Be warned, serious hat.

Dare to be different. Learn to say No. 

"....Doubt. Vanity. With furtive smiles and drumming fingertips they feast on my virtue until I am hollowed and empty."  (Natalie)

I read the above passage today and it screamed at me.
I am sure I'm not alone when I say that I feel ashamed of getting caught up in trap of femininity.
I always curse my fat legs, my round face, my flapping arms, my fair skin, my post-baby stretch marks, my birds nest hair, my stumpy fingernails and how could I forget, my 5"2 frame. The fact that I am happily married and respected by a wonderful man should make me care less, but it doesn't. The media is so aggressive and sucks us all in. We spend our lives jumping from diet to detox, chasing a false idea of perfection.

I fear for those precious young woman trying to find their way in todays world. Being a woman is awfully difficult. We are conditioned from all sides to be perfection in form, but little to no emphasis is placed on our heart and souls. The world critiques every inch of our bodies, every item of clothing, every word we speak, every emotion we show and every dollar we earn.  We are told to thin down, wear less, expose more, give everything, lose your soul. Then we are expected to be fragile at the whim of a stronger man's desires and yet strong and capable of influence. No wonder women struggle with inner demons, the juxtaposition of our rolls in society is so stark that we all fall victim to our "inner" being smothered by the trappings of our "outer".
 NO. Simply NO.
Ladies, stand up for yourselves. Learn to say no to expectations. Free yourselves, free your body, mind and soul and find happiness in your individuality. We have to arm ourselves with resilience and self confidence and help each other  to find happiness within.

We are not just boobs on legs, we are women, daughters, sisters, mothers and mentors.

We have to stop chasing a false perfection, it doesn't exist on this earth. The way God made you is the way you are most beautiful.

Dare to be different.

Sorry for putting on my serious hat mid week when all you want is a laugh to get you through the week, but I'm saying no to expectations!

Go girl power,
Liv xo