Being Thankful For Things You Don't Think Twice About

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Photo credit: Andy Cohen/Instagram
So... I still have Sarah Jessica Parker on the brain. There was something else she said during her guest spot on Watch What Happens the other night that has stayed with me and has me heavy in thought. If you have no idea of what I am talking about, pls read my previous blog post titled What Sarah Jessica Parker Has Taught Me About Loving Myself & Being Fearless and then come back. Hurry! ;)

During her guest spot, when she spoke of her hands and how they were one of her favorite parts of her body despite the media saying she has ugly hands, she also mentioned her second favorite part of her body...her feet. Her reason for loving her feet had nothing to do with vanity. She simply said that she loves her feet because they have taken her so many places and have not failed her yet.

WOW! <mind officially blown>

This is a woman who is a fashion icon. You would expect her to be one that speaks from a vanity standpoint. But no. Her favorite parts of her body have nothing to do with vanity and more to do with their meaning to her life. She is grateful for those body parts that many people overlook in favor of other body parts that are only admired for their beauty and nothing else. You hear it all the time... someone will say they love their eyes because of their color or shape... or their smile... or their lips, etc. They choose their favorite body parts based on what they feel is attractive and validated by society. That, in turn, causes us to loathe those body parts that are not considered attractive by society. And thus begins this vicious cycle of constantly trying to change ourselves to fit this standard imposed on us by society. Which we know never works as no one is perfect nor is everyone the same. We all can't fit into this cookie cutter body image that we are told we need to be like.

SJP has me really thinking about body image and how a simple mindset change can have you looking at yourself with a new set of eyes. It will have you being thankful for those body parts you don't think twice about.

Think about it. If we truly loved parts of our bodies for reasons that were more about how they enhance our lives in a meaningful way, we'd spend less time worrying about trying to fit in and be like someone else. We'd love ourselves in all of uniqueness and embrace those body parts that may seem "ugly" or "flawed". Those parts may not be beautiful by society's standards but they are more than vanity objects. They bring meaning to our lives, whether it's our eyes for allowing us to see the wonders of the world or our ears for allowing us to be able to listen to our favorite song or hear our child's voice saying "I love you". Or even our feet for taking us places we couldn't imagine we'd ever be.

SJP is on to something here. She may not realize it now but that one guest spot may have changed someone's life by causing them to look at their body differently. It did that for me so who knows who else she inspired? In my opinion, she just became an advocate for positive body image and probably didn't even know it.

This is a perfect example as to why it is so important to share your story. We all have something to say that will mean something to the world. With that said...

I want to know...what are your favorite body parts minus the vanity, the beauty or what society thinks? What body parts are meaningful to you?

I'm going to ponder this one for a bit on my end and write a future post, sharing what my favorite body parts are. I hope I can inspire you to do the same. Let's be thankful for those body parts we don't think twice about.



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