The Magical Dress

Quick Story:  Once upon there was a little girl named Spirit…she was filled (like all little girls) with curiosity, intuition, and joy.  One day, early on her life, she began to hear whispers about The Magical Dress.  She started to ask questions and finally one day her mother came into her room and showed her The Magical Dress that she would wear as she blossomed into a woman.  It was explained that wearing The Magical Dress was vital for Spirit to be worthy, loved and accepted (she thought she already was?).  She wanted to please and she wanted to be loved, so she tried on the dress and despite her efforts to squeeze into it, it just did not fit.  Everyone around her started panicking.  They told her she had to fit into The Magical Dress, or her life would be ruined, and they threw all kinds of suggestions at her about what she needed to do to fit into The Magical Dress.  Everyday she tried to follow their advice, and every day she failed, and as every day passed that she could not make the dress fit, hopelessness became a feeling she had never known, as did self-judgment and self-consciousness.  She started to believe what everyone was saying, and she knew she would never be worthy, loved and accepted.  That belief seeped into her soul and Spirit began to disappear.  One day, a Fairy Godmother appeared and held the disappearing Spirit in her arms.  She told her how loved she was and that no Dress, even the one she believed was Magical, could ever determine if she was worthy.  As she rocked Spirit her words were like nourishment to Spirit’s soul sharing with her the truth which was “that no matter what clothes she wore on her body, she was still that beautiful girl who was filled with curiosity, intuition and joy.  She no longer had to believe that anything, let alone some silly dress, would ever get in the way of her being worthy, loved and accepted.”  And with that, Spirit not only reappeared in her unique form, but she glowed with radiance, and off she skipped free to meet the world with curiosity, intuition and joy!

(For me the Health At Every Size (HAES) movement was THE FAIRY GODMOTHER…we take care of our bodies and appreciate their wonder.  We do that, not so that other people will deem them acceptable, we do that so that we can move through the world with curiosity, intuition and joy…our bodies are nothing more and nothing less.)