Week in Review #36: On Self Acceptance

On beach chairs, body image, and finding ease in my own skin.

Self-acceptance is a concept I’ve been circling for years. A thread I keep picking up, letting go, then returning to again.

On the second day of our recent trip to Portugal, I found myself in a small, awkward beach chair — knees bent, body slouched, hair windblown. There was no possible way to sit in this chair and look good, I assure you, and it definitely wasn’t the kind of moment that would’ve made a great photo. I considered adjusting my posture, thinking about how I looked from the outside to anyone walking by me, but remembered it didn’t matter. I was allowed to just be there, in my swimsuit, sitting, existing, experiencing the breeze and the salt and the stillness of being at ease on a beautiful vacation. I don’t owe anyone attractiveness. I’m allowed to just be.

Self-acceptance isn’t about being put together. And it’s not conditional. It’s about being present. It’s about allowing ourselves to exist without judgement. To exist because we’re human and we’re valuable, regardless of what we look like on any given day.

As I age, I find that I’m less and less interested in managing how I’m perceived and more invested in how I feel. I want to feel, grounded, capable, interesting, alive. It’s a gift to simply live in my body — not as a project to constantly improve, but as a home I get to inhabit.

Comfort in our own skin is allowed — necessary! — even when we don’t look like our “best self.” Especially then.

This kind of self-acceptance isn’t loud. It doesn’t need to be. It exists in the everyday — the slouchy beach chairs, the skipped makeup, the unposed moments. It’s a bit like learning a language — the more we practice, the more fluent we get. Spend time away from it and it’s challenging to return. The more we commit to accepting ourselves as we are, the more our confidence builds, until one day we realize we’re no longer waiting to be someone else or a new, shiny version of ourselves.

Maybe that’s why personal style has become so meaningful to me. Finding a way of dressing that feels like me — not a costume or an aspiration or a way to change myself, but an honest expression of who I already am — has been another way of practicing self-acceptance. A way of choosing to show up, fully present, as myself.

xx,
Natalie

Thought of the Week

via @soldout.nyc

Life Lately

Lunch & design meeting with the team

Absolutely loved this outfit.

On my IRL moodboard

A mini dress moment on Thursday

Cocktail hour in Portugal — take me baaaaaack.

New office floors! In love!

Another mini moment — so happy I rediscovered this skirt.

Can’t stop wearing my brown blazer. Obsessed.

Sardines! They were everywhere in Portugal, and I can’t get enough of them. Very inspired by these little fish right now.

A very cool basement level bar at our hotel — with very low ceilings in one section. Worth the awkward entrance for Brian in order to get there, though, because it was gorgeous and one of the highlights of our trip honestly.

Currently Reading

• The Good Part by Sophie Cousens — My monthly book club meeting is on Sunday and I forgot to bring this with me on my trip, so I am absolutely hustling to finish it!!

• Life Without Lack by Dallas Willard — Starting my days with this one this week. It’s great so far.

Until next time!