I’ve been invited to do speak about Body Acceptance for a Unitarian Church!
It happened a few months ago, in the Summer. I’d just finished teaching a Yoga class at Bare Oaks and a gentleman approached me with the question. Would I like to speak to his congregation on the topic? It felt like a dream come true, the cards falling into place. A thousand times yes! What an opportunity!
A few weeks later I set a date with him, all the way in November. That’d be oodles of time to get up the nerve and write something to say for 20-25 minutes.
Well… Summer went by and I’d put the talk on the back burner of my brain. Every week in October I tasked myself with focusing on the talk and taking steps forward. Every week I had the best of intentions as I wrote that into my weekly to-do’s and every week it didn’t get crossed off. And every week I became more anxious due to my inaction. I was so anxious I seriously considered contacting the gentleman and asking if I could get out of it. But the thought of that made me very sad. I love the idea of speaking to a group about body acceptance, of shifting minds towards self-love, of maybe being booked for another talk somewhere else until it becomes a regular part of what I do. How on earth would I ever get there if I cancelled?
I dared myself to send in my bio and headshot for their newsletter, that way I would be fully committed.
Body Acceptance has been in the forefront of my brain for many years; I have plenty to say. I’ve learned so much over the years. How to start? What do I include? I just had pages of ideas at first, notes, and memories. I didn’t know how I’d find a focus through the jungle of my thoughts. Then a very kind friend who’s been doing talks on End-of Life-Care for many years asked me: what 3 things do you want people to walk away with?
I decided on:
1) the body is an amazing vessel
2) there’s messaging everywhere telling us that a) our body ought to be a primary focus, b) it’s not good enough the way it is
3) it’s liberating to quiet that noise and take our power back with awareness
As I write this blog it’s a Thursday and my speaking engagement is on Sunday morning. I’m still having difficulty disciplining myself to focus (hence me writing this instead!) But I know I’ll get there. My history has shown me that I’m a last-minute brilliant entertainer. Give me a ton of time to work on a presentation and I’ll widdle it away with every other task under the sun. Then I’ll become excellent the day before. I care about presenting well very much, and this is still my method.
The countdown is on! Wish me luck! I think this is the humble beginning of something special.
Comments