let's talk about you

you know my semi-regular celebration posts on mondays? well, the thing you don't know is that i started them with a specific intention in mind.

what i wanted to do with a celebration series was to invite you to celebrate you. i wanted to invite you to find something you appreciate about yourself that you could acknowledge and celebrate. we spend so much time focusing on what we think is wrong with us that i wanted to help tip the scales in the opposite direction.

except it felt wrong to extend an invitation for you to celebrate yourself unless i could do the same for myself. and i couldn't. in my last celebration post, i really tried. i found something that i thought i could celebrate about myself and i wrote a post. the entire time i was writing it, i felt sick. so, i deleted the post and celebrated autumn leaves instead (totally worth celebrating, just not the point).

today, i am trying again.

today, what i want to celebrate about myself is that i am learning to remember that i am not all one thing or the other. i am not this or that. i am this and that. that seems an excellent place to start.

i invite you to join in by acknowledging and celebrating something that you appreciate about yourself. feel free to share something you want to celebrate in the comments, so i can celebrate with you. (you can also whisper it into the wind, and i will celebrate with you in spirit.) and if this is not for you, that is ok too. i like you either way.

p.s. the winner of the giveaway is julie m. thanks to everyone for playing - and for all the chocolate ideas!

Comments

[Jerry Critter]

This and That is good. I am This and That...and also a little of the Other Thing.

[Jmraisanen]

I am celebrating my strength today. I took a fall on the icy driveway and am very aware of strong bones, muscles, and tendons.

[elizabeth @ retinal perspectives]

@jerry: ah. this and that and the other thing. yes. celebrating that you are all of that.

@jmraisanen: celebrating your strength with you. i know that if your body could talk, it would tell you how much it appreciates your words.

[kelly barton]

you shine such a b..i.g. light. i feel all warm.

[beth]

I celebrate having enough courage to deal with some strong emotions over the weekend, and feeling lighter than air today.

[and flowers pick themselves]

so inspiring. today i am celebrating my brain, which is finishing out this semester with good grades + new knowledge :)

xo Alison

[margie]

i am celebrating that my journey is about identification not confidence.

[Julie M.]

Celebrating determination, which pushes me to conquer a long list of items even though I'm weary today.

Also, celebrating my nearly-retired word for 2010... 'simplify'. It was perfect.

[Julie M.]

Beautiful photo! Wow!

[Julie M.]

AND... SO fun that I won the giveaway! Thank you! My brain is kind of fragmented today- I post these individual thoughts instead of one big comment. :D

[Meredith]

I celebrate having the courage to be honest. I talked to an old friend this morning, and finally had the guts to tell her the truth about something I'd been dreading sharing. It was a beautiful conversation, and our bond feels renewed now. :)

Lovely post, and wonderful idea, Elizabeth!

[Maryann Devine]

"This AND that." I love the idea of celebrating something about yourself, and I love the thing you chose today.

Not sure I'm ready to do it for myself, though ... maybe next Monday?

xo

[Ann Bimberg]

i would like to celebrate the forgiveness of children for when you blow it as a mom

[Se'lah]

celebrating life.

how are you Ms. Elizabeth? Sending positive vibes your way always. Please forgive me for staying away too long.

one love.

[elizabeth @ retinal perspectives]

@se'lah: no need to apologize at all! i am happy to see you whenever you pop in. :)

@ann: i am celebrating their forgiveness with you.

@maryann: i will definitely try to do it again next monday.

@meredith: i am celebrating your honesty with you. and i imagine you feel much lighter today!

@julie: i am celebrating your determination with you. (how can we be almost retiring our words already?! i have become rather fond of mine.)

@margie: i am celebrating your journey with you. i like the idea of identification.

@alison: congratulations! i am celebrating your brain (and the end of the semester for sure) with you.

@beth: i am celebrating your courage with you - and the lightness. that is such a wonderful feeling.

@kelly: i wish i could give you a huge hug right now. xoxo

[Heidi]

I love the idea of celebrating oneself... and let me start by saying that there is so much to celebrate about you my dear!

For myself, I would like to celebrate the courage that allowed me to do something absolutely crazy, which has brought me to a place of incredible beauty. I didn't exactly think of it as "courage" at the time, but at least now I can appreciate it for what it was ;)

[Relyn]

One thing I celebrate about myself, that I absolutely love, is my ability to be moved. I love that something beautiful or tender always makes me cry. I love that.

[steph]

I'm late to the game, because I was traveling for a bit there, but I'm starting to catch up on my RSS reader now, and since there happen to be things I'm celebrating today already anyway, I'm sharing 'em. :)

Today I celebrate my beauty and my willingness to open my heart.

Thank you, Elizabeth. :)

[Kate D]

let's just celebrate you! love this photo! and let's celebrate all the amazing images you've been creating...I plan on doing some "Elizabeth photos" over the holidays - opening the aperature wide and seeing what happens!