We were out at a thrift store, trying on clothes in Port Credit, in Mississauga. The weekend weather was so kind to us and you couldn’t help but have a smile on your face given the gorgeous day we just had.
While trying on clothes, I kept thinking to myself that some of them didn’t fit quite like I wanted them to and at some points I struggled while looking in the mirror with that all-too-common thought: “If only I were a little less…” and it’s cousin, “If only I were more…”.
It’s the quickest way to lose faith in yourself and deflate an amazing day.
Rather than celebrate the nice clothes I found, I was lamenting the fact that some of the ones I wanted didn’t fit. Moreover, the thing to do might be to feel grateful for this magnificent body, but instead, I was thinking about how the clothing didn’t fit. It’s an interesting hang up to have, especially at a thrift store where there’s no designated stock that you’d expect to fit you.
While I was in the midst of trying something else on, someone came into the change room to ask how it was going and the first thing I saw, after spending five minutes or so earlier, lamenting the clothing’s fit, was a heart shaped piece of string sitting on their arm.
It reminded me that I wasn’t focusing on the things that would empower me or make me feel great about my body. Instead, I was choosing in that moment to focus on the things which stole my happiness, power and robbed me of feeling beautiful in my own skin.
Stopping me in my tracks, I closed the curtain and committed myself to remembering for the rest of the day, that this body is stunning. It brings me through the world and processes all kinds of food; it’s taken me through 5 and 10k runs while also being the one thing that stays consistent in each and every day. It’s seen me through wine with friends and the sometimes rough morning’s after while also fantastically helping me get better when I’m sick. It’s healed broken bones, nursed me through panic attacks and consistently sees that I fall asleep within ten minutes of laying down to go to sleep each night.
If that’s not something worth loving, I don’t know what is.
Here’s to these beautiful bodies of ours.
❤
Cheryl Costello
The Finding Hearts Project 