Your Body is Your Home

How Do You Portray Yourself to the World?

Your body is your home. Have you ever wondered what compels you to return home at the end of each day? What draws you into that space? What magnetism attracts you to the energy there?

Whilst I can’t answer on your behalf, here’s what I know from someone who has lived in 2 countries, semi-permanently lived in a third and travelled for a year without a place to call home yet feeling ‘at home’ in each accommodation.

Self-awareness in your space:

You are with yourself constantly. How do you perceive yourself? Does that align with how the world sees you? How you wish the world to see you?

I’ve noticed that the things that bring me peace are the very things that define me. They denote that eternal question of ‘Who am I?’ Not in a career or relationship perspective, just me, in my own space and not what the world sees from the outside.

So what are these things that bring me peace, and how do they relate to who I am and how I portray myself to the world?

Sight: Both introspective and visual

It’s taken a long time for me to ‘see’ myself in a positive light. I finally understand that my negative self-talk is harmful.

Externally I have learnt to focus on my positives instead of dwell on the negatives. Because we’re human, I’m not going to try and pretend the negatives don’t exist because it’s my belief that we all struggle with that from time to time and in some way or another - not necessarily in the same way as each other and not only in body image, but personality, accomplishments and the like.

What positives can you highlight about yourself?

Smell: 

When I’m feeling stressed, nothing lifts me more than the aroma of my diffuser infusing my space with essential oil of my choice for that particular day.

I used to think that such things were taboo! Can you imagine? Depriving myself of such peace because I didn’t want to be considered esoteric! I’ve come a long way.

Definition of esoteric according to Merriam-Webster definition: of special, rare, or unusual interest

This is me. This is who I am. Why shouldn’t I portray myself to the world as such?

Do you have a special scent that elicits a sense of peace within?

Touch:

Warm bath water. Enough said. No bubbles, no bath salts, no extras. Just luxuriating in a warm bath brings me SO MUCH PEACE. It’s taken a very long time, but my family finally understands that this is my bliss and they are not to disturb me.

What brings you a sense of luxury in contact with your skin?

Taste:

You’ve probably realized by now that I’m going through each of our five senses. Quite simply that is what defines each one of us - every thought, and subsequent action, starts with our senses.

It’s difficult to determine a sense of peace from ‘taste’ and my first instinct was to say coffee because it’s a big love in my life. But I was intrigued by my dinner selection just last night. 

I’ve not been well this week, so I’ve been feeling a little sorry for myself. (LOL It’s allowed in short bursts) 

Anyway, back to taste. As it turns out I couldn’t stomach a single sip of coffee yesterday! And come dinner time, all I felt like eating was a gem squash - a vegetable only grown in my home country. So that’s what I had and it brought me so much comfort, which, in my opinion, is pretty close to peace.

Do you have a favourite comfort food or non-alcoholic beverage? I hasten to add non-alcoholic because the sensation it brings is not akin to peace.

Sound:

Be it music, nature sounds, silence or guided meditation, what sounds bring you peace? For me, and I’m sure for most, it’s a combination of all of the above.

Depending on the circumstance; except for me it’s never silence, because, well, tinnitus…yeah not fun so I invariably have background music playing or nature sounds. Of course nothing beats the natural sound of birds chirping or leaves rustling in the wind and especially heavy rain falling on the rooftop.

I do love a guided meditation to bring me to a peaceful place as well, and again, it felt taboo for a very long time because of its spiritual connotations! Honestly, I can’t believe how many of us deprive ourselves because we think it is taboo to feel at peace our way.

Which sound best fills your soul with peaceful ambience?

So my question remains, ‘Does the way you portray yourself to the world truly align with who you really are?’