Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Authenticity: Oops I Missed October's Homework

Over at BlogHer they are pioneering a year-long movement called Own Your Beauty. The idea is to create change, at the individual level, so that each woman learns to see herself as beautiful. We often see the beauty in others and forget that others see us as beautiful.

The focus for October is/was Authenticity. The assigment is to list all of the things you do that fill you with joy and/or grace. I thought creating this list would be easy. It wasn't, at least not for me. Here is what I have so far, I hope to find things to add to it. In no particular order:
  • sipping good wine
  • knitting
  • having my son run up to me at the end of the day calling out "Mama" and giving me a big hug
  • long, hot baths
  • books
  • getting a difficult deal done at work
  • realizing that work was not the end all be all of my life and that the world would not crash down on me if I didn't get it all done
  • looking at the professional maternity pictures I had done and realizing how amazing and beautiful and sensual I was then
  • sharing my love for breastfeeding and natural birthing with others
  • letting out loud, unrestrained laughter when something strikes me
  • getting organized
  • spin class (how I miss thee)
  • yoga. balances my body, soul and emotions
  • using sign language with my son. he isn't deaf but I love how we are learning to communicate in a variety of ways
  • standing up for myself, even when I find it difficult to do so
I feel that I am missing the little things in my list. I am sure they will pop up sooner or later. When I am doing them and find the joy, I am going to remind myself to stop and savor that moment.

My moments of clarity came when I was pregnant. I realized that there was no reason not to be the person I really was. I didn't need to care what "others" thought of me. I started to stand up more for myself; started to do even the little things that before would have scared me. I realized that work was not my life and didn't need to be.

Here's to authenticity. I hope to learn more about myself on this journey.


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