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Sunday, June 24, 2018

30 Days of Joy: Day 6/30


Day 6’s Joy – Realizing I Love My Legs

Day 6 was an easy day to find joy.  I got to see a couple movies, hang out with one of my favourite families and spend time getting to know my brother’s fiancé, but when I sat down to write this entry I realized that the thing that brought me the most joy happened before any of that.  It started while I was at the gym but the joy grew for the rest of the day and I suspect will continue to grow. 

The last few weeks when I’ve been getting to the gym (which sadly hasn’t been as regularly as I would like) I have been getting back into jogging intervals.  I have missed running.  As I was getting ready to finish my first 10k I stopped working on my running and turned my attention to just training walking the distance because my only goal was to get across that finish line.  So it has been pretty great getting back to run training.  Yesterday I decided it was time to test myself and see just how long I could jog for and I was thrilled to hit 2 minutes.  This might not seem like a lot but considering a few weeks ago it was only 30 seconds this was a big improvement for me.  Of course when I was training regularly and at my best I was able to do 7 minutes so I still have a long way to go but seeing the improvement already made me feel amazing. 

After the gym it was time for my Weight Watchers meeting and the joy that started at the gym was magnified.  The topic this week body image.  As we were talking one of the questions asked was ‘what is your best feature?’ and the answers were pretty typical - eyes, hair, feet but nothing in between.  As everyone was talking I thought about the question.  My easy quick answer is always my eyes but yesterday I realized that the part I like most about myself right now is actually my legs.  They may not be the definition of beautiful but they are strong and powerful which is pretty beautiful to me.  I’m strangely proud of my legs.

Since doing my 10k I have been thinking a lot about my legs.  I have started to become incredibly grateful for them.  They carry me around and have to deal with more weight than they should to do it.  They also put up with me pushing them in ways most people my size wouldn’t.  They let me jog, walk big distances, climb and even squat for long periods to get perfect photos.  Yesterday taking time to really recognize how much my legs do for me was truly a joyful experience.  I was filled with love and gratitude not only for my legs but also my whole body.  It was a powerful feeling that is sticking with me.

Today I want to end my blog with a wish of joy for all who are reading this.  My wish is that I hope you can find a few minutes of joy by spending a little time appreciating and loving your body.  No matter what you might think its flaws are, the reality is our bodies are pretty amazing and special just as they are in this moment.  No matter what journey you are on send a little love and gratitude to all yourself.



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