Thursday, September 22, 2016

Thankful Thursday - The Whole of Us



"Often we treat certain aspects of ourselves as junk, having no value. We try to throw parts of ourselves in the garbage. But a human being is an ecosystem, and everything in that system is of value to the whole." Stephen Schwartz. 

I'm not sure why but so many of us reject certain aspects of ourselves. We think we're not smart enough, good enough, right enough. But the biggest struggle we have is with our bodies. We criticize it for not being the right size, shape, colour, etc. We spend so much time trying to  hide parts of it or shape it to being what we think it should be.   

For too long I struggled with not feeling good enough. All I saw were my flaws. I focused on them to the exclusion of everything else.  Embracing all parts of me has been my biggest challenge.  

The thing is everyone's flawed. Everyone has imperfections, or weirdness. And the flaws are simply part of our whole makeup.

I love the woods and hiking the trails. In nature, I see misshaped trees, animals that have distinctive markings unlike others of their kind, roots that grow out where they're not supposed to, but I never think, yuck. Instead I marvel at the brilliance of how those 'flaws' fit perfectly into the whole of nature and enhance its beauty. 

So it is with us. Our flaws, those things we wish were not a part of us, really do add to our uniqueness and beauty. Today I choose to embrace all of who I am - mind, body, soul. 

Happy Thursday, Guys.

 

5 comments:

Connie said...

Wonderful post, Nikki! It is so true that we all find fault with ourselves in one way or another. We need to learn to accept who we are as a whole.

Lux G. said...

Our flaws are part of who we are. We wouldn't be who we are without them. Thankful for mine. :)

Happy weekend!

DUTA said...

Yes, we should learn to accept and even love ourselves; the way we look and the way we think. It usually happens in the third stage of life, around the age of 60. Well, 'better late than never'.

Launna said...

Nikki... what a timely post... since I have gained weight due to eating and not being able to exercise... I have been so hard on myself. With that I have been feeling more pain, it doesn't even make me wonder anymore, it makes me think how I need to start loving myself and being kinder... Besides this is what I want for my daughters... we are so much more that the bodies our spirits inhabit... xox

Lowcarb team member said...

Great words and very true "The thing is everyone's flawed. Everyone has imperfections, or weirdness. And the flaws are simply part of our whole makeup."

Perhaps we should embrace our flaws more and not worry about them so much?

I feel for the younger generation who seem to expect everything to be perfect ... but what is perfect?

Alas in this life there are many imperfections but our goodness and kindness should be able to shine through.

Have a lovely weekend

All the best Jan