Rabbit Rabbit!
Welcome, August
My friends and I say “rabbit rabbit” on the first of every month in our group text. It is said to bring good luck to the month! So, I am bringing that wish for good luck to you all.
As some may know, I have just returned from a wonderful week in Portugal. Each time I travel, I am overwhelmed with gratitude— for the opportunities to see new places and experience new food. I can’t help but think about my clients (many of you) and how I want you to experience all the good the world has to offer, too.
Many of the days were spent walking and wandering up and down steep cobblestone streets. I was stopping every few feet to take photos, admire the bright splashes of color, and look up at the intricate tiles Portugal is known for. When traveling, sometimes there is an expectation that all our anxieties and worries disappear for the time being. In reality, we are still carrying them with us. It’s only human. I noticed I had a difficult time sleeping the night before the flight due to anxiety about my first overseas flight in seven years, I noticed my energy was low and I was fighting exhaustion from being up so many hours and a long work week prior, I noticed at times I felt irritable and had moments of unexplained sadness. It didn’t take away from my experience. I just noticed it. I was still me, just in a new, beautiful place.
There was a point in the trip when I went myself (I was traveling with quite a few friends) to a store down the street from our bnb. I noticed that I took a deeper breath. I felt comfort in the silence. For a few moments, I wasn’t influenced by the observations of others around me. I was able to just be present for myself. It reminded me of my favorite phrase my therapist tells me, “be here now”. I thought to myself: it’s okay to enjoy this moment as much as I enjoy the moments with the friends I was with and I can love it here, not want to leave and still be excited to be back in my own bed. Ahhh the dualities.
As a reminder, text that appears in italics is meant to be a journal or thought prompt to take with you.
A note on social media
When I think of the plethora of body-positive accounts on instagram, I think of many women in midsize bodies talking about their tips and tricks to “love yourself” and how to say “f*ck diet culture”. This is great and needed, indeed. However, when I ask you to diversify your feed, I don’t just mean flooding it with self-help words. I ask you to take a moment to follow: artists who show the beauty of larger bodies, the person who exists in a larger body and posts videos of themselves working out, or folks in larger bodies just existing.
Today I am introducing you to Elisa Valenti. She is an artist who is in her words, “reshaping the lens of female bodies through modern Renaissance painting & sculpture using lush, fat figures”. She creates the soft curves of the female body with charcoal, paint, sculpture, and other mediums. I highly recommend following. I hope to have her artwork in my office one day.
What messages were you taught about larger bodies when you were young? Where did you learn them? What are you immediate thoughts as you see the images above? Be curious about your thoughts. Don’t judge them.
Session Themes
Fire alarm!
You know when your smoke alarm has a low battery and it makes that incessant chirping? Our body’s alarm system after trauma is that low-battery smoke alarm. The chirping sound warns us that we need to pay attention when there isn’t a real threat in front of us.
First thought, second thought
Let’s say you see someone in a larger body in the grocery store pushing a cart with ice cream. What is your first thought? We have been socialized to judge first. Make assumptions first. Enter second thought. The second thought might be something along the lines of, well that isn’t a nice thought or I don’t know anything about this person or their body. I think of our second thought as the one that speaks to our character and beliefs as a person. Thoughts are just thoughts. We are constantly being fed information from TV, the screens of our phones, billboards, conversations with friends and many other forms of media. Your brain stores that information in filing cabinets to be pulled out for reference later. Our job is to sift through the thoughts and interact with the ones that align best with our beliefs as a person.
Think of a recent thought you had that was distressing to you. What is your second thought? Can you create space between you and the thought by saying “I am having the thought that…” rather than stating the thought as fact?
food, my favorite
This week’s recipe is inspired by my roommate! She works for a farmers market near us in Somerville. Over the weekend, she grabbed some corn and I picked up some jalapeño peppers. We threw together a jalapeño, feta, and dill butter for the corn on the cob, thank you New York Times cooking! We ate it too quickly for a photo so here is theirs!
Ingredients
a few ears of corn
one jalapeño
1/2 a cup of butter
1/4 cup of feta (as a Greek, I feel passionate about Dodini)
a few pinches of dill (or basil!)
2 garlic cloves chopped
teaspoon of coriander
1/4 fresh lemon juice
salt & pepper
Simply put all ingredients in a food processor. If you don’t have one, you can mash them together until well-mixed in a bowl. Then put the ears of corn right on the gas stove flame for a few moments until it appeared grilled. Spread the butter on the corn and ta-da! Enjoy the taste of summer.
What is a food that immediately transports you back to a time and place? Describe this place as if you were describing it to someone who has never been here. What do see? hear? smell? taste? Let you mind float back. Notice how your body feels as you allow yourself to be immersed in this place.
Thank you for reading.
Thank you for being you.
We are all human here
with love,
xxoo, Marina
