Wednesday, June 23, 2021

The Way We Were Wednesday - Self Portraiture - Self Image

This was taken sometime in the mid 1970's,  you don't see the cable release in my hand, it was an early attempt at self portraiture an exercise in self image. The lighting is flat, the camera too low. But I was not all that bad looking.  How we view ourselves, our self image is complex.  I had a long, downer of a post on this, reflecting my struggle with self image over the years.  

Today I am rounder, balder, my hair is longer, and I am much happier with who I am.  My self image my self portrait is better.  I started the other day thinking about what to say in my retirement article in two years and a month. Yes, I sometimes think and plan that far in advance.  I am happy with what I have done.  

Love yourself.  It is hard to ask others to love you, if you don't love yourself.  You are in good shape, round is a valid shape.  


 

19 comments:

  1. And even more important, you found yourself, your self confidence, and love for yourself.

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    1. And I found a bunch of loving friends

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  2. We are so hard on ourselves. Any shape is beautiful. I love this photo. Don’t you wish you had that shirt now? You are still the apple of our eye.

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    1. 1976-77 those synthetic print shirts were very much in fashion for a couple of years, I'd need it in a larger size.

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  3. Anonymous6/23/2021

    We are what we are and need to accept how we look and lose any embarrassment.

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  4. RuPaul has told us for years that we have to love ourselves first, She's right!

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    1. Ru is featured in next Monday's music

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  5. We are always harder on ourselves than others are on us.

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    1. So true, some of find it hard to live with ourselves

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  6. That is one wild 'n crazy shirt, man! VERY 70s!

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  7. Wow, that picture took me back a few, well a lot of, years! Round is indeed a valid shape. I loved myself more after I transformed from a rectangle to a sphere. The outside is just wrapping, it's the present inside that's important.
    I can't ever meet you in person because I wouldn't be able to control my hands when they reach out to squeeze your cheeks. I'm talking about your face!

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    1. I will have to be careful when I am in the Golden State. Your timing was perfect, I needed something to make me smile.

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    2. Glad I could help, sweetie.

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  8. Love the pic. I’m glad you were able to find self-acceptance. It is easy to self-flagellate. It’s much harder to see and believe you are fine just the way you are. (And we all think you are!)

    Sassybear
    Www.Idleeyesandadormy.Com

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  9. I think the pic is great. It has been hard for me to love myself over the years, and I am just finally beginning to do it. A little too late, but I have accepted myself for who I am, with no apologies to anyone. And yes, round is a valid shape.

    The quote below is from one of my most favorite books I've ever read, Wally Lamb's "I Know This Much is True."

    “I am not a smart man, particularly, but one day, at long last, I stumbled from the dark woods of my own, and my family's, and my country's past, holding in my hands these truths: that love grows from the rich loam of forgiveness; that mongrels make good dogs; that the evidence of God exists in the roundness of things. This much, at least, I've figured out. I know this much is true.”
    ― Wally Lamb, I Know This Much Is True

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    1. At times I am tempted to sing out loud, "you are so beautiful," https://youtu.be/WvAr9umnZ54 I should be at least as good as Joe

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