319 Marbles
The greatest conflicts are not between two people but between one person and himself.
Garth Brooks
I’ve had a tumultuous relationship with my own body starting with my teenage attempts to starve myself to my twenties filled with OCD style of exercising . After three pregnancies, somewhere along the way I’ve made peace with my body. Yipee!
When I look at my relationships with other bodies, it’s not surprising that some of them have been equally challenging. Some of the relationships I’ve had have been like a workout at the gym – too much resistance training. Ex-man was often like the weights I use to get my biceps stronger, but similar to lifting weights, I’d be thinking, “There must be an easier way.” It’s a pity gravity wasn’t enough of an opposing force, but it wasn’t.
I like to think that the relationships struggles were external but what if they are really only internal struggles? Maybe we really ask our friends and partners to hold aspects of our self-image that we’re uncomfortable with. “Hold my self-doubt, will you? It’s too heavy for me to carry. Voice my self-deprecation so I don't have to hear it only in my own brain.” So what seems on the surface like conflict with another is really those opposing parts of the self that are trying to get a good work out.
I don’t know exactly if this is true but I do notice that the more at peace I become within myself, the more peaceful and supportive my relationships with other bodies become.
Mahatma Gandhi once said,"Nobody can hurt me without my permission." Consider your challenging relationships with others. Are there aspects within yourself that hook you into the relationship? Are you using them to mirror a conflict that already exists within yourself? Bottom line: The people in your life that support you can make you stronger, the people who resist you can make you stronger; Life supports growth.
The greatest conflicts are not between two people but between one person and himself.
Garth Brooks
I’ve had a tumultuous relationship with my own body starting with my teenage attempts to starve myself to my twenties filled with OCD style of exercising . After three pregnancies, somewhere along the way I’ve made peace with my body. Yipee!
When I look at my relationships with other bodies, it’s not surprising that some of them have been equally challenging. Some of the relationships I’ve had have been like a workout at the gym – too much resistance training. Ex-man was often like the weights I use to get my biceps stronger, but similar to lifting weights, I’d be thinking, “There must be an easier way.” It’s a pity gravity wasn’t enough of an opposing force, but it wasn’t.
I like to think that the relationships struggles were external but what if they are really only internal struggles? Maybe we really ask our friends and partners to hold aspects of our self-image that we’re uncomfortable with. “Hold my self-doubt, will you? It’s too heavy for me to carry. Voice my self-deprecation so I don't have to hear it only in my own brain.” So what seems on the surface like conflict with another is really those opposing parts of the self that are trying to get a good work out.
I don’t know exactly if this is true but I do notice that the more at peace I become within myself, the more peaceful and supportive my relationships with other bodies become.
Mahatma Gandhi once said,"Nobody can hurt me without my permission." Consider your challenging relationships with others. Are there aspects within yourself that hook you into the relationship? Are you using them to mirror a conflict that already exists within yourself? Bottom line: The people in your life that support you can make you stronger, the people who resist you can make you stronger; Life supports growth.
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