Loving Your Legs!

As I was walking around campus last week, a profound thought came to mind: Our legs are seriously the most under-rated parts of our bodies! And not only that, but they also tend to be the most targeted aspect of physicality on the large scale. It is so sad to me that the part of us that should be most praised is most discriminated against. Let's take a step back and take a look at reality.

Stop and think about what your legs do for you. They get you out of bed in the morning, carry you to classes, work, family gatherings, they walk, run, dance, stretch, lift, bend, slide, gallop, skip, and store energy for all our daily activities. Our legs hold so much power to help us do all of our everyday tasks and activities.

So why are we hating on our legs? When you keep a realistic perspective of it, it's hard to see why. But when we turn to what advertisements, television and movie industries, marketing agencies, and our own subconscious whispers to us, it becomes almost impossible to see all the benefits from our legs. We are lied to on a daily basis that our legs are only of value if they fit well in size 2 skinny jeans, if they are long and "spidery" like the Victoria Secret Models' legs, if they will grab and hold the attention of everyone, male and female, in a quarter-mile radius.

Is that necessary? Is that beneficial to your being in any way? Does that promote your vision of your own magnanimous self-worth? I'll answer for you. Heck no! There is no universe in which these messages will lead to anything but unhealthy habits and devastatingly low self-esteem.

So let's kick that trash to the curb and redefine some things. Your legs - whether they hold the bulk of your water weight, or none of it, whether they touch in the middle (mermaid style, ladies!) or are wide set - are one of your crowning features. I know, right?? I can practically hear you all saying "What about my eyes, my hair, my contagious laugh, my comic book collection...?? Those aren't my crowning features??" Ok, well you can add those on top too, but regardless of the many sleepless nights your platinum edition Spiderman issues have gotten you through, your legs have - and will continue to - get you through more.

This week's challenge! Take some time to be grateful for your legs. Give them a bubble bath. Rub some special lotion on them. Hug them. Tell yourself that they are one of the most powerful things about you, because it's true!

BEAUTY IS POWER

You ever stop to wonder why beauty is so important? From the beginning of creation, it seems that mankind is captivated by - and on some levels subject to - what they perceive to be beauty. The definition of that concept has changed drastically over the centuries. It used to be that robust, large-boned women were considered the most beautiful, based on their strength and assumed ability to rear healthy children. As time's wheel turned, though, a new player stepped into view and took it upon itself to dictate what could be beauty, and what could not. Today, that player, known as the media, practically has a monopoly on the Webster Dictionary's properties set aside for the words "beauty" and "beautiful". How have they chosen to define it? Common points include lines like "size 2", "long-legged", "made-up", "double d's", and so forth. For real? So beauty is limited to a fraction of a single percent of the several billion women that roam the planet? I beg to differ.

It is finally time for someone to stand up and edit this description. What they say is beautiful can barely exist statistically. Aside from the numbers, I know for a fact that it is no where close to true. I know because I see and interact with beautiful people multiple times every day. Beauty is not a checklist. It's not an instruction manual. We all have aspects of beauty and it is therefore incumbent upon us to decide what makes us beautiful, amplify it, and develop it.

A lot of people - myself included - wonder, "What's the point? If the media is going to decide whether or not I am beautiful, why decide for myself? Can't I just accept my fate and go to my appointed station in society? My models' guilds if I am beautiful, and my book clubs if I am not?"

Um...NO. That is exactly the kind of thought process that deluded the media into thinking they have any kind of right to do what they do. And they don't.

All of this becomes clear once we understand the potential and the power that is given to beauty - TRUE beauty, not the fake stuff they have parading runways.

Imagine a young man. He is young, college-aged. He just had his heartbroken by the girl of his dreams. He rides the city bus across town to attend his marriage and family class, wondering why he is even bothering to go. He sits down on a bus next to a young woman.

Regardless of age, I.Q., career path, lip liner, mascara, or brand name clothing, that young woman can make a difference for that young man. How?

How about a smile? How about a kind word, a friendly look? How often do we underestimate the impacts of being a beautiful person, on all levels? We are creatures of interaction and while the world would have us think that we can live our lives without any assistance from anyone outside of our immediate circle, we are meant to be social and draw from one another's strengths. Beauty is a gift given to everyone. I don't care what the media - or even you - say about your beauty. The fact of the matter is I have NEVER met, and indeed believe I never will meet, someone who is not beautiful.

All this said, it doesn't negate the important role of physical beauty. There is still real power in that too. But physical beauty isn't about conforming to Hollywood standards of make-up and dress. It is about loving and taking care of your body in the best ways, in the ways you value most. You don't like eye liner? Then forget it. Opt to learn how to smile with your eyes instead. Think lipstick is a pain? (First off, I am with you, even though Grace would beg to differ). Then wash your face and put on a big smile instead. It is the little things that make the difference. Totally cliché, but things usually only become cliché when they are true.

This week, I challenge you in two ways. First off, actively seek and decide upon what makes you beautiful. Let it be your ability to compliment, your fabulous sale-find, cuddling with your best friend, or serving strangers. You have it!! You have so many things innately a part of you that make you a unique, stunning, beautiful individual. Secondly, seek ways to use your power for the benefit of others. Look around you. You could guess that everyone is struggling in someway - EVERYONE - and you would be right. Don't let the fact that you aren't drop-dead gorgeous according to People Magazine prevent you from being someone's beautiful person - that one person that makes them feel beautiful too.
-Meg