If You Just BElieve

I love the Holiday season. Especially this week. And the next. It feels like the world kind of slows down. And people start to be where they are. It’s a welcome change from the hustle and bustle to get to the annual finish line.

People start to be more generous.
Be kinder.
Be thoughtful.
Be present.
They start to be taken with the moments.
If even just for this short stint of the year.

And through this, they exhibit their inner beauty to the outer world.

It’s a great time of year to get to be every bit of your very self. And a great time of year to join a beauty-full REbeLution. To REbeL. I’ve blogged about REbeL a few times now. It was started because one woman BElieved. She BElieved that she could affect change. And she started REbeL. It piloted in one school in the Midwest. And is now in ten schools. And the students receiving the gift of REbeL are being changed. 

The woman who started REbeL is my sister-in-law, Laura. After struggling for years with an eating disorder, and helping me deal with low self-esteem, insecurities, and disordered eating and behaviors, Laura obtained her Doctorate in Psychology with an emphasis in the area of Eating Disorders. She is a brilliant, driven woman, who had a thriving practice and instead, as the mom of three little boys, BElieving she could make a bigger impact through being proactive, she started her own non-profit. And over time, it grew. To Chapters. And a Board of Directors {which I assist with}. And now, a paid staff person. It’s truly a beauty-full REbeLution.

Through REbeL, individuals are encouraged to be exactly who they are, all year round. To be the real versions of who they are, instead of contrived versions of what they believe the media or society would will them to be. And to understand that beauty is so much more than makeup and a tag tucked inside of your clothes.

REbeL is so much more than an organization to build positive self-esteem and body image in adolescents. Even as an adult, the mission of REbeL sticks in my mind daily. I am constantly encountering “fat talk.” I am constantly confronted with women in my life who put themselves down. Beautiful, competent, successful women who abuse their bodies with words and often, actions, that one would never wish on their very best friends. But we treat our bodies as if they are disposable. As if they serve as nothing more than a showcase for the person we want everyone to see us as. But REbeL has taught me that my body is really a vehicle for me to be so much more than just a face. Or a size.

I used to think that if I were skinnier… I’d be happier. Or if I wore a size 4… I’d be content. Or if the scale would just say the magic number… that would be the key to life. But before REbeL, every time I would reach one of those “goals”, I was still unsatisfied. Like I was chasing the idea of happiness but could never catch it as long as I wanted superficial happiness. But now, I know that it is in being healthy and taking care of myself, that I am the happiest of all. Even after just having a baby, I don’t feel discontent with my body… instead, I am amazed by what it has allowed me to do… to have three, incredible beings. It was in choosing to REbeL, to go against the grain, that I found the person that I really love who lives inside me. 

The REbeL annual fundraising campaign is going on right now. There are only 8 days left for you to help finance the vision of REbeL this year. The hopes and dreams for REbeL are big. But big dreams take big help. Some day, I’d love to see REbeL in every single school, in every single community. But that will take time. And money.

We have just one week left of 2013. One week left for you to be a little different than you are the rest of the year.

As we approach the flip of the calendar
be generous
be kind
be thoughtful

Please consider making a year-end, fully tax-deductible donation to REbeL. Give yourself the gift of BElieving in change for the year to come. BElieving in being healthy and happy with the person you are. BElieving in REbeL. Every single donation, of every single dollar amount will make a difference. It is the most wonderful time of year. If you just BElieve. And as we go into a New Year… switch your focus from a New You to finding a True You. I dare you. REbeL.

To donate, click here: REbeL