Does anyone really love the body that they have?

I don’t think so.   If so, I’ve never met someone who just loved their body without quibble or something that they’d change, given the opportunity.

I was putting my hair up this morning and using the double mirror in the bathroom to make sure my hair ornament went into the right spot.  Noticed, as I usually do in that mirror, how prominent my traps are these days.

On one hand – I work very hard in the gym.  I’m there 4-5 hours/wk, doing strength training and a bit of crossfit.  I *love* being strong.  I love pushing myself and getting stronger, that whole self-competitive thing.  It’s awesome.   As a woman in her mid-40s, more physical strength is a major benefit.  It just makes my life easier.  I wouldn’t trade it.

And this is what my body is good at.  I’ve only known this for about a year and a half now, it was an unexpected blessing.   I knew my body wasn’t good at dance, or yoga, or running or sports involving balls flying at your face.   It’s fun to use your body the way it was meant to be used.  It’s good, in a very profound way, to use your body in a way that brings it joy.

But.  If you asked me to design my ideal body, the one you see in this picture wouldn’t be it.  It wouldn’t be it if I burned off all the fat I’ve yet to burn.  There would be longer limbs, a more profound hip-to-waist ratio, a long neck, and an aura of grace.

I don’t have that body.  Not all the dieting and plastic surgery in the world will give me that body.

So which body should I dress?  The one in my daydreams, or the one in my reality?  The answer is obvious.

Moreover, I shouldn’t dress my body with ill-temper.   What has it ever done to me?  Nothing but work hard, that’s what.

Sure, I can choose to dress in a way that draws out the vision of self which I prefer, which is exceedingly feminine.  That’s my heart.  But I also have to work with what’s on the ground – and that means embracing these muscles and showing them off.  Because I *am* very traditionally feminine… and very, very strong.

I’m both.  I dress both.

Dress your truth.   Dress who you are on the inside, and the body you have on the outside.  Be fearlessly yourself, don’t allow the world to stick you in a box.  It takes a bit more work, but that work is worth it, because the woman you see in the mirror is going to be the woman you really are.