body image.

CRISIS. your body is not perfect. even if it were perfect by my definition, the guy sitting to my left might think you have wide hips, and that girl across the street might think you could benefit from some crunches. never mind the negative opinions you may have of yourself.

i have become increasingly conscious of and concerned with the amount of time, energy, and thought the average person seems to put into their body image. i have to wonder if cavepersons gave two shits about what they looked like and how they compared to those around them. do i blame the advent of the mirror? society at large? i suppose research would need to be done to determine the time and place in which so many started to strive so desperately for "perfection." eh, i’ll just stick with my personal observations.

even as i type this, i remind myself that i'm in a unique place in the world: north america, u.s.a., california (southern, to be specific). this means that i am likely more body image obsessed than those in other parts of the world where the media have a lesser effect. 

regardless, the reality—my reality—is that those around me and i talk about some aspect of body image on a daily basis. i am surrounded by confident, intelligent, successful people. why, then, do i so often find myself in a discussion revolving around one’s negative body image? don’t get me wrong: i have been the instigator in such conversations on more than one occasion.

so much negative thought can be all-consuming. even as i myself try to focus on the parts of my body that i’m proud of, i hear others continue to criticize themselves. if they’re criticizing themselves, i wonder, what must they think of me? and so begins the downward spiral.

where does it end? is anyone truly, 100% satisfied with their appearance?

i know i’m not. there will always be things about myself that i would like to change. but i feel that the more these feelings are spoken, the more entrenched in them we become. for every one negative, there must be one or more positives. to obsess over one’s “shortcomings” is to forget the person who would give anything to have what you have.

i recently made a resolution to be less judgmental about others—something that is more difficult than it may seem. i feel that i must now revise that to include myself. i take care of myself the best i can. i eat relatively well. i exercise. i spend time with the people i love. if i can’t be satisfied with that, what can i be satisfied with?

yeah, we can always improve. but i think we look pretty damn good the way we are.