Its that time of year again, perhaps you’ve spent December enjoying good company, going out a little more, seeing family, friends and enjoying life a little more than usual.
Perhaps you’ve found yourself in difficult company, and functions you didn’t want to be at and so maybe you used the bubbly anaesthetic that only a crystal flute can bring just to get through.
And now as we sit reflecting on the end of one calendar year ready to enter a new one the January guilt train has pulled in. The crop topped, smooth skinned beauties full of more energy than a human should surely have are telling us its OK if you ate that extra potato or worse still opted for dessert, they have the answer in just 31 days & a years subscription for maintenance (insert gym membership/diet plan/life planner here). They’ve come to save us from ourselves.
So I’m here to remind you that there is an entire Fitness & Wellness Industry in full drive currently working (It could put Santa’s elves to shame quite honestly) to push every insecurity, every doubt, every deep desire that you could be more. It’s using every marketing trick, every smoke and mirror device to acquire your hard earned cash and quite possibly your soul too. So in spite of the fact that I too am also in the business of helping people feel better in their own bodies, the truth is I’m just the facilitator. I believe whole heartedly that a healthy body and mind are one and the same thing, frequently what’s presented as aspirational & “healthy” is actually full of insecurity, obsessive & dangerous behaviour, starvation, injury & over medication. And just when you think you’ve mastered the ideal, the industry will move the bar and you’ll be back with the bubbles before you know it, feeling worse about yourself than you did before.
But fear not just as Dorothy had to walk a very long road only to discover that actually she had the way home the entire time, you too have all the answers you ever needed and yes you may need help and support to realise them and action them but you were and are enough, you were born precious, powerful and with an extraordinary will to live. You are here now, whether life is good, bad or indifferent currently precisely because you and those who have walked before you not only survived but thrived.
Take all the care of yourself you can, if that means having some tough conversations with yourself then have them, no ones listening except you. Look at the reasons you have created that prevent you looking after yourself, your body, your mind, your home. Gather people around you that can create a supportive space for you to thrive, it’s not always where you think, be brave. Rediscover the things that light you up, bring you energy & inspire you. Whatever you are going through, others have likely gone there before, even the crop topped beauties. Limit exposure to the things that do not support your best mindset. Your mind is your greatest asset, your body your greatest ally. Neither are the enemy, you do not need fixing or changing, don’t let an Industry convince you otherwise.
Whatever 2024 brings you I hope it is all that you wish it to be.
But mainly I hope you remember to live by your rules.
With Love,
Suzy xxx
Photo Paul Weaver
Styling & Make Up Suki Miles
