Embrace
A few years ago this woman, Taryn Brumfitt, did something remarkable. She posed naked, in all her imperfect, perfect glory. She posted a less than conventional before and after photo and she knocked the world on it's head, or at least mine. I count myself blessed for having seen her, those years ago, for having read her message and followed her journey. Just over a month ago I watched her documentary. A documentary that I watched grow and helped spread awareness of. Embrace.
Embrace is Taryn's story of self acceptance, happiness and love and it follows her journey around the world in search of why so many of us hate our bodies and value ourselves based on things like our weight, appearance or beauty. Now naysayers - I feel you. I live for healthier generations and getting people to move more. This is not a documentary encouraging people not to take care of their health. It is in fact, the exact opposite.
Despite never being the most fit or thin person I've always had a good sense of self, self esteem and happiness. It's not gone, but it was certainly challenged after having my fellas. The expectation to bounce back and have a "pre-baby body" is real. And it's tough. And to be truthful I find it absolutely absurd.
Pre-baby body. You mean the one I had before I grew a human in my belly? Before my skin stretched and gained permanent marks to accommodate the size of a tiny human? Before my body produced milk to feed, provide immune support and comfort beyond compare for my tiny fellas? Because this new one did some pretty amazing things and to be straight with you, I am not willing to discredit the things I consider to have been incredible just because I don't have a pre-baby body.
For me, what this all comes back to, as with so many other things in my life, is love. I talk and write all the time about treating others with love and kindness, why is it so hard to do the same thing for myself? I work everyday to make healthy decisions, be active, eat well, be outside in nature. I take care of my sons, my husband, our house, have a job, and the list goes on. Just because my body doesn't look like it should grace the cover of Cosmo doesn't mean it shouldn't be celebrated or at the very least, loved. Loved for giving me so many incredible opportunities, for giving me healthy babies, for giving me long runs and long walks. Loved for nourishing my babies, for surviving on hardly any sleep, for comforting and carrying two young humans.
Life is far too short to spend it obsessing over physical appearance alone. Health is so much more than your weight, or measurements. Health is a combination of physical, social, spiritual, mental and emotional well being. Celebrate your health. Celebrate the things that matter to you, your achievements, your family, yourself!
Because you should be celebrated. Embrace your differences, they make you stronger. Embrace the body that allows you to achieve so many incredible things, like creating a life, saving a life, changing the world. Women every day do so many incredible, praise worthy things.
And while it's still a journey, I most definitely have embraced.
To anyone reading who wants to watch, you can find Embrace the documentary details here.
- lovefrommaria
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