My 12 year old daughter took these pictures of me today, and as usual, I noticed how meticulously critical and judgemental I am about myself. No matter how many people told me (from their hearts!) how beautiful and lucky I am, most of my life I’ve dealt with a low self~esteem, feeling very ugly ✨
And this post might seem silly compared to all the suffering happening in our world today, but I know that especially women suffer from this same lack of confidence when it comes to our bodies and how society forces standards of female beauty upon us that are impossible to live up to ✨
Social media can be such an ego~trap, and I admit, I’m guilty of it too. Not always, but hidden deep inside there’s this addiction for ‘likes’, for being seen. But then I feel fake when I retouch a picture, or put a filter on it, indulging in vanity, trying to look ‘perfect’ in a ‘picture~perfect~life’ ✨
Ofcourse that’s not true! I’m living a happy life, yes, no doubt, but just like most of us, I’m also working through blockages, self~doubts and negative emotions on a daily basis ✨
Today I’m honouring this shadow side I didn’t own till very recently, for all of us. I honour the one who’s aging and trying to look like 26 forever. It’s an innocent misunderstanding, trying to protect its identity from harm, criticism and disgrace ✨
How did we come to a world where we allow our mobile phones and social media to decide on how we feel about ourselves? How we value ourselves? ✨
The good news about aging is that I’m becoming more gentle with myself. The seducing, flirting teen~ager, who always needs more recognition, is finally calming down. Creating space for a more loving identity ✨
Self~compassion is the key. To observe with soft and curious awareness. To ask myself what I’m feeling, to name the feelings within, and to allow myself to feel the way I feel in the moment, without constant self~judgement. For not being perfect —> the biggest misunderstanding of all ✨
We. Are. Perfect ✨
I hope my sharing might help someone who’s reading this. It’s not easy to be vulnerable, but it’s definitely liberating to be radically honest ✨
May we all grow together through soft self~acceptance ✨
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