You are perfect as you are

And every time you say,
I am too fat, too thin, too short, or
I wish my thighs were smaller, my tummy flatter or my boobs bigger,
You disrespect your body
You disrespect yourself,
By telling your brain and your body,
That something superficial,
Like your dress size
Or the natural blueprint of your body
Is far more important than
All the amazing things you are capable of.

Maybe you can contort yourself
Into a selection of weird and wonderful yoga poses.
Or hike, or bike or run.
Maybe you can cook or write or sing,
Or swim or ski or dance.
Maybe you play, maybe you’re a mother.
Maybe you teach or learn,
Love to read, curled up by a fire.
Maybe you garden, or roll around with your pets
Ride on horseback or try, every day,
To make the world a little better.

Your body does that.
The sinews, muscles and cells.
The beautifully intricate joints,
Held together with tendons and ligaments,
Refreshed by blood,
Keep you moving,
As your organs work in synchronicity
To keep you breathing, thinking,
To keep that heart beating.
You are designed
Perfectly.

But more, more, more
Than all those things,
This body, the one you’re in right now
Is the only body on earth
In which you can find enlightenment.
It will be still when you need calm
It will give you wings when you need to soar
It will take you around the world
If you need to see from a different perspective
And deep inside,
There is your Buddha-Nature.

Take a moment and think
Of all the awesome things you have done so far
And love the skin you’re in,
Love the Buddha within.

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Apprentice Editor: Cami Krueger/ Editor: Emily Bartran

Photo: Pixoto user Allan Dela Fuente