The Lifesaving Magic of Loving Your Body.

A couple of years ago, I weighed significantly less than I do right now.  I also could still fit into a size zero, and I was still wearing clothes that I had since I was in high school.  Right around the beginning of my fourth year of my undergrad (which coincided with one of the most stressful periods in my personal life), I started to gain weight.  I was over the moon!  Being "skinny" all my life was okay, but I wanted to look more like a woman, and less like a pre-pubescent little boy.

I'm not going to get into details - that's not what this post is about.  But what I will tell you is that somewhere along the way, gaining weight stopped being enjoyable.  I'm ashamed to admit it, but I became very self conscious, largely in part because I no longer fit into a lot of my clothing.  It seemed like every time I got dressed in the morning, I found yet another piece of clothing that I loved, that no longer fit me.

That's the thing about being attached to material things - we love them so much, that they become a crutch.  They hold us back - whether it's because they remind us of who we used to be, or someone we loved, or a time in our lives when we were happen.  At the end of the day, owning material possessions isn't the issue - the problem is our attachment to them.  The sad thing is that our attachment to items can be our downfall.  Our attachment to stuff can ruin our mornings, our happiness, and our lives.

Don't believe me?  Watch Hoarders.

Part of the reason why I've been purging my closet so much and so often is because I've been slowly getting rid of clothing that no longer fits.  This week, I bit the bullet and purged everything I've been holding onto that no longer fits, with the exception of a few items that I am keeping for sentimental reasons.

The process of getting rid of items that no longer fit is hard, partially in part due to messages about women's bodies that are drilled into us from birth.  But by getting rid of clothes that don't fit, I'm not only making room for the clothes that do.  I'm making room for more pleasurable mornings, where I can wake up, go to my closet, and know that every item in there fits, looks good on me, and is in good quality.  Getting rid of clothes that don't fit is a step towards self-acceptance of my body size and shape.  Getting rid of the clothes that don't fit is an act of self-love.

Cheer.  To the lifesaving magic of loving our bodies.

xoxo, Jayy