A letter to my body, as part of BlogHer’s “Letters to My Body initiative”.
You can participate as well, so check them all out.
My letter to my body is a thank you letter. Maybe like those written, maybe not, I have no way of knowing as I choose to wait until I had composed it before reading the others.
I want to thank my body for what it has allowed me to do, and I want to make a few promises to my body as well.
Dear body,
Thank you for allowing me to snowboard from The Andes to, Wyoming, and yes even on the fake stuff and ice in Maryland. I thank you for allowing me to slide onto a board and head out into the deep ocean, because no matter how much those abdominal muscles hurt after a paddle once out there, alone in the water, there is nothing like it. It’s wondrous, thank you.
I want to thank you dear body for those back flips on the trampoline when I was growing up, you never failed me, the few bruises healed quickly and were soon forgotten. You have my gratitude for healing those ribs I broke after the fall off a four wheeler in the snow freshman year of college. I appreciate you letting me know I needed better running shoes, and for forgiving me for running on that pavement. Last but not least, I thank you for all the thrills you provide me with, real or anticipated.
I am grateful to you dear body, and would like to make you some promises. I know I don’t have to, but you deserve them.
I promise you I will feed you well, with the proper fuel, only an occasional empty calorie, which face it you enjoy too, and with no poison containing diet drinks. Never will a tobacco product come near thee and ingestible chemicals of any kind will be used in the most moderate of moderation. I will not starve you, or allow for my head to get larger than you, nor will I force you to sit with me while I read useless fashion magazines in which the emaciated models appear to have been incarcerated and fed a diet of bread crusts and water. I will not allow you to see what they do to the bodies of most woman on the covers of magazines – chipping away at them piece by piece until they are a tenth of their real size - that would be too painful for you to bear.
There is a possibility, if I live long enough, my head might have to endure a procedure for new dentition, but you will never have to worry about having a part intentionally, and without due cause, replaced, added, or sucked out.
My last promise to you, though I know “sticks and stones will break your bones, but names will never hurt you, is probably the hardest promise to make in this culture of ours. I will never ever look at you in the mirror and say “bad, ugly body”. Ever.
Your body should love and give you a long healthy life in return for this letter. You have truly shown your body great respect. On the other hand,
“….you will never have to worry about having a part intentionally, and without due cause, replaced, added or sucked out.”
I won’t make my body all those promises, lol. Though I more than likely won’t do those things, I don’t know what tomorrow holds, so I never say never.
Nice letter, not what I thought it would be.
Is it only for females this writing a letter to your body thing?
I think it goes for men too, maybe not to the same degree but close.
Nice. Standing ovation! — and I can be right there with you on so much of what you’ve written right down to the diet drinks, smokes, and general non-organic matter. I will admit, however, that at my favorably ripe age, I am surprised at my more mature self when I see me in a mirror and smile 90% of the time knowing I wouldn’t trade places with anyone. The remaining 10% is to simply catch my breath, gird my loins, and forge on. I like my skin and every scar, line, and freckle on it.
Claps hands.
Diet drinks are poison. I can see having one once in awhile but they are bad for you.
The thank you letter concept was original.
If we realized what our bodies do for use we would stop abusing them, by starvation or otherwise.
Liked the hidden referral to lollipop heads. ;)
may your body always allow your soul to flow in the manner of the flying woman in your former nowickedwitch blog.
amen.
i aint doing one of these things for my body because running 100 mile weeks for a few years on end is an abuse of the body, but I thank it for not giving me too many stress fractures, sprains or surgeries to correct the floatie-things-in-the-joints that should never have been set free to begin with.
still searching for that super secret thingie you mentioned in comments the other day. or did it get thru?
meow.
Great post Cooper. A big part of my move is because I know it’s healthier for my body
Was doing 13-16 miles in the dog days of summer–can’t wait to walk in cooler weather
Have to cook. You’ve seen the restaurants in Myrtle
You have a great respect for your body
I’m amazed by how consistently great your posts are, but you are OTN Cooper
you truly rock female empowerment, beautiful one. i’d have to say that i look in the mirror and tell my body it’s bad, or that it’s been bad, but in a very teasing, raunchy way.
Sheila: I hope to keep myself clear of all that,except for the teeth, where anything goes.
casey: I think it is. Only for the female,but you can certainly go look and see. I don’t see men having the same issues, or at least not so pronounced.
