Perfect
Hi, Thinking Out Loud here :D
Welcome to Mindful Monday Week 28
Here is the link for this week's playlist. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2PrtZxDX5tzjthC6XaMau1?si=ce6b4d85608648af
I hope you enjoy listening whilst you read, and I hope you find the music relaxing.
If an ad plays, please stop reading and wait for the playlist to play again. The playlist will be timed for you to read to the end of this blog post, with maybe one song running over after reading.
Get a drink, maybe even a snack, and find a comfy seat so you can relax. Let go of all worries and enjoy the next five deep breaths. Please prepare for the first breath in by breathing out.
Now time for your first deep breath; take one deep breath in through your nose for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1..2.. Breathe out through your mouth for five 1..2..3..4..5.. Hold for 1.. Breathe in for five 1..2..3..4..5.. Hold for 1..2.. And out for five 1..2..3..4..5.. Hold for 1.. Breathe in for five 1..2..3..4..5.. Hold for 1..2.. And out for five 1..2..3..4..5.. Hold for 1.. Two more to go; breathe in for five 1..2..3..4..5.. Hold for 1..2.. And out for five 1..2..3..4..5.. Hold for 1.. Last one deep breath in for five 1..2..3..4..5.. Hold for 1..2.. And out for five 1..2..3..4..5.. Hold for 1.. Now go back to your regular breathing pattern. I hope you feel calm and relaxed.
Whilst thinking of what to write for this week's Mindful Monday, I was listening to one of my many playlists that I have created for writing, and Anne-Marie's song Perfect to Me came on. It got me thinking about what perfect is and what it means, as it means different things to everyone. One person's perfect could be another person's imperfect. Here I just want to say I don’t want to shame anyone for their version of perfect, especially if it differs from my view and opinion of what perfect is.
My view of perfect music will be someone else's least perfect music; I love most genres, but heavy metal with screaming is my least perfect kind of music, but I know for some that is the perfect kind of music. It’s like with some movie genres, my perfect winter night is watching a funny rom-com or chick flick, maybe even an action-packed movie, or one of the many Spiderman or avengers. My least perfect is horror; I will watch ghost hunters on youtube, but getting me to watch a horror film, I’d rather be anywhere but sat watching it. I can probably count on one or maybe two hands the number of horror movies I’ve watched in my whole life, the scariest being the woman in black, which I hid behind my mum for about 90% of the film.
Books are the same. I realise not a lot of people read books, but however you ‘read’ them, whether it’s a physical book, ebook or audiobook, everyone's perfect genre is different. My personal favourite is generally a love story with a happy ending though from time to time, I do like one that hits you and gets the tears going, like with movies. I don’t do horror, though, like ghost hunters; I don’t mind a ghost book (which I am part way through writing one of my own, however, I have had to stop for now as I’ll be honest, I scared myself a bit, but I will maybe do a post about that at a later date on Patreon.)
There is then the perfect that we get bombarded with by ads about what the perfect body image is or should be, and let's be realistic, those images aren’t always of a naturally perfect body. I find these ads like to really push those weight loss miracle pills to lose weight in just 7 days, or the eat this supplement to start seeing results in just two weeks. (Sorry if those ads pop up throughout this post) I have to say I do feel sorry for anyone who spends hundreds if not thousands on these products and sees little, if at all, any change to how they look. Just because it’s been socially accepted that the ‘perfect’ body is one that is slim, with muscles and smaller than a size 12/14, if you are in NZ/Aus/UK, I have no idea what the equivalent sizes are anywhere else. I also want to add that the images of the people in the ads most likely don’t always look like that. I’m sure they will work out, but I can take a guess that they themselves don’t use the product. The images have also most likely had some doctoring done to them to get the model's body to look like the brand's view of a ‘perfect’ body. I want to add that we rarely see ( though I feel it’s starting to happen more now, however, it is still a rarity) people with a disability, big curly hair, freckles, different skin tones, blemishes, or even that bit of extra weight. Let's be honest; these are all perfect and should be celebrated just as much, if not more so, than the socially accepted ‘perfect’ body.
Everyone looks different, and that is the beauty of perfect it should fit with all body types and all body images, not just one type that advertisers see fit. Pushing one type of perfect into a world that is so diverse and forever changing is insane. It’s like teaching a class; each child learns differently; some are visual learners, and some can learn by just hearing the teacher talk. Some teachers do a variety of ways of teaching, so each child gets the best opportunity for an education that suits them. (I know not all teachers do this, but most teachers I had in school did teach like this in England and New Zealand.) Which makes sense as like, within a class, everyone is different. One set way of teaching doesn’t work for everyone, just like one set look doesn’t work for everyone and isn’t perfect for everyone.
I say if you do maybe want to lose a bit of weight or even get toned and build up your muscles, then do workouts, whether you are confident enough to go to a gym or prefer using videos online for a home workout. Please don’t be swayed by the online ads; remember seeing results will always take time, but it also needs more changes than just doing exercises. Write out a plan and do it properly, see a physical dietitian, and maybe go to a gym and ask questions about what would be good for you.
I prefer doing a yoga workout in the comfort of my home than going to a physical gym or class. Maybe this is just my view of not having what is deem a socially ‘perfect’ body for going to gyms. Although I must say when I lived in Australia and did yoga, I in no way was made to feel ashamed for being there, so maybe I just have a thing about gyms that have weights and big machines. I must add, though, I don’t do it to get the ‘perfect’ body; if anything, I do it as a mental release and to clear my thoughts, don’t get me wrong, I love the health benefits, but I don’t do it for how it makes me look. As I get older, I am starting to realise the more important things in life, and I can tell you it isn’t how I or others look. I want everyone to be happy with their body, and I don’t want anyone to feel like they aren’t perfect as they are because to you reading this, to quote Bruno Mars, you are perfect just the way you are.
How we look over time changes, and the fact that we get these images so heavily advertised is overwhelming. With age, our bodies naturally change; we get lines, age spots, and weight in places we never thought possible. All of these changes are perfect; they show that we have lived; we aren’t trying to hide how much time has gone by because hiding the time that has passed is tiring. The same goes with music, movies and books; what we thought was perfect when we were younger will change with age, and that's ok as perfect doesn’t have to stay the same; it can change, it can grow with us, and it can help us in remembering that life is forever evolving.
Please comment below with your version of perfect; I would love to read it and see where we maybe have similar thoughts or where we differ. Remember, all comments get moderated and might not show, but I read them all; I’m just one person, so please be kind.
Let's finish with a three-deep breath breather.
Take one deep breath in through your nose for five 1..2..3..4..5.. Hold for 1..2.. Breathe out through your mouth for five 1..2..3..4..5.. Hold for 1.. breath in for five 1..2..3..4..5.. Hold for 1..2.. And out for five 1..2..3..4..5.. Hold for 1.. Final breath in for five 1..2..3..4..5.. Hold for 1..2.. Last breath out for five 1..2..3..4..5.. No hold here; you can now go back to your regular breathing pattern.
As always, thank you for taking the time to read this week's Mindful Monday. I really do appreciate everyone who takes the time to read them and listens to what I have to say.
Love always
Thinking Out Loud xx :D
Whatever you like and however you look is always perfect, and you don’t need to change who you are.
