#ruhcus

Body Love Conference

  This Saturday I went to the Body Love Conference It was amazing, inspiring, and motivating! It also had moments of being really raw, honest, vulnerable, and revealing. I loved it, I didn’t want it to end, and I can’t wait for next year’s conference.Thank you to everyone who made i

  Go check out the link—most of the amazing speakers (all volunteered their time to this…

I once dated a man who sat me down, looked me squarely in the eyes, and told me that I was "too fat" to be faithful to. He claimed that eventually the novelty of my personality would wear off and he simply would not be able to maintain any sort of real attraction to me, and as such a relationship was out of the question until I "fixed" myself.

That was years ago, he has since apologized and said that he was projecting his own issues upon me (yeah, no kidding) and I've been with a wonderful sprig of a man who loves the cracks out of me almost ever since. I'd be lying however, if I said that I'm completely without residual insecurities and hurt, and that they never pop up and whisper into my ear that I'll never be enough due to my physical muchness. In fact, just a few days ago I found myself passively aggressively apologizing to my boyfriend for the way I look and giving him reasons to be unattracted to me. His response, by the way, was in every way perfect and compassionate and far from the "Well, you would be hot if you lost some weight" that I had subconsciously set him up to deliver.

I'm only typing this out because I've had to tell myself that I am beautiful and loved exactly the way I am a little too frequently today, and perhaps there is someone else doing the same thing who needs to know that they aren't alone, that they are enough in every way, and that the only person's opinion regarding their beauty that matters is their own. 

We are all lovely and deserving of adoration without shame or demands, and no one has the right to withhold or refuse to reciprocate emotional connections because they think they know how beautiful we could be if we changed "that one little thing" ourselves. We do not have to earn love or overcompensate for the (imagined) disappointments that are our bodies. We just have to be, and that, no matter the size, is enough.

May we all learn to see that and come to know the joy of truly loving ourselves.

RUHCUS WRAP UP

This R.U.H.C.U.S. journey has been a very blessed journey.  While it took me forever to finally post my conclusion video please know that I took this journey very seriously and it was more rewarding than I ever imagined it could be.  I chose the song playing in the background "Shout unto God" by Marvin Sapp because the words are so true and pure to what I feel.  I do shout unto God with a voice of triumph and a song of the redeemed.  I have triumphed...over embarrassment, shame, distrust and forgiveness.  I give all praise to God for the healing and Thank God even more so for putting this movement on the heart of Miss Sonya Renee!!!

Thank you to each of you who shared with me during my 30 day journey, whether you watched 1 video, few videos, several videos or all videos, you are awesome and I pray God bestows and abundance of blessing in your life! Further if you have a "thing in the box!" PLEASE do not let the fear you hold to put yourself out there stop you for getting your healing and more importantly your POWER!!!

A great way to spend the last two days of 2011: watching episodes 47 and 48 of "Body Empowerment" with special guest Sonya Renee Taylor as she talks about founding The Body Is Not An Apology and the RUHCUS movement. Check 'em out:

Part I: http://youtu.be/RgPDJ0sFI4Q

"The Body Is Not An Apology: Part II (Body Empowerment 48)" - Originally posted December 19, 2011, on YouTube.com. 

R.U.H.C.U.S. Day 26

This day I am still addressing questions asked during my RUHCUS ceremony before I bring the journey to a close.