Have you ever uttered those words?
Apologizing for the way you look is not just a Canadian politeness stereotype. I am going to safely assume it's a woman 'thing'. We hear it all the time. I have even said it! "Oh' don't judge me, I know I look awful, I didn't put on any makeup" and it is normally followed by an excuse like, 'It's my day off'. Or I'll even take it a step further and say " I love to look like a bum on my day off, sometimes I just don't want to try"
Why do we make excuses for not wanting to put on makeup? Why do we stop trying to put time into ourselves? Why do we feel the need to even explain ourselves? I don't know about you but I am thinking we need to be less judgemental to ourselves and ultimately others.
I'm sitting here thinking about all the women I know (including myself), who sacrifice their own self care for the care of others. When you take a step back it is so counter productive. We are in a time where everything happens so fast, we need to get done more then we should in a 24 hour period. We want to be everything to everyone and in the end the only person who suffers is us.
We are reminded every time we do yoga that we have 'carved' (literally that word is used and is so accurate) that hour out of our day to take time for ourselves and our practice. Really, if you took one hour out of your day to dedicate to whatever you want to do, it could even be sitting in complete silence, would the world crumble? Would your world crumble?
I hope that you answered no. We are stronger when we workout, we are stronger when we not only make our own decisions but also do what we know is good for us. We are ultimately stronger when we make time for ourselves to be... us. If that is to not put makeup on then don't, if it is to put a little bit of lipstick because it makes you feel pretty then do. Do. It. Do what you need to take care of yourself. No one else will do it for you.
Not everyone is so fortunate to go to a place and have someone acknowledge them for doing something good for themselves. It is 'ok' to say I need to do this for myself. That doesn't make you weak. It makes you strong. It doesn't make you selfish, it makes you aware of your needs. Sometimes that place you need to go to is yourself. It is the only person that has really been there since the beginning.
Self validation is one of the many journeys that I will be taking. We are so used to comparing ourselves to others that we forgot the most important person. I only want to answer to ultimately to myself, my inner being.
So, go wherever you need to go to speak to her.
She is waiting to listen.
xo,
AC
