Article January 10, 2011 Issue

Editor’s note: The following is part of a series of blogs from TMCYouth.com. Here’s what the editors of the site have to say:

“There’s nobody you know better than yourself. The ‘Dear Me’ blog series is a way to share today’s spiritual insights with a past you, or a future you. . . . It’s about being honest, real, and true to yourself. What would you share with a future or past you? What would you say to help the rest of us grow through similar experiences?”

Loving who you are

Oh my beautiful body!

Kate

I wish I could be there, sitting just outside the bathroom door when you come out, on your way back to the dance studio. I would love to tell you that I know you have been throwing up so that you can lose weight, but that I love you, and I don’t think badly of you. I would tell you that I understand how hard it is to be surrounded by magazine images of skinny models and actresses all day, and dance studio mirrors all night.

But I would also tell you that I think you are beautiful. Last night I was looking at pictures of you from that time, 35 years ago, and you were so lovely. You thought you were never good enough. But, I would tell you that, not only were you good enough, you were perfect . . . you were you. And that was always enough.

Looking at those pictures, I could see the fear in your eyes though. Fear of rejection, failure, dismissal, and I remembered how many times you would look in the mirror each day trying to validate your worthiness to be in that highly competitive dance world, to be loved, to be thought beautiful . . . to be desirable.

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