Women.  Why are we so hard on ourselves?  When did we start hating the reflection we see staring back at us in the mirror? 

A couple of weeks ago I attended a friend’s wedding in Ocean City, New Jersey.  They had 3 gorgeous little flower girls in the bridal party.  They were adorable:  one doing exactly what she was supposed to do, the second girl was slamming clumps of rose petals to the ground like a quarterback spikes a football while the third girl spent most of her time looking around like something was buzzing around her head.  Did anyone think they looked silly?  Of course not!  We all thought they were sweet, innocent, authentic and wonderful.

At the reception, when the music started, the little girls were the first ones on the dance floor—dancing, twirling, smiling and showing COMPLETE and UNCOMPLICATED JOY!  They didn’t care that people were watching them or that they might look stupid when they tripped over each other.  They simply enjoyed the moment.

Someone please tell me why that joy is beaten out of us as we get older?  When did we become so self-conscious and ashamed of our bodies?  And most importantly, how do we get BACK that joy?   How do we begin to LOVE what we see in the mirror—especially when we’re looking at wrinkles, a changing body and sagging skin?

I say it’s time we get our joy back and start to see ourselves for who we really are.  It won’t happen overnight, but I promise you, if we band together, we can accomplish anything.  A great group of women, all aiming at the same goal, is sheer power.  We need to stop criticizing and start complimenting others and ourselves.  Let’s do it for a day and then see how we feel.  Can you do that?

Let’s fight this epidemic—and let’s start fighting it now.  Are you in?