caring for your body when you hate it
when I was seven, my mom took me to the SPCA and told me I could pick out a cat. I walked straight to the back of the rows of cages and found the rattiest little cat you’ve ever seen in your life.
Her tail had been severed after she was hit by a car and her butt was oozing from fresh wounds and ointments. Without even looking at
the other cats I announced to my mother that I wanted that one. I took her home and I cared for that cat. I got to know her and she became my friend, not because she appeared worthy but simply
because I decided to care for her. My point is, sometimes it helps to consider your body as separate from you. You have a body—you are not your body. So even if you think your body is a little bit ratty, you can get to know it, slowly, curiously, nonjudgmentally, by caring for it. And it might end up your friend.
Literal interpretation: You do not have to wait to care about your body to care for your body. In fact, caring for your body can often
cause you to start liking it more.
