Embracing the ODD-ness…

 

 

If that’s ‘ODD’ – count me in!

I am a self proclaimed optimist. Always looking on the bright side. I am also incredibly passionate about helping people with how they see themselves. For a couple of reasons. The main reason being that I spent a lot of years believing (hidden inside) I wasn’t good enough; pretty enough; or just plain ‘enough’ in a lot of ways. The second reason being that there are fabulous people I know and love, people I see in the streets on a daily basis, people on social media… who are still fighting those internal battles! And they are battles we like to keep hidden… until now.

I am no expert, no one is, but I am certainly mastering the skills of awareness and self love!

Some carrots struck a cord with me tonight.

Stick with me. Everyone loves a juicy carrot…

I went to one of our big chain supermarkets here in Australia, in search of some deliciousness. Wandering the fruit & veg section – which is where I spend most of my supermarket time – I noticed a table that said ‘The Odd Bunch’.

‘Well’, I thought, ‘this is the place for me’.

These are branded packets of ‘odd’ looking veggies that don’t look perfectly photoshopped AND are for sale for less than the ‘polished’ ones! Bonus (cha ching!) for those of us who don’t give a shit for the stereotypical perfect carrots. 

Fabulous marketing, yes. Well done big chain.

It got me wondering…

Are we so narrow minded that we believe our fresh produce shouldn’t have character? That it actually just miraculously appears on the shelves with no dirt and is always the same perfect size and shape?

Do carrots even come out of the dirt? Are we living under a rock?

Let’s relate this to something much more real. 

Because there IS a link.

What hope does anyone who owns a mirror have? Anyone who is not a photoshopped magazine model, if we are sitting back judging natures own juicy, orange fucking creations? I actually cannot believe that carrots are actually being brought into this.

Like ‘Sorry, you don’t make the cut because you have knobbly knees and a skinny head & no one will ever choose you unless we sell you cheaper’ said the farmer to the unique ‘odd’ carrot.

You may think I am reading into this too much. 

It’s not really about the carrots.

*raise one eyebrow, put your hand on your chin… and consider this:

It’s about you. You are perfect. Those gorgeous legs that hold you up. That waist and those hips that are perfect. That belly that shows you actually eat real food. Those lips that show your smiles and let you kiss the ones you love. They are the things that make you who you are. The things to be thankful for and to embrace fully.

You are not meant to look like the magazines.

This has taken me, literally years, to be comfortable with. The people in the magazines don’t even look like they do in the magazines! You are not any less worthy because you don’t look like a glossy stereotype.

Be the healthiest you can be, for sure, 100%, yes. Eat well. Live well. Love well. Strive to have your body (inside and out), feel the best it possibly can. Look after yourself. And when your ability is lacking (we are not experts – so give that up), ask for help.

Put the pressure on yourself to look like something that is not even real? No. Trust me, that is not a healthy idea.

Want to learn how to start embracing yourself and all that you are? All that you have to offer this world in the short time you are here?

Let’s chat. As I said, no one is a complete expert. But experience, time & embracing ‘oddness’ qualify me a little!

I guess the positive here is that if we open our mind, we can all get bargain carrots.

To authenticity & vulnerability, Jen x