Seriously, turning 40 made me realize how easy it is to get attached and totally identified with our bodies, our looks, our hair, our sagging parts. I think this is especially challenging for women as we get older. We look at ourselves in the mirror, and whether we like what we see or not, we think to ourselves "that's me". But is it really? Only on a superficial level. I thought it would be a fun "detachment experiment" to chop off most of my hair myself, in the back yard. I was prepared to shave my head if it got too ugly, but thankfully, I didn't get that far.
The physical body is just the shell holding our higher Selves, but Mr. Ego trick us into buying the expensive anti-wrinkle creams because he convinces us that WHO we are is, in fact, the bones, muscles, organs and skin, and IF we make ourselves look better, we will feel better, receive more love and ultimately be happier people. Right? Wrong. Let's be honest, the true motivation behind anything we do to improve our appearance is to feel better, to receive more love and acceptance from others.
There's certainly nothing wrong with wanting those things, it's in our nature, but it's good to become aware of what we're really chasing when we push ourselves to extremes at the gym, when we try to artificially change our bodies or wish we looked different somehow. All these behaviours are driven by Mr. Ego who tells us we're not good enough to be loved just the way we are, therefore we need to change ourselves to be worthy and to feel better. But when does it ever end? When do we reach that state of lasting satisfaction?
What if instead of trying to fix / improve our physical appearance, we worked on our self-love and acceptance instead? What do you think would happen? If we became so content with who we are as a spiritual being and started to radiate love, peace and joy to others, don't you think our bodies would naturally start to look and feel better? Do you think that if we aligned ourselves with our heart and spirit, we would intuitively know what to eat? Of course! We would also exercise because it would bring us joy and make us feel good, we would know exactly what to do to heal ourselves, and our aging process would automatically slow down.
Does this scenario seem too good to be true? Well it's not! Our society is simply conditioned to want to change things from the outside, to fix the symptoms, not the root causes of anything. You intuitively know that any lasting change happens from the inside-out, don't you? It makes perfect sense, because it is our thoughts that materialize into matter.
Being 40 is just a concept, a thought. I choose to not let it condition my body with any preconceived notions of "what's supposed to happen when you reach that age." I will diligently keep working on noticing how my ego tries to convince me that I am my body. It's much simpler than that. I am.
Warmly,
Lise
www.lisevilleneuve.com
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