October 26, 2010

NATIONAL LIKE YOURSELF DAY

When's the last time you looked in the mirror, and saw those dark circles under your eyes as a status symbol-- a beautiful indication of the hours you put into your family and life, instead of a sign of exhaustion and stress? Or when's the last time you looked down at your breasts (literally DOWN at your breasts, as they now fall below the equator) and considered their (dis)placement as a rite of passage, instead of "the shitty thing about breastfeeding?" OR when's the last time you looked at your ass in your not skinny jeans but alllmost 2 sizes CLOSER to the skinny jeans, and thought it looked perfectly fine...instead of a fat blob of once hot goodness?

Though charming, delightful, and entirely inspirational, let's be honest: those love yourself/love your body/ Dove campaign moments are few and far between for most of us. Amidst a divorce, a relationship post divorce, a house foreclosing, a career I wish would explode and a 3-year old who pretty much does explode when I wish he wouldn't--- I spend a lot of time in "woe is me" land. But it occurred to me yesterday, while on the treadmill (for the first time in god knows how long), that I'm not so bad. All things considered, I'm pretty goddamn spectacular. Yep, I said it.... And then I said it again, and again and again... And it got me thinking.... What if for one day, I just LIKED MYSELF. And I'm not even talking about the real "it's the inside that matters" stuff like personality, and generosity and intelligence, blah blah blah. I'm talking strictly superficial. HOW I LOOK. What if for one day, I shouted from the roof tops the things that I seriously, SERIOUSLY like about myself. The things that I can SEE in a mirror that I can always feel good about no matter what. The things that will be there with or without a promotion, with or without a significant other to cuddle with, with or without a best mommy of the year award...

Like my nose... I love my nose.


My ankles... I love my ankles.


My eyebrows... With a little help, I love my eyebrows.


Now it's your turn. It's NATIONAL LIKE YOURSELF DAY and I'm challenging YOU to like yourself today too. Choose three things that you love about yourself physically. Share them in the comments here and/or on your own blog. Be sure to leave a link and link back to me too. Tweet it, facebook it, share it with your community and spread the like yourself love....

Who's in?




9 comments:

Melissa said...

I like my collar bones, my ankles and my hands. Thanks for asking ; )

Abby said...

Wait, physically?? I thought we were talking personality or brains! This is MUCH tougher. Hmmm...

I guess I would say 1) my hair. I like the color & have never had to dye it, 2) my legs. They're long & strong, thanks to spinning, and 3) my height? I have not embraced it most of my life, but I'm always meeting short people who'd love to be tall, so maybe I should. Working on it, anyway!

Thanks for the food for thought!

Darryle said...

I love this idea and think it's desperately needed for all of us. It's a lesson I learned the hard way and just wrote about recently.
http://blog.darrylepollack.com/2010/10/the-promise/

If you read it you'll understand why I love ALL of me including my flaws. But secretly, what I love best is my hair, my wrists and my legs.
Hope lots of women will embrace your idea and embrace themselves.

Melissa Chapman said...

Here's my post http://marriedmysugardaddyalovestory.blogspot.com/2010/10/national-like-yourself-dayim-still-work.html
Still learning to like my nose:)

GChen said...

Great post! Really made my day.

Three things I like about myself:

1. My height. I'm short, and I've always loved being short.

2. My shoulders. They are on the broad side, which tends to make my butt look smaller (at least that's what I tell myself.)

3. My skin. One good thing about aging is it got dried. I was an oily mess when I was younger, so I love that I have to slather on the moisturizer.

Lifeofkaylen said...

You do have a super-adorable nose!!! Mine is a blob. I have always wanted one just like yours!
Great post!!

I love my eyes-they used to be super-dark brown and as I've aged, they have gone green-hazel-brown and are really a cool color.

And I love my hair-I am totally blessed with great hair!! I've heard it my entire life, it's just perfect hair and I love it.

And I love my feet. I hate feet in general-but mine are really nice feet!

Karen Bannan said...

I'm late to the party, but I like my hair, my brain, and my arms.

I struggle with liking myself. My husband loves all of me. I should, too, right?

http://naturalaspossiblemom.com/2010/love-isnt-complicated

Single Mama NYC said...

Awesome post; here's mine!

audreygeddes said...

Great idea! What a positive thought. I like my hair and my nose :}. Have you been to Looks Great Naked? It's a humorous blog by Grace Adams that I just love. Grace believes who you are is gorgeous. Trying to be something you’re not isn’t.