In the very numbering of important Take a long,
Deep inhale through your nose and imagine that you're breathing in a gold,
Warm light.
A light that's filling your body with relaxation,
Calm and optimism.
As you exhale through your nose,
Imagine that you can release and push out any negativity and tension that you have built up through your day.
Try taking a few more of these inhales and exhales and feel yourself arrive in the moment.
To the one who is insecure,
Most people,
But especially women,
Secretly or openly,
Have a few things that they would change about their physical appearance.
These tend to be the areas which least match up to the physical ideal forced upon us from the minute we open our eyes.
I have had times in my life where my list of bodily alterations has danced around in my head like ingredients in a recipe I'm excited to cook.
In these fantasies,
I'm cooking up devastatingly good looks which would warrant the love and attention of all people.
For this reason,
I have no judgment at all for the people who decide to go down this very route.
In fact,
After years of fantasizing,
I can understand the motivations completely.
The reason I wanted to write you this letter is to shine a light on how completely bonkers this world of ours is.
Somehow,
It has become normalized.
But in reality,
This is a totally weird state of affairs.
Imagine if we observed a group of animals who had evolved to seek the attention of potential mates by carving bits of themselves off.
Imagine if we found out that they were undergoing unnecessary but life-threatening procedures and all aspiring to look like a very particular manifestation of their species,
A version that nearly none of them could actually look like.
I think we would take pity on this species of animals and wonder how they had come to be so at war with their very existence.
It is the bizarre irony of being such a successful species that many of us have the luxury to obsess over ourselves instead of fighting to merely survive.
Although,
On some level,
Fighting to survive is the core motivation for this longing.
Our instincts for belonging,
Approval,
And attraction run deep.
My wish for you is that you may grab and slowly grow to see your unique,
One-of-a-kind beauty.
That there will come a day when you wake up and all you see in the mirror is the miracle that is your human form.
That knowing this pain so intimately gives you great empathy for the many other humans in this world who will live a life by it.
You you
