Week: 22
Pounds Lost: 38.2
Dear Body:
Let me open by thanking you for being there for me for the last 37 years and counting. No matter what abuses I’ve subjected you to (and there have been many!) you’ve been there for me; stalwart, strong, sound. I’ve climbed trees, jumped gaps, fallen off bikes, skis, toboggans, wagons, swings…and yet your bones remain whole and hale. I’ve bumped, bashed and bonked you, yet the bruises always fade. Twice I’ve called on you to create, nurture and bring forth life in great pain and effort, and then called on you to create the milk to nourish those lives through their first, fragile years. And yet you rebound!
And now, dear body, I must apologize. Not for the things I’ve done with you, the spills we’ve taken or the burdens we’ve borne: but for the things I’ve done to you, the things I’ve put in you.
I’m sorry for all the fifth, sixth and subsequent beers. For all the X-tra value meals, the Blizzards, the Big Grab bags of chips completely devoured. I’m sorry for the hangovers, the heartburn, the tongue burned raw by "simulated vinegar flavour". I’m sorry for the 60 extra pounds, the lethargy, the sedentary years. I’m sorry for the nights we couldn’t sleep because my hips ached from the weight of lying on them and because I snored like a 60 year-old smoking lumberjack.
But you are so strong! You’re resilient! Forgiving! I marvel at you: a butterfly emerging from the chrysalis. I marvel at the beauty that was inside all along. At the beauty that was me, that will be me again.
For everything that you’ve done for me, I thank you. For what I’ve done to you, I apologize. More: I vow to do better — to stay the course I’ve found for us, to nurture you. To eat well, sleep well and drink enough water. To exercise well, laugh often and walk everywhere.
You are my gift, my life…and I promise not to take you for granted anymore.
Love,
Me
What a beautiful post. We should blame our bodies less, never say we “hate” them. they are a gift and forgiving and resilient and our temple. Thanks for the reminder! 🙂 Keep up the good work!
What a beautiful post. We should blame our bodies less, never say we “hate” them. they are a gift and forgiving and resilient and our temple. Thanks for the reminder! 🙂 Keep up the good work!
I love the letter. It is so amazing how we want the magic potion to make it happen, when really we are the only ones who can do it. Time to make good choices for ourselves. Thanks for helping me think about the good health I enjoy without doing the best service to my being/body in the past. Here is to improving how I treat myself from the inside out.
What a beautiful and thought provoking letter, Kath. It’s so true, isn’t it? We all want to live long, healthy lives. Yet, we mistreat and misuse our bodies so often. I’m inspired to do better!
I should write the same letter, but I’m afraid my body would crumble it up and throw it in my face. 🙂
What a great letter, Kath. As I get older I think more and more about the importance of nurturing and respecting my body. I want to live many healthy years but this is hard earned. I too vow to appreciate my body and see it is a means to a healthy, long life. A partner in this journey.
Thank you once again for your inspiration.