Through lots of meditation and help from a friend, I have found myself saying “shut-up, Bonni,” (to myself) A LOT! Mostly because when talking stops, listening happens. Not so much listening to others, but listening to the calm that lives inside of me. Inside of EACH of us. Also, because my opinions are just that…opinions…and MINE.
In my fitness world…in all the world…so many are suffering because they don’t feel they are good enough. When we dig deep, the only person we really have to be good enough for, is ourselves. My career has not been as much about helping people LOOK good, as it has been about helping people FEEL good. Sometimes the two are connected, often they are not!
Feeling at peace in our own skin is perhaps the single most important aspect of our lives, for without this, we can never be truly, completely, happy. For me, feeling the best about myself comes from getting in daily workouts and nourishing my body on a plant-based diet. It also comes from helping others feel good about their bodies, minds and souls — both at work and at play.
It’s always bothered me when people feel they have a right to judge how other people find their happiness. Having a clan of tattooed young people in my life, who I love to pieces, it has bothered me through the years to hear anyone say anything remotely negative about any of them. They are not asking anyone else to put pictures on their bodies. They are just expressing themselves in a way that is making them happy and not hurting anyone else in the process. These, by the way, happen to be some of the most compassionate, motivated, talented, go-getting human beings any of us could ever meet!
Nothing brings this judgement thing home more than people who are, today, bashing Caitlyn(Bruce) Jenner, after her picture came out on the upcoming cover of Vanity Fair. If it doesn’t effect your life in any way, than why would you care? If it DOES effect your life, my guess is that is for the positive! She is speaking for masses of people that do not have her money/fame/stardom or ability to “come out of the closet” with something that people have been dealing with FOREVER. I guess, I was lucky to have been exposed to transgenderness (is that a word?) at a very young age (Carole W. didn’t Pop employee a transgender, at the beauty parlor way back when? Cyd??)
Perhaps this is a good time to look in the mirror and reflect on what makes YOU happy…then focus on bringing more of that into your own life. Let’s focus less on what other people do to find their happiness and more on what we can do to find our own!
This is exactly what we will be focusing on this evening on the mat at 7.
I hope, wherever you are, you will remember to take time to tune into YOU and ask yourself what truly makes YOU happy. I bet Bruce asked himself this question a bazillion times before he made his decision…
and if you are reading this, Lori Bregman I loved what you wrote about this on Facebook, yesterday!
another good one. thanks