and affection as much as anybody in the entire universe.”

Is there a better way to state what self-acceptance is all about?! I love this! And it is so very true. If you are struggling to accept and love yourself, please read on with an open mind and consider ending the fight and the struggle all together.

When you see an abused animal do you wish you could give them your love? To hold and to hug them and make the bad stuff go away? When you see a child sad and scared? When your best friend calls you upset over some horrible thing? When your sibling or parent is in need? My heart leaps out of my chest in these instances and I want to envelope them in my glowing love and protect them from all that would do harm. It is because of this immense empathy I have that I can no longer watch or listen to the news (even my beloved KPFA.org). Consider for a moment why you think you do not deserve this same love and compassion and comfort. Because you do deserve it…you deserve to give it to yourself, right now.

None of us were born hating ourselves or our bodies. What lead you astray? We were taught to think and live a certain way. We were taught to be free thinking individuals, so long as it fits in with the constructs of modern society. D’oh! Aren’t we lucky to be living in a time at the height of body dimorphism, discrimination and self-esteem issues?! NOT! It’s so fucked up I can’t even deal…but I do, everyday! We all do whether we realize it or not. It is always there, even if it’s just in the background.

This is not a society that even supports or encourages self-acceptance and love. Why is that? That seems to be a major error on our part (or someone’s). How can we be expected to change the world for the better when we’re all so worried (or even terrified) about the size of our asses? (All the better to control the masses!) It’s absurd! Not only that, it’s inhibiting and extremely unhealthy!

I have been working on doing some form of self-care everyday. I want this to turn into a routine, to not even think about it and to just do it…for me! This wasn’t something I was taught to do from an early age. I don’t know of anyone who was taught this. It was never brought up in school or amongst friends, even. As a kid it was more like getting scolded, “Go cut your goat horns!” (fingernails). Even as an adult I would neglect things and not even realize it. I thought a lot of this stuff was pampering or fancy-lady-things. I was so very wrong.

It is vital to be mindful of your body, to be in touch with it and to know it when it is healthy so that you will know when something is off or wrong. We are taught to not trust our bodies, which is such a crime and a true shame. You have to learn how to trust your body again. We all do. It’s a necessity! Because being the owner of a fat ass means that most medical professionals will not trust you, your statements, experiences or even documentation of your body. Some will, but the more informed you are, the better.

The most radical thing you can do, right now, is to love and accept yourself. Try to do one little nice thing for yourself each day. See how many days you can go. If you forget, just start again. There’s no penalty, really. Put on some nice smelling lotion or paint your nails a fun color. Try stretching in the morning when you wake up instead of groaning and hitting snooze (wow, I so need to heed my own advice on this one). Look at yourself in the mirror and smile. Say out loud, “I love you!” to yourself with your hand on your heart. You will eventually believe it, even if you don’t just yet.

This stuff will one day become the norm, I hope. It is my aim to make it so in my own life and I hope more will feel the urge as well. We should be sharing and caring and not judging and blaming. We should be telling our friends and loved ones that they might benefit from these small self-love gestures, too! Why not?