dear mind

dear mind,

it's been awhile. it's hard to get a message through to you; you're so busy all the time, and you speak so freely and boldly. but there are a few things we need to talk about - some things we often seem to disagree on.

i know you like to constantly be going, going, going, but sometimes i feel like you think of me as a machine. i'm not. not at all. no, i'm arms and legs and a torso - a face with lips, eyes, a nose, freckles. i can see and hear and touch and feel. i can taste. i can embrace someone. i can tell them that i love them - that i'm there for them. yes, i'm okay with getting things done, in fact i love the sense of accomplishment i feel when we're working together...but i don't always need to be doing. going. hustling.

yes, i am the voice that facilitates those beautiful words: i can, but it doesn't mean i always need to be doing something. sometimes it's okay to just be.

i've also noticed that you like to push the goalpost out even farther as soon as we reach it. that bothers me. i worked hard to get there. why can't we just stop...and enjoy it? see, you do a lot of thinking, but i'm the one who is actually down here turning your ideas and goals and dreams into tangible realities, and to be honest, i'm proud of all the work i've done.

we've been through a lot, you and i. we've seen and done so much, we make a great team. but sometimes it seems like you're constantly rearing to be off - off to the next thing, and the next. you miss how beautiful it is right here, how good it feels to have accomplished all that we have. please slow down...keep dreaming, but be here too. let's soak in the sunshine and laugh and run barefoot on the beach. let's be proud of the work we've done - that we passed that test, or that we've learned this much of a new language, or that we've been promoted. it doesn't always have to be something else or something more.

oh, and mind? this is a serious one...

please stop talking down to me.

i really don't appreciate it; in fact it hurts.

whenever you call me clumsy or awkward or stupid - it hurts. i thought i was your best friend. i thought i was the one who carried you and held you up and worked as hard as i could to make your dreams come true. i give you taste and touch and sound and sight. i've given you hands that can reach and grasp and hold on to someone you love.

please stop saying mean things. stop picking me apart piece by piece when you look in the mirror - i am a work of art, and i am your best friend.

stop comparing me to other bodies, other faces, thighs, arms, hair. i love the way i look - i love what i can do: grasping, holding, lifting, walking, running, hugging, kissing - and a million more. i am designed for greatness. and you are too, but only when we're working together. only when we're dancing in harmony.

mind, we're going to do wonderful things together. just take a deep breath and calm down. i've got your back. we're gonna make it. we're going to push through. but along the way...let's just be. let's enjoy. lets celebrate how far we've come, how much we've accomplished, and this beautiful life we're living!

mind, i love you. maybe you should start thinking that more too, when you look in the mirror. when we mess up, or misspeak, or don't do all the things...maybe instead of taking it out on me, maybe we just take a deep breath and accept that we've worked hard, given it our best, and that is enough. you are enough. i am enough.

we are enough.

when you look at me in the mirror, tell me i am enough. and that you love me.
even when we're not making anything. even if we don't feel our best. even if we made a mistake.

you are enough.
i love you.

sincerely and affectionately,
your body

let's all try to be nice to ourselves today. <3 

stay stoked,

kate