Self-acceptance can take a minute, but it’s so worth it
(Originally published on Medium in the publication Boomerangs)
I have been on the long road to complete self-acceptance for decades. I have enjoyed the help of therapists, friends, and the changing cultural landscapes— like the ones that now call out diet culture and fat-shaming, and call instead for body liberation.
Some things are so terribly ingrained, I didn’t even know I was buying into them.
Yet some of those things have finally begun the process of losing their meaning and falling away, and are taking other chunks of old beliefs with them, exposing more and more of my true self… the self that no longer needs to hide.
I will be 58 on my next birthday at the beginning of 2022. My 50s have been nothing short of a miracle of change and growth.
I have been slow-motion catapulted into my current life characterized by grace, open-heartedness, transformation, peace, previously unknown stability, and grateful service.
Some of the change has been absolutely welcome — safety, warm home, family, new career, great health.
Some of the change, particularly early on (I’m looking at you 2015, a year FULL of disappointment), was most unwanted, but because of it, the only healthy response could be radical acceptance and getting on with life (albeit after a few years of self-flagellation with shame and guilt, and alternating between identifying as either the monster or the victim… or both at once).
Some of the change was just what was left over after I got active again and started eating more consciously towards a goal of health. When I lost significantly more weight than I had imagined that I could. But then combined that with a much harder loss, and I could barely recognize myself…
To continue reading in the original Medium publication Boomerangs, please click here. (The entire article will be available here at some point in the future, but I hope you’ll head over to Medium and take a look there. Thank you for your support!!)
The resources and information shared here, as well as the author’s own personal experiences, are for informational purposes, and aren’t intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any condition or disease or provide any professional advice. Discuss any changes in your activity and eating patterns with your primary care physician prior to pursuing.
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