Body Acceptance – Self and Others – It’s a Complexed Situation

Well, yesterday’s post caused a shift in reader response, both here and on other Social Media platforms. Generally, the response was very positive. One response, however, was challenging. It happens when an idea challenges one’s belief system. Why do we so readily dismiss other ideas? Still, that response had me think hard about body acceptance.  Just what does that mean – body acceptance?

From a naturist point of view, it appears to mean that we are uncritical of the appearance of others in their naked state. We see a person who is without clothing and are non-judgmental about that person’s physical state. It sounds simple. However, since we all come programmed [psychologically] with a host of complexes and triggers, it really isn’t simple at all. No one is walking around the planet complex free, as much as one wants to think they are. If you fall in love, a complex is involved. If you respond with any emotional heat, a complex is involved. Of course, the more conscious one is about their complexes, the more one is tolerant and compassionate about the complexity of others.

I am not as young as I once was – an understatement that often gives me a chuckle. I like being my age, for the most part. At one point in my life, I was thirty or so pounds lighter. I was skinny. I would run marathons. And, I was unaware of my complexes. Though I was a decent competitive runner, I was never good enough in my own eyes. In time, my body protested hard enough to bring excessive running to an end. I didn’t run for physical fitness or to maintain a certain body weight. I didn’t know why I ran. I just had to run and keep running. As I became more aware of my complexes, the need to run lessened. Now I walk for enjoyment, usually; sometimes because I get caught in an old complex and push the pace and the distance. Regardless, my body has paid the price for what I did and what I didn’t do to consciously care for it. Nowadays, I listen to my body better. I see my body more honestly. And, I do what I can for my body. After all, there is no replacement model which I can purchase.

Too many see body acceptance as a passive act, especially with regards to themselves. Look in the mirror and accept what you see there. All is good. Well, that is debatable. Is it “all good”? Does your body give you hints about needing to be treated better? We all know the answer to that question. However, most of us don’t have the will of the fortitude to make the changes our bodies are asking of us. It’s easier to see in others and make judgments about them and how they treat their bodies.

Of course, even though we say we have good body acceptance of ourselves, we know we are lying. We have visits to doctors for medications, a protest against accepting the status quo. We want to be better and will take any pill a doctor prescribes, even if it means several other prescriptions for coping with various side effects. We want to feel our best physically and mentally. Yet, we are typically too lazy to do much of the work to obtain needed physical change that our bodies are craving – diet, exercise, life style, etc.

For example, coffee is not good for me, nor is salt. If consumption is not reduced, there is this small issue of blood pressure that rears its ugly head. My options, and yes we typically all have options, cut down on the use of salt and drink less beverages containing caffeine. Or, get a prescription for blood pressure medication. Get the meds and I can continue to enjoy drinking almost as much coffee as I want. – This is me, not you. This is my body, not yours. I am not talking about you and your situation. – My response, less coffee and reduce the intake of salt while monitoring my blood pressure. Of course, I also have to do less sitting at the computer and more around more to accelerate recovery.  I have been down this path twice before over the past decade and I have managed to avoid the meds except for a short time seven years ago when my mental state was in a precarious situation.

I am probably ten pounds over my optimum weight for my body and my age. That is according to me, not the medical charts which have a different story to tell.  It’s not much and I likely shouldn’t even mention it. However, my body mentions it to me – not visually. I have no issue with how I look. Well, not that much. I have accepted being older and softer. If I don’t listen to my body, I get physical reminders such as pain and/or discomfort. Typically, as I go through relatively long periods of no pain, I am deaf to my body’s hints. And in this, I am quite normal.

Now, I know that there are significant and serious medical conditions that preclude such simplistic thinking, at least that what it appears to be on the surface. Yet, is it really simplistic thinking? Is there not actions we can take to treat our bodies better, to help our bodies?