I first heard of Anna Lynne McCord (an actress on the new
90210) a few weeks ago when she decided to tweet her face without makeup, writing: “I woke up this morning and decided I’m over
Hollywood’s perfection requirement. To all my girls (and boys) who have ever
been embarrassed by their skin! I salute you! I’m not perfect – and that’s okay
with me!”
This got me thinking about the relationship between body
image and authentic living.
Most of us hide our authenticity. We hide our blemishes, our
curves, our insecurities, and our feelings.
When we are being inauthentic, we instantly shut down to
divert away from the surfacing discomfort. Pretending to be anything rather
than what we are numbs us out. Similarly when we hate our body, we abandon it.
We divert into our intellectual selves where feelings can be concealed.
We have the same coping mechanisms for both negative body
image and inauthentic living. We emotionally and energetically disembody.
Inauthenticity comes when we feel we can’t speak our minds
with our superiors, when we pretend things are not hurtful even though they
are, when we hide our vulnerability, when we smile and say “good” when people
ask us how we’re doing.
The numbing effect of inauthentic living conceals our
connection to the greater source. Our path to purpose resides within the body
and with no connection to it; the body transforms from being our greatest tool
to being our greatest hindrance. Intuitively connecting purpose to body, we
channel our dissatisfaction with not feeling purposeful into body hate.
The more authentic we become, the more embodied we become. Embodiment
is the number one method for healing negative body image.
While Anna Lynne McCord may have spoken up about body image,
the embodiment didn’t come from revealing her looks, it came from speaking her
truth. By speaking her truth, she took a step forward into self-acceptance, inspiring
others to do the same.
I guess 90210 still has something to offer long after the
days of Brandon and Brenda Walsh.
2 comments:
Thank you, Daniel. This is wonderful. A wonderful reminder. It resonates with me, as a new mom, trying and trying to be be a perfect everything- mom, wife, employee, friend. There is so much peace that comes with embracing imperfection. And how perfect is that?! :)
Thank you, Daniel. This is wonderful. A wonderful reminder. It resonates with me, as a new mom, trying and trying to be be a perfect everything- mom, wife, employee, friend. There is so much peace that comes with embracing imperfection. And how perfect is that?! :)
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