Embrace Yourself -- Vonnie Davis

Nature is a beautiful feminine lifeform. Just like us women, she has her seasons, her moods, her whims and her dislikes. She can be battered, but never beaten.

You'll notice I gave her a feminine gender, not male. And why not? Doesn't Mother Nature enjoy her jewels and many colors of garb? Isn't she strong? Doesn't she handle whatever the Universe throws at her? After a weather-induced catastrophy, doesn't she eventually bounce back with fragile growth, new life, a newfound strength?

I think that's why I gain such an infusion of inner peace and strength when I go for walks. Our lady friend's colorful aura is all around me. All I need do is open my eyes to her beauty and breathe in her glorious perfume. She embraces me with her beauty. Especially this time of the year. It's almost as if she's giving me an extra helping of color to get me through the often bleak shades and shadows of winter.

Yet, sadly, like so many women, Nature is often taken for granted. Like the oxygen needed for our next breath, we simply expect her to be there--forever. If we ladies enjoy a word of praise, a hug and someone to see to our needs and overall health, so does our lady friend, Nature. For Nature, often referred to by her nickname of Mother Earth, needs our respect and care so she can continue to dazzle us with her brilliance from season to season.

We, too, are seasonal in our lives. I consider myself in the autumn of my life, trying to hang onto every colorful leaf in which I can, before the starkness of winter blows cold on my back. The budding energy and promise of the springtime of my life are merely memories of childhood games and wish-upon-a-star moments. They are gone forever, as are the days and nights of heat and passion of my summertime season when so much work was required to flourish and bloom. Now, I'm in the season of my life when I can be as colorful as I want. For I am changing just like the seasons--and I embrace all the nuances of that change.

Perhaps more emphasis should be placed on loving ourselves no matter what season of our life we're in. So often we focus on our imperfections. We allow society's marketing gurus to make us feel "less than" because we can't squeeze into a perfect size two or don't smile with neon-white teeth. 

What if Nature did the same thing everytime we admired a rose? What if she moaned, "Yes, that one is pretty, but don't look at the one in the back. It didn't open right and there are tiny flecks on its petals." What if when we stopped in our daily walks to admire a tree in bloom, and Nature cried, "Oh, please, don't look at my bark. It's peeling." Yet don't we do the same thing when someone compliments us? Instead of simply saying, "Thank you", we feel the need to point out some imperfection--almost as if we dwell on it.

When we embrace who we are--worm holes and all--we show our strength instead of broadcast our weaknesses. We become a part of all things beautiful, instead of setting ourselves apart. We blend, we shine, we add our self worth to the Universe. Embrace yourselves. Accept all the tiny imperfections that make you uniquely you. For you are a lifeforce of immeasurable creativity, energy and love. Embrace yourself.