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Dear Body…

A young English girl “Mememolly” started a phenomena on YouTube when she posted “something of an apolgetic love letter” to her body.

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Since she posted this in March, many others have posted their own “Dear Body” letters. Some are quite lovely: 

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I turned 38 TODAY and it has got me thinking about what I would like to thank my body for:

Dear Body,

I am really happy with the way we are growing old together.

Thanks feet for being so pretty. I love the way your nails look when they are painted. I don’t always treat you so well though and I know it hurts wearing high heels all the time. I have stopped but hey, we both know the damage is done. 🙁  

Thanks legs. You are fabulous; so long and you rarely change shape, even when I eat loads of junky foods. You have made me feel glamorous on many occassions.

Belly – what can I say? You are a podgy, bloated little thing aren’t you? I have tried exercising you, sucking you in and constraining you in in special “Bridget Jones” style bloomers… but you will just not be denied.

Breasts – you will not be denied either but you are lovely. You make me feel so feminine. And you fed both my children – that was truly amazing. I will be forever grateful.

 Arms. My special body parts. Lefty – you are a bit of a non-event really aren’t you? I don’t write with you and you are quite non-descript. But righty – yes, you have tales to tell. I love your scars and burn now. Really. I do. You make me strong, unique and show the world I am a girl with a history of bravery. I am sorry that I hid you for so many years when I was young but I just hadn’t learnt how to deal with something so large. We both had to grow into the tight, twisted and melted flesh.  

Face – you are just fine. Elegantly shaped eyebrows, a few wrinkles that show you have lived, laughed and worried. Nose – a little smaller may have been better?

Hair – I am sorry I bleach you but I just can’t stop now. Too much invested in this “blonde thing”. You do well to hang in there and I do treat you to great shampoos and head rubs from my girlfriends.

Thanks Body for getting me this far. You are so resilient and so strong. You rarely get sick and you can withstand great pain.

You are an Amazon’s Body. Happy Birthday. xxxx

Love to read your letters.

This might also make a great activity to do with a class or with your daughter?

Published inPower of Words

9 Comments

  1. Ella James

    I love this Danni!!!
    I am writing my own to myself..thankyou for inspiring me.
    Happy Birthday darling!
    e
    x

  2. Lisa Porter

    Happy birthday Danni 🙂

    Whenever I read/hear about something like this, I am reminded of a couple of my family members who have lost breasts to cancer… I never complain about my size and refuse to hear others do so – I figure, they’d miss them if they were gone!!

    Best wishes,

    Lisa

  3. Jane Higgins

    Dear Boobs,
    You and I have had an adversarial relationship since you erupted into my life when I was 8 years old. I know I haven’t treated you well and while you have fed my babies and been a source of enticing men to me, you have also been so bloody obvious and have stood out so much that I have wanted to chop you off myself. I went to buy bras the other day and found that you had grown yet again to a 34-J!! I didn’t even know they made this size!!! What ever am I to do with you??
    I could have you reduced – but …. I hate the idea of you being cut and my nipple moved!! 6 weeks of pain and the knowledge that I saw my body as defected / not good enough / needing to be less than what it is – does not sit well for me at a deep level. So my conscious choice is to accept you and make friends with you. To know you are heavy, soft and droopy but you are my boobs and a part of me. I am sorry for treating you with such contempt and anger – and I promise to treat you with more compassion and respect.
    Love Jane and the rest of my body.

  4. storm greenhill-brown

    I absolutely love this whole concept and would love to do this exercise with students. It is so thought-provoking and forces you to really acknowledge just how amazing a body can be. As a woman i do feel so grateful to have pushed 3 babies into the world and was overwhelmed at how my body could achieve this and was even more amazed when i really connected with my mind and soul in this “zone”. This is affirming and strengthening! I love it!

  5. Sonia Lyne

    This is just so beautiful!!! I have been thinking about this over the past few days and found it is not easy to say thank you to every part of your body. At times I have wondered why, for one reason or another, why I have the shape that I do. It is confronting but at the same time liberating to turn your thoughts and create a positive and say THANKYOU!!! So here I go…

    FACE … you have changed and developed into what I can happily now say an amplified representation of how I feel inside … happy, passionate, determined and loved. Through my eyes I know people can see my genuine love for everything in life and this is further engrained, literally, in my character/story lines surrounding my eyes and mouth. YES … I love these and thank you. I can’t wait to see how these develop as I get older.

    HAIR … I must apologise for dying you so often but I know you can work with me and stick it out. We look great as a red head . . . ha ha!

    ARMS … you have been so strong and helped me to support the weight of my twin boys who continue to get heavier, hence the buildup of muscle.

    BREASTS … well what can I say, oh so small and I am so happy with you just as you are. It makes exercising an easy task and you just stay exactly where you are.

    BELLY … through genes and dancing you have stayed forever strong and I am so proud of you for holding onto my twin boys. Thank you for leaving me with a rainbow of stretch marks above my belly button. I now look down and remember my journey through pregnancy with fond memories.

    LEGS … my little tree stumps as I have always called you. I realised later in life that your purpose has and will always be to carry me as I rush from place to place. I thank you for being so short as my low centre of gravity has enabled me to have great balance.

    WOW – that was wonderful to share!!!

  6. Lisa Porter

    Dear Body,
    Legs: thanks for dancing with me, but also for being looooong. You carry lots of scars and each one tells a story. Sorry about the knee injuries.
    Bottom: You give me a nice padded place to sit, and still look decent in jeans.
    Belly: you have a cool navel! You’re not as flat and muscular as you used to be, but you’re still strong. I think the best exercise I give you these days is a good long belly laugh!
    Breasts: I like your shape, even though you make me nervous. The odds are against us in terms of genetics, girls. I promise I will continue checking you every month. I’m sorry about the squishy painful mammograms, but you know it’s for your own good!!!
    Arms: nice and long, perfect for hugging, quilting and (of course) waving about whilst dancing! I’ve learnt to cope with your hairiness.
    Face: I like seeing elements of a number of family members in my face. I am impossibly vain about my eyebrows! Nose, I am sorry no one seems to be willing or able to draw you properly. Why do people insist on making you smaller?
    Hair: I’m glad we’ve come to an uneasy truce. I’ll tie you back each day, you’ll stay outta my eyes! I like your colour and will continue to resist my hairdresser’s offers of streaks or foils.
    Brain: Thanks for holding so many memories, for enabling me to learn languages, for remembering dance steps, for thinking quickly when I’ve needed you to, for being so much of who I am.

    …I am happier with myself than I realised! I’m so glad I have done this.

    Lisa

  7. Janelle

    Dear Danni,
    As you know I do coaching with an international Training orgainisation and I have several clients I have now shared this exercise with… The results are incredible. For grown women to have a sense of love and adoration for their bodies (in some cases for the first time) is a beautiful gift to be cherished… Thank you for posting this as it has been more inspiring than you can imagine…
    Warmest,
    Janelle

  8. Thanks for the feedback Janelle – YES, I can imagine it would be just as empowering for women as it is for teen girls…I certainly found it confronting initially but ultimately celebratory!

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