The song that doesn't end
/Hello my loves,
I was talking to a dear and long-standing friend this week when the conversation turned to a podcast we’d both been dipping into. It centres around debunking societal myths about health, wellness and weight management. I’ve been loving it. The hosts can occasionally be a bit pooh-poohing of spiritual concepts, but I’ll forgive them that for the particularly insightful point of view they provide around the experience of people who don’t fit into society’s definition of an appropriate weight. As my friend and I chatted, I was reminded of how deep body image struggles run for all of us. We were covering familiar ground, discussing the sad phenomenon that none of us feel like we measure up, and we all compare ourselves to others, coveting the body they have. And those others? None of them feel like they measure up, and they all compare themselves to others, coveting the body they have. Why is this so? Why are we all trapped in a battle that no one can win, stuck in the world’s worst song that just doesn’t end? Well, for one thing, it makes a lot of businesses a lot of money. The beauty, wellness, weight management and fitness industries whip up and prey on our self-defeating narrative, generating untold revenue. They sell us solutions that aren’t solutions, exploit our insecurities, and peddle empty wares that are never going to be the answer. However. Today I would like to gently remind you that it doesn’t have to be this way. You do have the power to change this. You do have the power to play a new song. To make a choice for yourself, to say no, I will not do this to myself any longer. To say dear society, you can stick your needles and your treadmills and your calorie counts and your judgements where the sun don’t shine, because I’m ME, and I’m awesome, and I am what I am.And I’m going to turn my energy to learning to love that, rather than fighting it. In other words, we can all take individual ownership of our internal body image dialogue, and we can change it.
Now, this isn’t to say that you can’t be fit, or can’t indulge in beautifying or primping or dressing yourself up. Of course you can do all of those things if they authentically speak to you. I have a friend for whom running is meditation, and god knows I myself love a good primp for the fun of it. God also knows that running for me is akin to having my skin slowly peeled off with a butter knife: far from a meditation, for me, it’s torture. And that’s fine. I don’t run. She does. That’s great. Neither of us is right or wrong. We’re just being us, doing what speaks to us, and that, my darling, is that.
And so my loves, on we go. Another weekend of knitting is on the cards for me, because guess what??!! I’ve almost finished my scarf!!!!! Just a few more rows and my first knitting project will be complete! Yes, I’m a little bit proud. She’s chunky, soft and enormous, and she wraps me in love. I couldn’t wish for anything more. This weekend I’m moving on to my first attempt at a jumper, which I’m very, very excited about. I hope you have some lovely experiences swimming your way this weekend too. Until next week my loves 💛.
Love, Rachel xxx
