Living Beyond Bondage came about for a Grant Proposal for Photography but mostly for my 21 Days Food & You – Stop the Insanity Program AND the Raw, Naked and Beautiful Project. Anyone who suffers from Emotional Eating will understand this and also benefit from the program hugely. I will be sharing more on this as well in upcoming posts.
– Living Beyond Bondage –
We were all born pure, innocent and full of love.
Somewhere along the line the story got distorted.
The drug of choice for many, especially women, is food.
Along with that drug often comes constant self criticizing, loathing, judging and obsessing about what one ate, didn’t eat, body size, shape and imperfections – no matter how small they may seem, it always gets distorted.
Yes, media, advertising, possibly parents, teachers, friends or siblings may play a role in somehow reminding us that we aren’t good enough the way we are IF we buy into it and believe it.
It’s a disorder gone rampant, with over 91% of women disliking their bodies and themselves, many to an extreme. 80% of 13 yr old Canadian girls have been on a diet already and 95% of people with an eating disorder are between the ages of 12 – 25 yrs.
I know – I’ve been one of them.
The mental, emotional and often times physical bondage is excruciating – yet many hide it well from others. The wires around the head represent the mental constructs of the programs, self talk and beliefs – none of which are self loving.
Stuffing down emotions, or better yet, not feeling them at all.
We often feel alone, fragmented and on our own keeping things bottled up inside.
We are caught in a vicious cycle of self depreciating, devaluing, loathing and often times self abusive – until we decide enough!!
Only 5 % of women naturally have the body type portrayed by women in the media and for which the other 91% are trying to compete, yet we continue to strive for something that truly is not the ‘norm.’
We aren’t good enough the way we are is the constant reminder.
The other 4% don’t have tv, internet or magazines and therefore really, they are the free ones.
If we’re going to buy into stories, why not buy into self empowering ones?
Who truly decided what beauty is?
We all have a story to tell – we’re trying to make it a similar to one another and that is the start of the disconnect.
We are born and should be able to be our authentic selves and creatively express who we truly be through our gifts – not by trying to be like one another.
With the start of the disconnect we compare, judge, shut down and buy into someone else’s ideas of beauty and what we should look like and we start our own mantra of not being good enough.
Yet we are like snowflakes – each individually designed, beautiful and unique.
Some of us, remembering that, have broken free from that bondage – most of it being self imposed and mental self talk.
We decided that our lives weren’t about fighting our bodies, hating our bodies or ourselves or spending 95% of our time worrying about a few pounds or what we did / did not eat.
Cause it’s really not about food.
There were too many other beautiful, amazing things to see, feel, be and do in this lifetime.
That is the start of removing the bondage – you allow yourself to feel – ALL and reprogram the self talk.
The one thing that separates a food / body obsessive addiction is you have to learn to live with both, unlike most other addictions.
When one can truly do that – accept and love what is – then the bondage is gone and nothing is more freeing than that.
I know I am one of them!
Women Wanted who Want to Break Free – Raw, Naked and Beautiful Project – Real, Authentic and Truthful – Beauty!.
This will become a book and gallery exhibitions – I am currently in the Ajijic Mexico area but will be travelling this year and will be posting where I will be – Please contact me if you would like a session!!
Much Love & Gratitude
Jodi Burke
PS Again here is the 21 Days Food & You and the Raw, Naked and Beautiful Project