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One of my favorite poems that I wrote deals with the loss of self esteem from self criticism:

"AT THIS TIME"

My self esteem was lost, but I win

By not listening to self criticism.

I then speak to myself,

To remind myself to remind my mind,

"The past isn't present at this time."

Taking me outside of me,

To where gratitude and humility,

Reside inside of me,

The present is presented at this time.

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That's beautiful Douglas! I particularly loved this line >> To remind myself to remind my mind

Thank you for sharing and for being here!

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Medha, I just LOVE your new blogs & comics soooooooooo very very very very much. SO MUCH! (am I making myself clear?) Favorite panel? Many contenders but the prize goes to you as a dinosaur with tiny & impractical arms. BWAHHHAHAHAHA! I just LOVE how your blog makes me laugh out loud, feel & empathize with the trials & pain you experience, and understand your beautiful and inspirational journey of growth & transformation. Bravo!! Yes, the book too! The book! You know I'll be the 1st to pre-order it. :)))

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Hahaha. Oh yay! Actual laughing out loud?!!!! That makes me deliciously happy!!

Thank you for your support. It honestly means so much to me.

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Such important words, Medha, so beautifully expressed and illustrated.

I'm having a really hard time with my body right now. And I'm sad that I don't get to eat ice cream.

But hey, I'm here, I'm reading, I'm writing, I'm cooking food that I CAN have, I'm spending time with people important to me, and I AM OKAY.

Great post. Thank you so, so much. ♥️

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I gave up dairy for my health recently and although I still really miss rich creamy yoghurt and yummy cheese, I have found many replacement ice-creams that were delicious in terms of both texture and taste. Would that be a possibility for you? Let me know and I can hunt out the brands I love and share them with you (in case they have them where you live).

But either way, sending love. The body struggle thing is more than a little huge.

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Awww, bless you, Medha! In fact, as an unhealthily obsessive micromanager of my type 1 diabetes I steer clear of most foods which raise my blood glucose. It's open season for fat and protein, though, so for me it's cheese instead of ice cream, given that I don't tend to substitute low-carb alternatives. I'm fine with it, really I am - but some days I just think 'oh, come ON, I just want to be NORMAL!'

All is well! Just a brief bout of the January blues! 🙂

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Fair enough. And oooohhhh....cheeeeeeese. I'm ok with my decision too. Except for those stray moments when I'm not. Hehe.

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Another gorgeous post, Medha, i literally couldn't wait to devour - ehm - read it all the way to the end! 😁

I loved it this week, especially cause it reminded me of something i regularly do. A really wise friend of mine suggested i try something every morning - to take 15mins and go through every part of my body, caressing it and saying, "I love you! Thank you for being with me".

It's amazing the difference it's made in my life.

Thanks so much for another entertaining post - and yeah, a book sounds like a splendid idea! 😉

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Haha. I like 'devour' better!!

And oohhh, I did something like that spontaneously once in a meditation, but it never occurred to me to do it as an ongoing practice! That's genius. Actually, now that I typed that I just remembered that I did it in the shower a few times and then forgot about it. Thanks for the reminder!

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Love love love the art you are sharing and think it would make such an amazing book. My favorite picture was the wrong way go back - if only we could see the signs when they first appear...rather than waiting to get to the point where it is smashing us over the head.

I'm currently reading Demon Copperfield - which is a great read...fiction but it is a bit dark but super well written.

Oh and I also loved Wednesday.

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Thanks so much! They are so fun to draw. And who knows? I may write a graphic novel one day!

It's so nice to see that different drawings touch different people in different ways, so thanks for sharing.

And I just looked up Demon Copperfield and it looks interesting!

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I’ve been trying to fix myself for most of my life. It wasn’t until I had a stroke and lost the use of my left side that I learned to thank my body for the simple everyday things and the gift of another day

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I think that's how most of us live - 'trying to fix ourselves' - until we don't. And it sounds like we've had a similar experience. Isn't it interesting that limitation and lack can lead us to self-love and self-acceptance?

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❤️❤️

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Well this made me tear up and gave me a lot to think about with my own body issues. ❤️ I'm reading The Bear and the Nightingale!

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Oh wow. Thanks for sharing that Meaghan. It means a lot.

And ooooh, I just looked up the Bear and the Nightingale and it looks super interesting. You may know this already, but I'll tell you just in case... the author replied on Good Reads that it's going to be a trilogy!

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I did know! Excited for it!

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I do love a good series. Although I usually prefer to binge rather than have to wait for the instalments, coz I can sometimes forget nuances from the previous ones if it takes me too long to read the next one!

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How do I get to the mini course? The link resolved to an error message. Although I’ve already commented, I wanted to thank you for this post You have articulated feelings I have harbored for most of my life.

Thank you for sharing

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My apologies! I've fixed the link. The url is https://www.oronandmedha.com/wholeness

Let me know if you any questions about it!

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I just got caught up on your latest articles and I sooo enjoyed each of them. Thank you. Keep it up. The words and pictures complement each other perfectly.

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Honestly, as a new-to-substack writer, it makes me so bloody happy to see when people have gone back and caught up! It makes my heart happy!

And I appreciate the comment avout the words and the drawings. I always through of myself as a writer and the drawing thing is only so. I feel very much like I'm still playing around with finding the balance between the two.

Thanks again for the encouragement! I will most definitely 'keep it up'. : )

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This article was written for me - I have become very self-critical recently. My favorite frame is "My spiritual and and personal growth were/are fueled by the same self-rejection and self-criticism that I apply to my body." My 84 -year- old body and self have served me well - all of me deserves that apology - actually.

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I have found (both in myself and in clients) that the body is extremely forgiving. It doesn't seem to hold a grudge and it seems super open to creating a healthy relationship with us the moment we're open to the same thing. I hope you and your body (and the rest of you) start becoming friends in an easy and joyful way!

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