as i mature & grow more comfortable in my skin, i notice the silly things that i hang onto, that i need to let go of. things like, caring about how other folks perceive me. this has been a sad burden that i've been carrying from childhood & i think i've grown so weary of it through the years that i'm ready to lighten up & laugh it away from me. it is funny, the ridiculous lessons that we put ourselves through. but it is good, because of how much we needed to learn them in the first place.
that being said, i have also grown into a person who seeks truth, wholeheartedly. i identify with the word rebel, because rebelling is required when it comes to rejecting lies in order to embrace the shining truth. so i can be rebellious, in many ways, yes! radical means to originate from the "root" source of a thing. can i save myself the energy & just be real? this is how i connect rebel, radical & self love together.
where i live, winter is losing her voice. birdsongs are waking me up. tree branches are flirting with their buds. colorful life is revealing itself to us again & i am so inspired to do the same. i love my brown legs with their fine black hairs. when they catch the sunlight, i think they're especially pretty. i love the feeling of a warm breeze blowing on my legs, i can feel it playfully ruffling through my leggy womban hairs. it feels sweet! & when i've shave my arm pits, the baldness just looked odd to me. so i don't do that anymore.
i realize that for the most part, our society has been programmed to view a woman's natural body as disturbing, unnatural & in dire need of grooming. my mother did not raise me this way. therefore, i've always had a conflict going on between how i feel about my natural body & what the world outside expects of it. i always loathed the idea of "giving in" to expectations, but i was also uncomfortable with other people's reactions. my solutions were to just cover up. i'd wear jeans instead of a comfy skirt. or threw on a light cardigan over my tang top. silly, but this is how i existed in both worlds. i believe that this type of camouflage has really drained me. so, i'm done with that.
with or without the hairs that grow on my human body, i feel beautyfull. obviously, i am way more fond of just being happy with my natural self...so...i'm ready for the revealing. & i figure that it is good for folks to get used to the vision of a woman's natural body. i'm ready to bloom.
totally feelin this.
I love this posting!! I have been there myself, but interestingly enough, I did it with make up. Not that make up is bad. I like to play with it, especially the sparkly stuff. But I used to look at it, and wear it for the wrong reasons. I used to feel uncomfortable and unpretty without it. I wanted to hide my little scars and imperfections with it because I felt that if I let the world see them, that they would get lost in those imperfections and fail to see me for me. But the thing is that, I often felt uncomfortable when I had it on. And furthermore, the world didn't quite see the real me anyway, but the "made up me". I finally decided that I was okay with my imperfections. I love the feeling of the breeze and the warm sun on my bare skin as well, sister. Today, i am happy with a bit of eyeliner and mascara at night, and some lip gloss, if I wear anything at all, and I am okay with that. I pass this way of thinking down to my daughters, who at 15 and 16 are right smack in the middle of what others (hollywood, peers, fashion trends, etc) perceive to be beautiful. I tell them it's okay.....TO BE OKAY with their natural-ness.
Thank you for your thoughts.
"Not all those who wander are lost."
Tolkien
cool! it pleases me very
cool!
it pleases me very much to hear about our youth growing up with a much healthier perspective. my little sis (12) is loving tv culture & beauty mags these days. which is alright, but my mother & i do our best to make sure she is looking at this media with some questions & not just accepting it all
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every morning is a seed.
what shall we nourish it with?
how shall we cultivate it?
& how do we give thanks for it?
right on time
i was thinking on this a few days ago and i'm feeling everything you shared (thank you).
due to folks reactions and craziness i've also done the jeans thing. yep, for many years i've hidden behind denim. so, this particular blog entry of yours is a great reminder to myself that it is about time to get free.
i'm happy to inspire :)
yeah, it gets tiring right? despite how people react, i think it's worth it.
be good to you...*
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every morning is a seed.
what shall we nourish it with?
how shall we cultivate it?
& how do we give thanks for it?