This is what came out instead. This is about what I am learning, what I am seeing, and perhaps what I hope I can accomplish as a massage therapist. I only hope that in some small way I will be able to use massage as a tool to contribute some truth to other people's lives about who they are and who they can be.
Woman in the mirror
Stop shaming, demeaning, abusing
That woman in the mirror
Stop telling her how ugly she is
And how fat she is
And how unlovable she is
Stop criticizing every action and every word
Stop pointing out her failures
And negating her successes
Stop telling her lies about who she is
Because she believes you
Woman in the mirror
When you tell her untruths about who she is as a woman
She believes you
And then she begins to walk out in the world
Telling other people how unlovable she is
She begins proclaiming her un-worth to all who can hear
She begins to apologize for everything she can’t do
For everything she doesn’t have
For all that she feels she can never be
And she feels as though she must make up for it somehow
She’ll start accepting when other people
Put her in her place, push her down, push her around
When her friends walk all over her
She’ll blame herself and feel certain she deserves it
When she finds a good man
She won’t let herself stay because she knows
She’s not good enough for him
When she finds the wrong man
She won’t let herself tell him he’s wrong
When he tells her she’s nothing
Woman in the mirror
Change your story, learn a new mantra
To replace she’s ugly, fat, stupid and lazy
Change your story to the truth
Tell the woman in the mirror
How very unique and special she is
Tell her that there is no one on the planet
That can fill the role she plays
No one on earth who can love people the way she loves
No one who has the same laugh or the same smile
No one who thinks the exact same thoughts
Or has the same perspective on the world
Tell her about her potential
About all the things she can do with her life
When she learns to believe in herself
And see her own value
And learns how to love herself
Tell her that she can do anything and be anything
And she is worth the time and the energy and the love
To make it happen
Woman in the mirror
Tell the truth, shout it out loud if you have to
