Gratitude for My Body, Day 1

Gratitude played a major role in my efforts to make peace with my body. Finding something about my body to be grateful for helped me offer my body kindness and respect even when I wanted to change it, even when I hated it. Gratitude slowly shifted my perspective.

Today I am grateful for Eyes that spy this little green lizard hiding in the blooming banana leaf.

What part of your body are you grateful for today?

Gratitude for My Body, Day 2

Gratitude helped me remember that I found a few parts of my body sparkly and wonderful, even when there were many parts I wanted to hide.

Today I’m grateful for the white fairy hair that has magically begun to weave its way between my darker strands. I love the natural glitter and shine, and they make a lovely complement to the rainbow colors I add in. I am also proud of the hard-earned wisdom they represent.

What is a body part that gives you some sparkly wonder?

Gratitude for My Body, Day 3

Gratitude creating stepping stones for me to reframe beliefs about my body.

Today I am grateful for my mind. I spent so many years living from the neck up, and my mind worked so hard for me. I found a lot of my worth in my academic intelligence when I struggled to feel worthy anywhere else.

I am so happy that my mind now has such an able and supportive partner in my body. It doesn’t have to carry the burden of making all my decisions alone because my body holds so much wisdom too.

What’s the connection like between your mind and body?

Gratitude for My Body, Day 4

Gratitude was not the first tool I used to make peace with my body. Before I could be grateful, I had to get honest about how I felt about my body and her parts. Once I faced some of the emotions that are hard to hold, I was able to be curious. I realized through that exploration that I could be grateful for my body even when I didn’t like it. And like magic, I began to make peace with my body.

Today I am grateful for my breath. This life-giving force exists naturally, and I can lean on it anytime I need to find calm. It’s always with me. It softens me. And it feels like love.

What is your relationship to your breath?

Gratitude for My Body, Day 5

Gratitude shifts my perspective, my mood, my beliefs. It helped me think about my body in ways I’d never considered.

Today I am grateful for my feet. When I’m barely conscious, when I’ve yet to open my eyes, my feet help me come back to my body after a long (or short) sleep. During these liminal moments, my feet are super sensitive. They rub the sheets, and my nerve endings delight in how soft the sheets feel. The sensation only lasts a few minutes, and then the sheets just feel regular again. I love this part of waking up slowly.

Do any of your senses become extra sensitive when you’re waking up?

Gratitude for My Body, Day 6

Gratitude can serve as a crutch, a strong tool to lean on in, as you begin to journey along the self-acceptance path. Crutches are often viewed in a negative light, but it’s a sign of strength to know when you need help to move forward.

Today I am grateful for my scars. I spent a lot of years feeling ashamed of them. I thought they showed one of my weaknesses. But these scars mean just the opposite. I had to confront pain, live through it, accept help, use tools like crutches and wheelchairs and therapy, and show up for myself every day to heal.

Is there a body part you’ve felt ashamed of that you’re ready to write a different story about?

Gratitude for My Body, Day 7

Gratitude is a magic elixir.

Today I am grateful for the blood ? that flows like a river in my body, a reminder that I can surrender to life’s rhythms.

What reminders does your body offer you?

Gratitude for My Body, Day 8
Gratitude fills the spaces where many of my negative thoughts about my body used to live.

Today I am grateful for my sweat. I think it’s amazing that my body has its own cooling system, which it manages without my input.

What’s something about your body that amazes you?

Gratitude for My Body, Day 9

Gratitude is a core value for me.

Today I am grateful for the electric goosebumps that rise all over my body when I experience a soul truth.

How does your body let you know something is meant for you?

Gratitude for My Body, Day 10

Gratitude.

Today I am grateful for my crow’s-feet. Those crinkly little lines by my eyes help broadcast my smile, especially when I’m wearing a mask. I love that each smile I’ve ever beamed have contributed to their creation. They’re like treasure box of happiness.

Gratitude for My Body, Day 11

Gratitude can connect us.

Today my heart is grateful for all the veterans in our armed forces.

Gratitude for My Body, Day 12

Gratitude can amplify the joy you feel in the special moments.

Today I am grateful for the dreams my soul places in my heart and then gives me the courage to pursue. Tomorrow one of those dreams becomes reality.

What dreams live in your heart?

Gratitude for My Body, Day 14

Gratitude creates more gratitude.

Today I am grateful for every part of my body, which stood on the #TEDXCrawfordRoad stage yesterday. This glorious moment was possible because my body is the vessel that allows me to live. And she showed up strong yesterday. I am so proud!

I am also overflowing with gratitude for the event producers, my fellow speakers, the audience, and the precious people in my life who showed up, sent me encouraging messages, prayed for me, coached me, and showered me with love. ❤️?❤️

Gratitude for My Body, Day 15

Gratitude reminds me to be playful.

Today I am grateful for the holes in my ears, which allow me to wear dangly earrings to showcase a little bit of my personality to the world.

How do you like to share your individuality?

Gratitude for My Body, Day 17

Gratitude reminds me not to take the things I can’t see for granted.

Today I am grateful for my lungs. They pull in the tree’s breath so that I, too, can breathe. How lucky am I to be connected to nature this way!

Is there something unseen in your body that you’re grateful for?

Gratitude for My Body, Day 18

Gratitude helps me soften when things are hard to accept.

Today I am grateful I get to practice what I teach while my face experiences this rosacea flare-up. It feels icky—my face tight with burny-itchy sensations, redness, bumps, and scaly patches on my eyelid. Rosacea sucks. But I can accept my face, as it is in this moment, and offer myself, compassion, kindness, and care. Making peace with my body means that I know I have the capacity to hold both feelings (the suck and the acceptance). And that I am worthy of the care and compassion.

Are you holding hard, opposing feelings about your body?

Gratitude for My Body, Day 20

Gratitude just plain feels good sometimes.

Today I am grateful for my synovial (what a fun word to say!) joints. Rolling them, bending them, moving them in slow motion feels delicious. I love the way they serenade me with their snap, crackle, pops.

Do you have a body part that you love to move?

Gratitude for My Body, Day 21

Gratitude can be playful.

Today I am grateful for the blank canvas of my fingernails. What colors will I choose to paint them? The time spent on my manicure will be a much-needed respite with myself.

How does your body help you express creativity?