in a bikini country and I was back in the 160's. Then I let Fiji sink in and I realized something. Ryan and I went to the beach and I didn't feel uncomfortable in my bathing suit. There were all body types on the beach but that is not why I felt comfortable, I felt comfortable because NO ONE CARES HERE. Seriously, size does not matter here. Women who are large are confident, a confidence I honestly have not seen in American women. Its not our fault that we are so insecure about our size, we have been told by society, from birth that we are too big, or too small, but its never good enough.
Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes and why are these women of the island so beautiful regardless of weight? Because they are confident. They are secure in the skin they are in, literally. No one is trying to be light skinned or darker skinned, there isn't fairness cream and lotion with bronzer filling up the shelves. Now yes, I am sure there are some women here who are insecure or unhappy, but it is not a societal driven thing and it is refreshing! This tropical paradise is so far removed from the tiresome burdens of perfection that first world countries seem so overly obsessed with. I want my daughter raised that way. To understand that beauty is on the inside and that your body is not what makes you beautiful.
We were at a fire dance the other day and Rebecca and I couldn't stop talking about how refreshing it was to see these beautiful dancers with real bodies. Bodies showing the wear of child birth, bodies that were healthy and strong, bodies that were soft. These women wearing nothing but coconuts and skirts took my breath away because they knew they were beautiful even though western society would have told them otherwise. I want their confidence and I am slowly starting to have it. I wear my bathing suit and I don't feel gross or fat, because I am neither. I may not be the size I wanted to be but I am healthy. I ride my bike, I run races, I workout, but I also live, I'm a mother, I eat pizza, you get the point.
If there is one thing that I really want to help Ella Mae discover, other than the deep love of God, it is that she is beautiful and jean size has nothing to do with it!
God created me and I am just as I should be. It is my job to care for my body, to treat it well and not abuse it. That means it is my job to love my body and that is what I need to start doing. To see it the way God sees it. Thank you God for lungs that can carry me through a race, a heart that is strong and healthy, for legs that can run, arms that can hold my daughter, eyes that can see the beauty around me, a sound mind that can learn and grow, for the marks my body bears from carrying a child and giving birth, I pray that I can always see the beauty because God created me and I am beautiful. The same goes for you who are reading these words. You are BEAUTIFUL!
The other day a radio hostess was talking about how some hollywood star was complaining that she gained weight because her sister is pregnant and she is so upset about it. The radio hostess then went on to say that, first off, no one can tell that she gained 5 pounds and second off, there are so many people around the world that would give anything to have enough food to be able to gain a much needed 5 pounds. There is a reality check. Now I get it, most people have never had to really see hunger up close and personal. I have had the privilege of living in 3rd world countries and seeing that starvation is real. I'm thankful that I have had my eyes opened to the true poverty in the world because it is life changing, but that is not what I want to talk about right now.
I weigh 155 pounds right now. I gained about 10lbs when I moved to Fiji and I was mortified that I now lived in a bikini country and I was back in the 160's. Then I let Fiji sink in and I realized something. Ryan and I went to the beach and I didn't feel uncomfortable in my bathing suit. There were all body types on the beach but that is not why I felt comfortable, I felt comfortable because NO ONE CARES HERE. Seriously, size does not matter here. Women who are large are confident, a confidence I honestly have not seen in American women. Its not our fault that we are so insecure about our size, we have been told by society, from birth that we are too big, or too small, but its never good enough.
Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes and why are these women of the island so beautiful regardless of weight? Because they are confident. They are secure in the skin they are in, literally. No one is trying to be light skinned or darker skinned, there isn't fairness cream and lotion with bronzer filling up the shelves. Now yes, I am sure there are some women here who are insecure or unhappy, but it is not a societal driven thing and it is refreshing! This tropical paradise is so far removed from the tiresome burdens of perfection that first world countries seem so overly obsessed with. I want my daughter raised that way. To understand that beauty is on the inside and that your body is not what makes you beautiful.
We were at a fire dance the other day and Rebecca and I couldn't stop talking about how refreshing it was to see these beautiful dancers with real bodies. Bodies showing the wear of child birth, bodies that were healthy and strong, bodies that were soft. These women wearing nothing but coconuts and skirts took my breath away because they knew they were beautiful even though western society would have told them otherwise. I want their confidence and I am slowly starting to have it. I wear my bathing suit and I don't feel gross or fat, because I am neither. I may not be the size I wanted to be but I am healthy. I ride my bike, I run races, I workout, but I also live, I'm a mother, I eat pizza, you get the point.
If there is one thing that I really want to help Ella Mae discover, other than the deep love of God, it is that she is beautiful and jean size has nothing to do with it!
God created me and I am just as I should be. It is my job to care for my body, to treat it well and not abuse it. That means it is my job to love my body and that is what I need to start doing. To see it the way God sees it. Thank you God for lungs that can carry me through a race, a heart that is strong and healthy, for legs that can run, arms that can hold my daughter, eyes that can see the beauty around me, a sound mind that can learn and grow, for the marks my body bears from carrying a child and giving birth, I pray that I can always see the beauty because God created me and I am beautiful. The same goes for you who are reading these words. You are BEAUTIFUL!
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