Dreams. We all have ‘em.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve spent a lot of time second-guessing them. You may have put your dreams in a box for one reason or another, either lovingly “for later” or angrily because you didn’t feel as though they could come true.

You may store this box o’ dreams under your bed, where it’s always right there waiting for you. Or maybe it’s on the tippy top shelf of your closet behind a bunch of junk. Better to not remind yourself of what could have been “if only”.

It’s time to take the box out from wherever you hid it, dust it off, and revisit what’s inside.

In my case, that box holds a lot of stale old dreams. Dreams which, had I struck while the iron was hot, may have panned out.

There are many, though, which still have some life left in them.

Am I the only one who has found herself too timid to stake a claim in her own life? Who has shied away from stating, loud and proud, “I AM”?

There are many reasons why I did this. Well-meaning but ill-advised adults who shot down my dreams without even knowing it. Playground bullies who taught me to stay quiet, to not attract too much attention or else risk being laughed at.

I absorbed and internalized the silent messages passed along from the grown-ups in my life who showed me that life is hard work, that dreams are nice but not realistic. And that’s okay! They were only acting out of what they knew to be true for them.

But it’s time to move past that and live what’s true for ME. And if my story sounds anything like yours, it’s time for you to do the same.

Over the weekend I sent out a tweet: Sometimes taking the first step is all you need. Others will propel you along after that. 

See, I finally decided to start a newsletter in which I’ll be continuing the #HonorMyself posts, rather than featuring them here. So I put up that opt-in form which you’ll notice over there in the right sidebar. See it?

Why did I do this? Because I want to continue the discussion, to share the inspiration and motivation with others, but I want to keep it separate from the rest of my blog.

You know what happened? People started signing up.

Crap! Now I actually have to create a newsletter because I said I was going to and people took my word for it!

It’s like the universe said “FINALLY!”. If you put up the opt-in form, they will come. Well, Rob put it up for me. And here they come.

I’m finally honoring my dreams, y’all. And I want you along for the ride.

And while you’re at it – honor your own dreams. Start today. Dust off that box o’ dreams and take a look inside.

What’s in there? What do you intend to do about it? I want to hear from you!

Starting next week, my #HonorMyself posts won’t be here. They’ll be delivered in newsletter form instead. Along with those posts will come vlog entries and conversation (as soon as I learn how to edit video because I am just that unsophisticated).

If you want to continue getting weekly reminders of how you need to honor YOU, be sure to sign up! And don’t forget to confirm your opt-in via the email you’ll receive when you first sign up – I’ve noticed a few people never confirmed, and that’s a bummer.

Image via Creative Commons

Let’s talk about fat hate, especially the stuff going on last week.

First it was the hoopla over Chris Christie’s girth, which has been a running gag since he first hit the public eye but seemed to reach a fever pitch last week, between his appearance on Letterman (God bless his donut eating heart) and the comments made by that former White House doctor which resulted in a characteristic smackdown.

At the end of the week I then saw reports of Rex Reed’s insulting remarks about Melissa McCarthy’s weight in his review of Identify Thief.

“What’s with all the fat hate lately?” Rob asked as we watched the news and saw this story.

And it did seem like we’d reached the saturation point after the week’s events. But I knew, just like he does, that fat hate is always out there. We just don’t hear about it on the news every night.

I think Christie would be the breath of fresh air this country needs, and if he were to run for President I’d vote for him in a heartbeat. We need a kick in the pants, and he’d deliver it.

So how many people do you think wouldn’t vote for him solely because he’s obese? Without knowing anything else about him, his policies, his political leanings?

Honestly? I think there’d be an awful lot.

And many of them would get on their sanctimonious soapbox and explain that they couldn’t see voting such an unhealthy person into office. What sort of message is this sending our children?

And yeah, I get that. Even though I believe in some cases that “health” stuff is just words.

But the rest of the anti-Christie voters? Well, I won’t quote some of the comments I’ve read about the man on the internet in the past, but “fat f*ck” ran rampant, I assure you.

This is for all of the nasty, narrow-minded people out there. Straight from the heart of a fat person:

You don’t need to hate me. I’ve spent more than enough time hating myself.

Do you know how difficult it is for me to love myself now? To every day remind myself that it’s okay what I’ve done in the past because today’s a new day?

Do you know the courage it must take people like Chris Christie and Melissa McCarthy to go out there into the public eye every day and face such nasty, mean-spirited criticism?

And yet they do it, because it’s in them to do so. They are living their truth and you’re probably not.

And whether or not their truth is your particular cup of tea, you can’t deny that there are more people – skinny, fat and every size in between – who aren’t brave enough to do that than there are warriors who go out and live the lives they want to live regardless of how they look or what you think of them.

Just like playground bullies are only acting out of the unworthiness they feel inside, grown-up bullies are lashing out, too. They see something lacking in themselves and so they hurt those around them.

There must be an awful lot of sad, frustrated, unloving and miserable people out there in order to spread so much hatred.

Yes, I’m working to improve myself and my health. Is it out of fear of disease or early death? Is is because I hate myself the way I am now?

No. It’s out of love. Because I’m worth the effort.

Rex Reed and all the other haters can continue to spread hate.

I’m choosing to spread love, and I’m starting with me.

What about you?

How did you honor yourself last week? How can you do it this week? Tell me about it!

Image via Creative Commons

Sharing this with the lovely Shell over at Things I Can’t Say.