This morning, I was having a rare moment of relaxation on my couch. Not that relaxing is rare for me, but usually I am a "get up & go" kind of person. Every now & then, however, I like to plan a still morning on my couch. The winds began blowing; the lightening began to strike. Like many others, my poor husband had to run to his truck in pouring rain. Yes... a good morning to ponder life on my couch.
Something caught my eye on the Today Show: a photographer who photographs blemishes of women (I think especially women who have had children). By blemishes, I'm not talking about acne & such. No... I'm talking about saggy skin, stretch marks, & the like. She has taken the "things in life that are so disturbing" to many women & made them a beautiful part of life.
I sat on my couch stunned! I am very disturbed right now by my own body. It's taken a beating over the last year & 1/2. Just being honest & real here. If you've followed my blog, you know I've had chemo, a double mastectomy, radiation, ... Now I'm on a medication which is causing me to gain weight. I'm also a mid lifer. Let's face it, my body is not the body I would like to have. I don't have the will power I once had. Add my vanity to this equation, & it's downright depressing.
My sweet family is quick to remind me when I lament... "At least you're not dead." That's not exactly comforting, but in a strange sort of way it is. It brings me back to knowing the truth. I am alive & well. I have so much joy. I have 3 young adult daughters & a husband who love me. I have a grand baby! I have friends overflowing, & of course, Otis & Bella. My life is fulfilled, sometimes over fulfilled.
Yet if I dwell on my body, I am depressed. However, this artistic photographer has taken these blemishes and given them meaning. She has photographed with such skill & beauty, that she has turned them into stunning badges of honor. The women wearing these badges are grateful women. They have much to show for their bulges, stretch marks, & saggy skin. They have weathered the unthinkable changes in their youthful bodies & come out on the bright side.
No... they don't have the bodies they once had. Instead, they have aging bodies. They have blemishes they once wished they could change, cover, hide, forget... When the segment was over, Matt Lower commented that this photographer had just relieved a lot of women. If he only knew. Perhaps some of their emotional turmoil will heal. It was like saying..."It's okay. You are beautiful just as you are."
No comments:
Post a Comment