ELON MUSK’S MOM & I ARE OLD FRIENDS

When I first saw her in fashion ads, I thought….WOW!  This beautiful 71 year old woman had so much style and grace.

When I got an invite from a Cooportunity Board Member friend to go to her book signing, I jumped at the chance to get dressed up and hear her story.  

I knew nothing else about her, except that I had the opportunity to meet a gorgeous woman who had a story, overcame things in her life to flourish and raise successful children.

So…I got dressed.

It was a chilly night and I wanted to be comfortable.  I also wanted to wear my new handwoven vest and shawl from Mali, West Africa.

I thought I looked great.  I felt great…. at the time.

As you can see the outfit was really roomy.  Which I was okay with when I left home.

But…when I arrived, most of the women were very thin and my insecurities of being much “taller” and “wider” than everyone else started to scream. I begin to think my clothes made me look bigger and unacceptable.

Let’s just be real…

I thought they made me look fat, and that my huge rump stuck out. Memories of childhood rhymes about my big bum ran through my mind.

I felt so uncomfortable about the way I looked, I criticized every aspect of this outfit. By the time I took this glorious picture with her…I knew I would never post the photo.

I’m grateful that my insecurities did not keep me from taking the picture. And the thing, is I loved this moment in time, speaking with Maye about Cape Town.

As I fought through those feelings of not being enough, I remembered my core values, Truth, Love & Vitality.

Truth – I believe the more we know the Truth about ourselves and our food, we can make better choices. The Truth about me is I’m not my past.

Love – I believe in doing everything from a space of Love, compassion and understanding…even for myself.

Vitality – I believe Vitality is the stuff of life. Period.

I choose to live in every moment, not from my past, but in the Now. I made the choice that day, in the present moment, to move beyond my past.

Do you know what you value? When was the last time you did a value check?

It’s the first thing we do in The Art of Eating: Building A Strong & Resilient You class. The next class starts March 8th.

It’s these values that help us stick with the life changes we make particularly around food, weight, and self-perception.

Our values inform our beliefs and behavior. It was my values and beliefs that made me realize thoughts that trigger past feelings were just that thoughts, not truths about me or my life.

Until next time….