Another cut & paste. I am not talented enough to blog in two places at once! ;-)
The idea of perfection has been weighing heavily on my mind lately. We women are such harsh critics when it comes to ourselves (inner & outer) and what we consider 'perfect'. Why is this? Why do we judge our bodies based on what someone else has decided is the perfect form? Why do we deny our exquisite uniqueness in favour of fitting into a societal mold for womankind?
The pursuit of perfection often comes with a lot of expectations. Expectations placed on ourselves, by those around us, by society. Expectations about how we look, behave, our parenting, our lifestyle. Often we feel a duty to shoulder these responsibilities and stay strong under the crushing pressure.
What if we could step back and take a breather? Learn to accept our bodies and selves for what and who it truly is? Learn to view ourselves from a relaxed vantage point instead of racing to force ourselves into someone's ideals. Learn to love ourselves - right where we are, just how we are.
Where would this monumental shift in womankind take the world? I've had a blog about perfection & the true cost to women brewing for a while now. I started writing it on here & didn't like the way it was looking. So I saved it to a file, thinking I'd come back to it later. It kept staring at me - making me feel less than perect for not finishing it faster! LOL So I deleted it. BUT! This subject is continually coming up in my life, reading, blogs I follow, women I talk to. So I am listening! I am re-opening that file that's haunting me!
This is something I came across today. So powerful I cannot ignore it's presence or the ripple it started in my heart! It's from a website called www.theshapeofamother.com. It's a woman's (Rosie) comment to someone else's pic or comment. The fab woman who runs the website loved it so much she reposted it on facebook. I never would have seen it otherwise! (You see now why I'm really starting to feel haunted by this subject????????
)Here are Rosie's comments (copied & pasted):
http://theshapeofamother.com/blog/a-...oday-by-rosie/
Hear them - really hear them. And then honestly ask yourself what kind of a lens you see through to judge your body & inner self. And then honestly answer yourself! Who's expectations are you trying to live up to? Your own? Society's? Your partner's? Other women's? There is so much complex emotion to how we view ourselves!
It's no wonder men are so terrified of the question "do I look fat in this?"!!!!!! They are (sometimes - he he he) smarter than we give them credit for! They realize that it's a completely loaded question! Because it totally is! The pants, the dress, the top - all just the excuse to ask if we're fat. If he's judging our appearance as we are. If we meet his expectations. If he'll be embarrassed to be seen publicly with us. If he notices the bulges or rolls that we do. If he's proud that you'll be on his arm!
It's a sly way for our insecurity to reassure itself that you aren't really as bad as you think you are, don't look as bad as you feel, shouldn't judge yourself as harshly as you are... I realize that I don't ask hubby this question anymore. And that realization came with the terror that it's because I answer it in my head now! Yikes! My inner judgment is much harsher than he would ever be!
I'm not sure which is more unhealthy - relying on his opinion of me to boost my morale or relying on my own! Until my own is in better shape, of course! 
It's a cycle I'm stuck in - and have been for pretty much my whole womanhood. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...
I'm on a journey to help myself lighten up on - well, myself. To figure out where my judgments of myself come from, where formed. Whose opinion am I using? Who's definition of perfect am I living by? When I'm on these journeys I tend to drag along all the women in my life!
Welcome to that club! LOL!
I hope you're ready for this because I am listening to the Universe now!
