\n
![\"Perfect](\"\/wabisabilove\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Perfect-Body-216x300.jpeg\")
![\"9_29.12](\"\/wabisabilove\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/9_29.12-Bathingsuit-225x300.jpeg\")
<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thirty years ago I was obsessed with the ambition to attain physical perfection.\u00a0 I had this idea that if I could weigh a certain amount, have my measurements be an exact number, have my hair the best length and all ten of fingers nails \u201clong\u201d at the same time, I would be perfect and with that perfectly happy.<\/p>\n
I spent a year working out two hours a day lifting weights, running, doing sit-ups and squats.\u00a0 I carefully measured and tracked everything I ate and I weighed myself daily (ok, multiple times a day).<\/p>\n
And, then one day it happened.\u00a0 I got up, stood on the scale, took out my measuring tape and voila \u2013 perfection had been reached.\u00a0 For a few moments I was in bliss.<\/p>\n
This occurred while I was at Club Med in the Bahamas on a vacation by myself. (I had recently broken up with my boyfriend.)\u00a0 It was only Day Two of my holiday and I didn\u2019t have anyone to share my \u201cgood news\u201d with.<\/p>\n
I realized that I couldn\u2019t just walk up to strangers and tell them,<\/p>\n
\u201cHey \u2013 look at me, I\u2019m perfect!\u201d<\/p>\n
I quickly sank into a bit of a depression as I realized I had just spent a year chasing a dream that wasn\u2019t fulfilling me \u2026<\/p>\n
The gift of all of this was that I stopped the insanity of restricting myself on so many levels.\u00a0 I quit measuring my food and counting calories. I decided to exercise a more reasonable five times a week for an hour, and most importantly, I no longer looked to the scale to tell me how I would feel about my body.<\/p>\n
A few years later, I discovered the ancient Japanese aesthetic of Wabi Sabi which seeks to find beauty and perfection in imperfection.\u00a0 Slowly, I began to let go of my notions of perfection (in all areas of my life) and find fun ways to reframe the things I formerly judged about myself.\u00a0 I declared myself a Wabi Sabi Artisan.<\/p>\n
Rather than beat myself up over my less-than-ideal spelling skills, I embraced \u201ctypos.\u201d<\/p>\n
I found humorous ways to forgive myself for having a bad memory and forgetting names.<\/p>\n
I forewarned my dining companions that my food was likely to spill into my lap and possibly get onto theirs!<\/p>\n
Over the past few years I have developed a \u201cmuffin-top.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s that extra roll of fat that pops up over my jeans at the waistline.\u00a0 Each time I notice it, I have this thought,\u00a0 \u201coh no, it\u2019s time to go on a diet!\u201d\u00a0 But, of course, I never do start that diet.<\/p>\n
Today I decided it\u2019s time to stop judging and hating my muffin top and I asked the wiser, Wabi Sabi artisan part of me to find the beauty and perfection in it instead.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what she said:<\/p>\n
\u201cYour adorable muffin top is proof of your fabulous life.\u00a0 You are happy, satisfied and content and you get to eat delicious, nourishing food.\u00a0 Your muffin top surrounds you with an extra layer of protection should you get stranded in a desert with no food for a week.\u00a0 Your muffin top is a daily reminder that life is to be lived and enjoyed and that eating is one of life\u2019s great pleasures that peaks all of your senses so hurray for the muffin top!\u201d<\/p>\n
So for those of you who also have a \u201cmuffin-top\u201d share with me what you are learning to love about yours!<\/p>\n
P.S.: Photos:\u00a0 These photos are 30 years apart and an additional 30 pounds!
\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Thirty years ago I was obsessed with the ambition to attain physical perfection.\u00a0 I had this idea that if I could weigh a certain amount, have my measurements be an exact number, have my hair the best length and all ten of fingers nails \u201clong\u201d at the same time, I would be perfect and with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[49,8],"tags":[63,62,61],"class_list":["post-758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-forgiveness-2","category-perfectionism","tag-enjoy-life","tag-love-yourself","tag-muffin-top"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arielleford.com\/wabisabilove\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arielleford.com\/wabisabilove\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arielleford.com\/wabisabilove\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arielleford.com\/wabisabilove\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arielleford.com\/wabisabilove\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=758"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.arielleford.com\/wabisabilove\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":813,"href":"https:\/\/www.arielleford.com\/wabisabilove\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758\/revisions\/813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arielleford.com\/wabisabilove\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arielleford.com\/wabisabilove\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arielleford.com\/wabisabilove\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}