#PayBeautyForward

The beautiful belly that rolls over your jeans is beautiful. The gorgeous scar tissue that has stretched in order for your perfect yet unperfect child to be alive. To be breathing. To be laughing. Is beautiful. The slightly droopy eye that you try to cover with eyeliner is beautiful.

Spread the love and prevent negative thoughts about our bodies! On Facebook or Twitter, tag a friend and share one positive aspect about their body with #PayBeautyForward and @MumProject.

Your body is beautiful. Don't let anyone, including yourself, tell you otherwise.

Big, small, round, pear-shaped, wide, petite, giraffe-like. Whatever shape, it is beautiful.

Since becoming a mother my body has changed in many ways. At first it was hard for me to accept the extra belly fat that lay ever-so quietly under my jeans, popping out at the most opportune moments. However, I have come to realise that actually this fat. THIS FAT RIGHT HERE. Is awesome. I am proud to wear this extra belly fat.

Because where, and more importantly who, would I be without it.

Let's change the way we speak about our bodies.

The beautiful belly that rolls over your jeans is beautiful. The gorgeous scar tissue that has stretched in order for your perfect yet unperfect child to be alive. To be breathing. To be laughing. Is beautiful. The slightly droopy eye that you try to cover with eyeliner is beautiful.

Having fat is a good thing, big ears are fantastic, stretch marks are glorious.

I'm so tired of telling myself that my body "could be this" or "if I only worked out a bit more it could be like that." Let's start telling ourselves MY BODY IS GREAT. PERIOD.

No ifs. My body is great. Period.

Let's look at this objectively. We're only going to live on this world for one moment. Let's not ruin that moment with negative thoughts about myself that have been created by photo-shopped models. That have been created by superficial magazines to get you to buy superficial products that will never do what they say on the bottle. That have been created by jealous and insecure women who must put others down in order to feel a false blanket of security.

Last weekend, my friend was telling me about her friend (who is now no longer a friend) that took a photo of another woman in a bar wearing an apparently "scandalous outfit," which she then sent to her Whatsapp group. She unashamedly mocked and teased the woman at the bar by sending horrible pictures and cruel jokes. The other women in the group decided to join in. Who gave them the right to mock this woman? She was just trying to have a nice night out. I bet she spent some time getting dressed up and trying to look good to have fun with her mates, but instead gets ridiculed and buried behind her back.

These models, these magazines, these women breed a false illusion of sense of self and happiness. Don't follow the herd. Be you. In all of its glory, in all of its strife, in all of its cellulite and chub and stretch marks and freckles and big thighs and crooked noses and unsymmetrical eyebrows.

Be you.

My body does not define me.

I am my thoughts and my feelings, so if I want to be happy about my body then I need to change my thoughts.

My body carries me through life day in and day out so I'm going to be proud and respect my body by telling her that she is amazing. Telling her that she is beautiful inside and out.

Telling my body that without her I wouldn't be here.

I have a little test for you, look in the mirror and tell yourself three positives about your body. DO IT, if you can, every day. Let's prevent ourselves from putting ourselves down. You are your best cheerleader, who else knows you better?

Spread the love and prevent negative thoughts about our bodies!

On Facebook or Twitter, tag a friend and share one positive aspect about their body with #PayBeautyForward and @MumProject.

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