Kelly: OMG,My first standing O. Ovation that is. ;)
Kait: That stuff is poison. I bet it could almost embalm you if you drank enough of it.
sk: Actually that was not my blog,my blog was at livingwellornot.blogspot.com, someone else took it over per an agreement, and unfortunately it has gone to hell. I had access to that blog only until lat February 2007 and had to get another blogger blog for signing in, to comment on other’s blogspot blogs, so I made that blank one up.
So far running has been good to me.
I am perplexed as to the super secret thingy, but if it is something you emailed me you had better email it to nowickedwitch@gmail.com because I didn’t get it, or if it went in my spam it got deleted.
Pia: I think you will have much to like and many places to walk where you are going. What amazes me most is how consistently bad they were when I started and how people started reading them anyway. ;)
i await the SC journals. ;)
illyria: ssshh I wasn’t going to tell them about those secret conversations I have with the bad bad bo
I like this post a lot. It reminds me of a video journal Molly did dedicated to her feet.
But yours was more interesting and less silly. I daresay it was kind of emotionally intriguing.
I wish I had of made that statement to my Body 20 Years ago instead of trading in my Squash + Tennis Rackets + Workouts for Sex Drugs + Rock n Roll*
I’m afraid I ingested them all in copious quantities* Oh vell we only live once*
I actually wanna read those new Books by Slash + Nikki Sixx - I don’t know how those Rockers do it + Live to tell about it*
;))
sounds like you have a healthy mind re body image Cooper…
your balance and perspectives are refreshing and inspiring :)
I usually have more to say, not this time. Nice read.
I have to agree with Casey, guys have the problem, and then I have to agree with you, it’s not as severe.
Maryland really sucks this year for any boarding.
I sometimes look in the mirror and say “damn you’re hot”, then I remove the thermal tee, sweatshirt, and down jacket.
Excellent. More people should have this kind of healthy appreciation of their bodies. After all, what’s the software without the hardware?
Mojo: As it should be when one has art to heart with one’s body. ;)
Billy: There may still be time for you,though I have my doubts.;)
laketees: And usually not thought about, until blogher sent that out and I decided to do it.
G: Nice last line.
Sterling: You would be the one to know about that software stuff… I would just like to to tell me of a comment off and a close comment plug-in which will word with this rendition of WP. ;)
Hey Cooper - as always you are right on. As we get older we seem to have more reasons to hate our bodies, which doesn’t make sense, because our bodies = all those experiences, good and bad, that make us who we are today, at this moment. As an artist, I love to paint bodies that have a story to tell. Those magazine models are just that - plastic manikins.
Our bodies are so unappreciated - they do deserve a love letter now and then. Thank for the read… my sentiments exactly to my own hard working body.
Besos and hugs…
A nice reminder to everyone.
On another note, the skinny body large head look always reminds me of an alien.
Ask not only what your body can do for you, ask what you can do for your body.
Harriet: I’m happy to see you agree and happy to see you. How is school going?
Leigh: Nice to see you girlfriend. Indeed you must take care of yours surfer girl.
jacob: Yes the Aliens pictured on a book I once read.
Good line Jacob. If I had a daily award for lines you would get it.
EWW..what a concept I may have to devise one of those awards - line of the day.
Forgive me if I’m not answering your question.
To turn off comments on a post, go into the admin panel.
Manage/Posts. Edit a post. On the right side there is a “Discussion” panel that you can expand. Uncheck “Allow comments”.
The beauty and determination of a flower blooming.
Loved your post.
isnt she lovely.
Smokin Joe says don’t forget to feed your head! It relaxes your facial muscles and keeps that smile pretty!
Sterling: I fear I messed up the question. I rewrote it for you to see elsewhere. My “comments off” plug-in doesn’t work and the plug-in which shuts off all comments after a certain period of time, like thirty days, no longer works either. I was just wondering if you had a clue of one which does work.
protagoras: You have been aways longer than usual. ;(
Rio: Dahling are you back?
KAK: My head is quite big enough, as is obvious from this blog. ;)
What an empowering letter. What starts on the inside reflects on the outside.
Dial-up ;)
This is inspiring me to write a letter or just not call myself bad body again. Thanks!