Body and Mind

There was once a time

When my body defined me.

Every curve, every pound,

Defined my limits.

I lived in reflections,

Every surface held a picture of me as I walked past,

So I sucked in my stomach and plastered on a smile.

Every night, I would timidly consult the mirror:

“How did I do?”

And every night, the same answer:

“Not good enough”.

My curves became rolls,

My weight became unacceptable,

Standing in front of the mirror.

My mind and body were at war.

That was years ago.

Slowly, on my own and with help,

I learned to listen to myself, not the mirror.

It took so long to change my mindset,

reconcile my mind with my body,

…and if I was being honest,

I would say I still struggle with it at times.

As I progress through life,

Satisfied with myself,

I see everyone around me who is not.

We live in a world that values

Constant progress and perfection

No one is ever “good enough”.

People are dissatisfied with their bodies,

And punish themselves.

My dream job

Is to stop the endless battle against the physical self.

Because

we are not just our bodies,

we are not just our freckles, hair color, weight, teeth, lips, arms.

We are our minds and thoughts and feelings and laughter as well.

Our body is the vessel that carries us through life,

And we should praise it, take care of it, nourish it properly,

Be marveled by it.

Today I go to class,

Eat lunch,

Go out with friends,

Do homework,

Remind myself I am good enough.

Tomorrow, I go to work.

Turn people inward,

Remind them that they are not perfect,

But no one is.

I tell them my story,

And how I’ve moved forward.

Tomorrow I start changing

One person’s world at a time.

I know that nutrition therapy is where I belong.