​It is so easy to take our body for granted. It just does what we want, right? When we really take time to think about all the things that our body does for us, wow, how amazing it is. How often do you thank your body for all that it does for you?

I believe that given the right environment, our body can heal and be healthy. When I say the right environment, I mean how we nourish and nurture it through the authentic kindness of our mind: through the relationship of acceptance with our emotions, through expanding our awareness of how we are much more than just our physical self, the exercise we take and how we nourish ourselves through the food that we eat, through to the company that we keep and the energy we surround ourselves with and through living as our authentic selves. Sounds easy when it is said quickly!

Over generations, we have been fed limitations on what is acceptable physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually, digested them and believed other’s projections to be the truth, submitting to cultural beliefs and values. The belief in the power of the mind has taken over from trusting the body. The result of this is we have learnt to disconnect from our true selves. From a physical perspective, not to accept and like our own bodies. Add a dose of emotions we don’t like or feel comfortable with, and hey presto we have a recipe for a complete disconnect from our physical selves.

How often do you sit and pay attention to what your body is telling you through your emotions and sensations?

Do you actually like the body that you live in, or do you prefer to cover it up and make it look pretty to hide that it doesn’t feel pretty underneath?

We need our body to experience and learn the lessons we came into this lifetime to learn. When our house or car needs work done, we invest our time, energy and money on servicing and repair work. Our body needs that same attention and looking after too. Our body is the home for our soul in this lifetime. I love this quote by the French philosopher, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin:

Have you ever felt different to other people? Did you grow up feeling different to everyone else? Did you grow up knowing that you were different? Did you grow up feeling like you didn’t fit in and didn’t belong? Did you grow up feeling that difference was a bad thing? I did.

Society, family cultures, education create a one size fits all mentality. That to be accepted and acceptable we need to fit in. Many of us were not celebrated for who we are and allowed to be different. We all know that one size does not fit all. To ‘fit in’ we need to conform, to adapt. The trouble is when we adapt and conform we are doing it to suit someone else’s needs and inadequacies and not for ourselves.

When we adapt we neglect our authentic self, we are judging ourselves. We are taught this from a very early age in many different messages: 
"What will the neighbours think?"
"Put other people first, it’s selfish to think of yourself!"
"Why can’t you be more like so and so?"
"Be quiet and do as you are told."
"No, it’s not like that, it’s like this!"
"This is the way we do it."
I am sure you can think of more family myths that you had in your family that became a belief system to adapt to. Sometimes we don’t even stop and think, "Is this my belief or someone else's?" Adaption creates anxiety about fitting in as we become preoccupied with how we appear to others, compare ourselves and seek approval. It also teaches us not to accept ourselves just as we are. Sometimes we can be so disconnected from our true self that we have no idea who we are anymore.

The trouble is when we truly don’t believe or think how we have been told to think, then we can believe that we are wrong and therefore something is wrong with us. This is when we can feel different and feel like we don’t fit in, inflicting a negative view on ourselves. What we don’t understand is that these ways are being imposed on us just like they were imposed on those imposing on us. People don’t like to change or do things differently in case it ‘rocks the boat’ or someone else won’t like it. It can seem easier to adapt with the perception of fitting in. Unfortunately when we do this we are neglecting our true selves.

Accepting yourselves stops that feeling of not fitting in. Accepting what you think and how you feel can be liberating. Don’t try to fit in for others as you fit in perfectly with you. Give yourself that permission to be you whatever that means for you. People secretly admire difference as an unexpressed part of themselves wanting to be expressed.

As Oscar Wilde wrote:

Courage as the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear, bravery.
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