Weekend Kindness
Reaching Others Through Kindness

February 24 through March 1 is National Eating Disorder Awareness Month. Typically this is frame around a “Love Your Body” week (or month) on most college campuses and communities! Here, we’ve been loving our bodies all month long. It’s been truly a great month of educational opportunities and empowerment to really celebrate the body you have and not critique it for it’s faults.

Yesterday, I had the honor of listening to four women from outside the United States. A woman from Sudan, a woman from India, one from Mexico, and one from Bocstand heritage. Each woman had such a beautiful perspective of beauty in their culture. Many woman brought pictures of their children, mothers and friends. When asked the question, “what do you love about your body”, not one mentioned a physical characteristic, but gave thanks to having a healthy body, all their limbs and to have not be taken over by illness. How cool!

At another program, we had the privileged to hear the inter working of a college student who is recovered from high school bulimia. I’ll definitely give her book a plug because she was really a neat person. She open up to our group about the disorder, which is so helpful to someone who works with college-aged women who struggle a lifetime with this disorder.

As February comes to a close we can reflect upon all the great posts that have been written on love and relationship I wanted to add this dimension to the conversation – Love Your Body. If you struggle with loving your body I’ll leave you with a few practical ways to improve your outlook (taken from NEDA):
5. Appreciate all that your body can do. Every day your body carries you closer to your dreams. Celebrate all of the amazing things your body does for you –running, dancing, breathing, laughing, dreaming, etc.

4. Look at yourself as a whole person. When you see yourself in a mirror or in your mind, choose not to focus on specific body parts. See yourself as you want others to see you — as a whole person.

3. Become a critical viewer of social and media messages.

2. Wear clothes that are comfortable and that make you feel good about your body. Work with your body, not against it.

1. Accept yourself – accept your body. Celebrate yourself – celebrate your body!

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