On kindness

As I’ve been writing for this blog, I’ve been looking through childhood photos to pair with my writings. And it’s been an experience. 

There’s this great quote from the show, Schitt’s Creek, where Moira, a relatively self-centred individual, steps out of her typical way of being to encourage a young woman. Here’s what she says: 

Take a thousand, naked pictures of yourself now. You may currently think, ‘Oh, I’m too spooky.’ Or, ‘Nobody wants to see these tiny boobies.’ But believe me, one day you will look at those photos with much kinder eyes and say, ‘Dear God, I was a beautiful thing!’

It’s a hilarious quote (and really worth watching to capture Moira in her glory), but once you get pass the hilarity there is a deep truth and beauty too. And as I have been looking through photos of myself throughout the years I feel myself saying “Dear God, I was a beautiful thing!” 

Like most young women, I’ve had my own struggles with body image and the rest. And when I started looking at photos of my younger self the judgments all came back, but this time I was able to see the beauty. In fact, all I see now is the beauty. 

So there are a couple of invitations here. 

First, be kind with yourself. And it’s not just about your beauty. It’s about your dreams, your beliefs, your actions, your wins and your mistakes. Be kind to who you have been because it has gotten you to where you are now. 

Second, what if you didn’t have to wait to look back with kinder eyes? What if you could start now? What thought, idea, dream, mistake do you want to look on with kindness, rather than shame, disappointment, embarrassment, hurt?

In time, you will look back with much kinder eyes, and that time can be now. 

And remember, you are a beautiful thing.