Day 2 of this 30 days of self-love blogging challenge required me to identify the ‘gifts’ of my body that I am grateful for. I focussed on the very functional areas of my heart; my mind and my lungs. Sure, it may sound as if I took the easy way out, but it’s not the case. My choices were based on my own experiences with those whose organs have failed or are failing. In that blog I commented on the fact that I take these things for granted. And it isn’t uncommon – for us to not appreciate what we have until we no longer have it. It’s human nature.

I feel grateful that I personally have not dealt with significant health issues. My blood pressure was astronomically high (but is being controlled with medication AND is even lower now I’ve given up alcohol (mostly) and am losing weight), I have several autoimmune diseases (hypothyroidism, am coeliac and have some other gastritis something or other), but that’s about it. I injured my hip a few years ago and it’s failed to heal properly. I regularly have hip flexor issues and currently get shin splints… but if that’s the extent of my ailments, I know I should be thankful.

So now that day 9 has come around I am faced with identifying and acknowledging three more aspects of my body, for Gifts of the body #2. And this time I will reach a little farther and won’t stick to the safer organs… and frankly one’s intestines and pancreas are a tad boring… though there’s always the bowel and bladder. Just kidding. Kind of….

Last week, we began the first installment of the weekly “Gifts of the Body” posts. I decided that every week needed a day to take a closer look at our bodies and appreciate the blessings they provide us. Critiquing our bodies comes easily to many of us but finding praise in our physical attributes can pose a challenge. For this reason, I believe we must make the effort to change how we view our bodies.We need to shift the qualities with which we define them from aesthetic ones to purposeful ones. Hopefully, after completing 4 rounds of this exercise and having to come up with 12 different parts of ourselves we recognize as a gift,  we will grow to love our bodies more and more. Are you in for today’s challenge?

I am grateful for my eyes that allow me to see the world and its beauty. I know I know, that sounds a bit wanky but it’s basically true. I know there are many without sight who live fulfilling lives, but I cannot imagine what it’s like to not experience life visually. I am short-sighted which (I think) means I have problems with my long distance vision. I HAVE to wear glasses or contact lenses constantly. I envy those who can leap out of bed and move about without having to do something to prevent them from falling over objects or down stairs. My favourite down-time pleasures are watching television and reading and I am thankful that I can do this with ease.

I am thankful for my smile and that of others. I like to think I’ve always had a nice-ish smile. As a youngster I had the ability to paste on a cheesy grin while in dance concerts or eisteddfods. It pops up when required in photographs as well. It is definitely something I took for granted, until one day my childhood best friend confessed to smile-envy. Although some of my bottom teeth are a tad crooked, my tops ones are large and straight. They aren’t quite as white as they once were (hello, red wine and diet coke addict!) but they’re still okay. My childhool bestie (and neighbour) had small teeth. In photos she would smile by locking her teeth together in some grimace. It was never pretty and as a result she rarely smiled in photographs. I’d never really realised this until she mentioned it to me. So, I am grateful for my large, almost white, almost straight teeth and cheesy grin. And…. (other than arms) a nice smile is something I look at when perving at the opposite sex. I’m attracted to someone with a nice smile. Twinkling eyes help as well! (Oh, and the nice arms!)

I’ve struggled for this last one, but have decided to be thankful for my legs and feet that get me to where I need to go. They are far from perfect… yes, I confess my legs are fat and unattractive; but they are sturdy and strong. When fitter I was fairly agile and although not a fast sprinter, I was quick on my feet. Many years of sport allowed me to be able to stop and start and change directions quickly. AND… My legs are quite flexible. I can still easily touch my toes and do the splits (lengthwise) and could probably almost get my head onto my knees if my belly wasn’t as big. So, although they never going to grace the cover of a magazine or been seen bare at the beach, my legs (and feet) serve me well.

You will see I find it hard to be thankful / self-congratulatory without slipping some self-deprecating comments in. ‘My legs are strong, but fat.’ I know I do this, but writing these blogs helps highlight this for me. I’m nine days into this challenge and – believe me – if someone wasn’t ‘making’ me (in a sense) write about being thankful for my body, I wouldn’t be. So…. for that (Tina) I am grateful as well.