i have spent the better part of 26 years hating you, feeling defeated by you and judging you to the harshest standards and in the deepest ways. i have spent that time wishing you looked like someone else, wishing you were built differently and wishing you would change overnight. i have cried over you. i have let feelings of disgust consume me. i have allowed myself to daydream that you looked different. i have spent the better part of 26 years wanting and trying, desperately to change you. i have let my worries about what others may think you look like gain complete power over me. i have gotten angry at you. i have compared you on a regular basis. i have abused you with insecure thoughts and i have taken you for granted.

what i haven’t done is thanked you. you are the only body i was given and you have got me through 26 years of life. you are healthy and that is a complete gift. i have not looked at you and felt gratitude that you, and you alone, have carried the weight of my pain, suffering, heartache, headaches, stress, anxiety, depression, and whatever else i’ve thrown your way. i have instead burdened you with feelings of constant negativity.

i have not told you that you are enough. that you are simply you and you are doing the best that you can. i haven’t looked at you and said thank you. thank you for getting me up that mountain. thank you for healing that injury and those cuts and bruises and turning them into the most beautiful scars. thank you for fighting that cold. thank you for taking on the toll of day to day stresses. thank you for staying healthy when i don’t give you enough rest. thank you for getting me through that workout and for letting me push you to your max. thank you for letting me feel the touch of a friend and the comfort of their hug. thank you for facing my fears head on and standing tall when my soul struggles.

you have always been there for me no matter what and i have taken that for granted every time i allowed my insecurities to get the best of me. the truth is that you have always been enough. you have always been the most capable you can be with everything i’ve asked of you. you have walked with me through every celebration, gain, challenge, loss, heartbreak, adventure, sleepless nights, and overworked days. every movement you make is a beautiful reflection of my mind. you are forgiving. you are resilient, despite my best efforts to tell you otherwise. and dammit, you are beautiful. you are a work of art. you are as you were made and you are as you are meant to be. you are gracefully, me.

have you thanked your body today? if not, you should. you are beautiful.