WORDS OF LOVE
Posted on October 17, 2011 by Dr. Deah
There is a day for everything!!! I kid you not. March 14th is National Potato Chip Day. November 7th, Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day, and my personal fave, that happens to fall on my birthday, Dec. 13th, National Ice Cream Day! But there are dedicated days and weeks that I take more seriously and they are steadily increasing year after year. In fact, I need a calendar to keep track of all of the special days, weeks and months that pertain to reversing the cultural trend of convincing people to hate their bodies and adopt destructive behaviors. Of course I wish we didn’t need any of these days, weeks or months. Because when you really examine them, it is a sad state of affairs and pathetic reflection of our culture that we need to be reminded to:- Love your body (Oct 17)
- Reject diets (May 6th)
- Prevent eating disorders (Feb 20-26)
- Adopt the ideology of healthy weight awareness. (Third week of January)
- And improve yourself (the entire month of September).

“I really hope you pull this off.” Or, “You are the last person he wanted to see.”Depending on the context of these statements they can have totally different meanings ranging from hurtful and rude to sexy and logistical. “I hope you pull this off,” can be supportive, or brashly seductive. “The last person he wanted to see,” is fine if a doctor is scheduling an appointment with you, but not so great if the doctor is saying they don’t want to see you ever…at all! I know there are people out there who insist that words are “just words” and shouldn’t make such an impact. But are they just words…as in words of justice or fairness? Or just words as in merely or simply? Either way, thankfully, there are enough people who take words seriously, and understand that the context of words is vital for understanding their intended meanings. There are those special times when either interpretation can be positive. If someone writes me a note and tells me, “I just read your blog.” This could mean that my blog is the ONLY blog they read, or that they just finished reading my latest post. Both are really good news. I love when that happens. So let’s take a look at the upcoming Love Your Body Day. Some read this and believe it is a directive to love their own body. “I love my body I love my body!” Today is the day that I, “Love my body!” Others read it and take it to mean that they should love someone else’s body. “I love your body, I love your body!” Today is the day to acknowledge that, “I love your body!” Either interpretation in this case, reminds us to take a day, (which really should be EVERY day) to respect and appreciate each others’ bodies and the diversity of bodies and NOT give in to the prevalent message that is fed to us every day, that unless our bodies conform to a very narrow standard, they do not deserve our love. So until there is a paradigm change and we mark our calendars that every day is Love Ourselves Day, bodies and all, let’s celebrate on October 17th. Spend the day appreciating your amazing body for everything it is doing, 24/7 to allow you to live the life you are living. Say thanks for the wonderful body that allows you to touch the world in your unique fashion that helps make the world a better place…and then when you wake up on Oct. 20th, try it again and the next day and the next day… And don’t forget…to join me and other cruciverbalists on April 13th which just happens to be, International Scrabble Day! Til Next Time, Dr. Deah
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