Giving Thanks Day 25 ~ Being Comfortable In My Own Skin

I am thankful, and truly grateful for being comfortable in my own skin. Yes, even my weathered, laugh lines, sun kissed, brow lines, crows feet skin. I am talking about being blissfully content in your own skin. At various times in my life I thought was happy in the skin I was in. As, I grow older I realize that I am becoming more comfortable and more aware of what contentment feels like. In my thirties, I began to see things so much more differently. Then in my forties, I had a moment of self actualization, where I realized who I was and what I was really about. Not that I haven't had this before, but you will know it when you feel that moment.....serendipity. You turn off the autopilot, the one where you've been going through life like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, and you turn on your authentic self. You turn off the insecurities, the intolerance, the self doubt, unhealthy habits...and you turn on positive self talk, take chances, challenge your self and begin to love yourself in a way you have never had in the past. You begin to live life out loud, with real joy, celebrating the moments and realizing your true potential. You get to know yourself, truly know yourself, in ways that most will never realize, and you begin to live your life differently, because you see things so much different than you have in the past. You find your inner peace and serenity. You begin to live a life filled with passion, seeing the positive even when there is no light to be found. You cultivate your spirit, start taking care of you, and loving the skin you are in. You become aware of your dreams, you tap into your inner child and you take on life in a zen like fashion. You have a zest for life, you see what is really important, and begin a journey of self discovery. You become increasingly aware of what you are all about, the you that you were always meant to be. You take responsibility, start making changes, through trial and error you keep going, never giving up.... and you become self empowered, content in life...You may feel at this moment you are done...but it is only the beginning ♥ Natalie Goldberg's thoughts on this compared to that of baking a cake "When you bake a cake, you have ingredients: sugar, flour, butter, baking soda, eggs, milk. You put them in a bowl and mix them up, but this does not make a cake. This makes goop. You have all these ingredients, the details of your life, but just to list them is not enough. You must add the heat and energy of your heart. You can't just mix the ingredients in a bowl; they have no life. You must become one with the details in love or hate...Ovens can be very cantankerous sometimes, and you might have to learn ways to turn your heat on. And you are never sure once the heat begins whether you will get a devil's food or an angel food cake" ♥ The ingredients are the different parts of your life, the good, bad, past, present, hopes, dreams, etc. Putting them all into a bowl, makes a gooey mess...It's up to you to turning on the intense heat and passion, and energy that transforms your life ingredients into cake. Then you turn your life into a life worth living, you start seeing and living with your whole heart and soul...blissfully content in your own skin.