“Friend derives from a word meaning ‘free.’ A friend is someone who allows us the space & freedom to be”

Unknown

Your girlfriends LOVE you – exactly like you are! Too bad we don’t grow up to love ourselves the same way. Thankfully we have our girlfriends to remind us of what we can see – that we’re stunning and wonderful!

Thankfully too, we have our Girlfriend Guru LISA SARICK to remind us girlfriends – and our daughters and other ‘little girlfriends’ that we are beautiful just the way we are:

A super-gorgeous girlfriend of mine called me recently, almost in tears. She and her husband were getting ready to go away for the weekend – well, he WAS ready. She was feeling too fat to feel good in any of her clothes and was lying on her bed. She knew it was irrational. She just didn’t know how to snap out of it.

Did I mention she’s tall, thin, and gorgeous?! She’s the woman that walks into a place, with her handsome husband, and we (some of us, at least) think, “If only I had a body like that, or looked like her…”

Even that woman is unhappy with herself sometimes. It makes me sad – even mad. I’ve seen Miss Representation. Don’t get me started!

I think about my little Cami, age 2.5. She loves her self and her little body. She dances around naked pretty much daily, sings, bosses everyone around – including the dogs. I would hate for her to grow up and feel inhibited. I don’t want her to feel pressured to shrink, or dim her light in any way so that others feel more comfortable. I don’t want her to tie up her worth or her happiness with her dress size.

What DO I want her to know; to take in to her being and live from? … and my girlfriends and myself to remember?

These 10 things:

1. 1. Our bodies are miraculous vehicles for our journeys on the earth. Let’s be grateful for them and treat them with love.
2. 2. Healthy bodies come in different shapes and sizes.
3. 3. We are whole; much more than a bunch of body parts.
4. 4. Perfectionism is violence against the self, and wasted energy.
5. 5 .Our bodies respond best to a friendly attitude, rather than harshness and punishment.
6. 6 .What we have to offer the world is not limited by our physical appearance.
7. 7 .There is a Divine purpose for our lives – which probably is not to be a size 2.
8. 8. Judging other women on the basis of their body size, shape or appearance hurts us all.
9. 9. Beauty is an inner light that we allow to shine by being who we are, as fully as possible.
10. 10. We are worthy because we exist.

LISA SARICK (also known as Reverend Lisa) is a Spiritual Finder. As a minister and teacher she guides people who want peace to go beyond the limits of their minds to the freedom of their spirit. She holds 1-on-1 sessions, officiates ceremonies, and is working on creating a group program to lead the masses to freedom! Visit her virtual home at www.LisaSarick.wordpress.com.

How can we help ourselves and other women and girls realize how beautiful we are? How can we learn to accept self love and encourage it among our girlfriends? Share your ideas in the comments. THANKS!

THANKS LISA for sharing your self esteem, self love and sisterly love with all women! Check out her previous Girlfriend Guru guest post – Moon Circle – A Girlfriend Love Story. And check back for more girlfriend inspiration from Lisa!

More on self-esteem and loving ourselves:

• Self Love Girlfriend Advice by Christine Arylo
• Put yourself First (at least sometimes!) by Lisa McDaniel Brown
• Beautiful You – A Girlfriend Guide to Self Acceptance by Rosie Molinary

By the way, we LOVE guest blogs here at Girlfriendology. Have a great girlfriend story to tell? Want to celebrate your fabulous female friends? SHARE! (And, we also have Girlfriend Gurus – check that out to be featured on Girlfriendology!)

Sign up for our weekly newsletter and get our FREE eBook ‘30 Days / 30 Ways to Be a Better Friend‘ - check it out!

More to check out – Facebook.com/Girlfriendology and @Girlfriendology (Twitter) where we’re connecting with over 50,000 women and Pinterest.com/Girlfriendology where we share visual inspiration and great quotes. (& our Pinterest Marketing site: Pinfriendology.com.) More Girlfriend Friendship Quotes. THANKS to our BIG 2012 sponsor – Biz Stain Fighter. And – Thanks to YOU Girlfriend!

Tags: beautiful, body image, girlfriend guru, guest blog, guest blogger, Lisa Sarick, Reverend Lisa, self love, Spriritual Guru

This entry was posted on Monday, February 20th, 2012 at 9:09 am and is filed under Be a Better FRIEND, Girlfriend Gurus, Health and Fitness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.