True stories behind the poster on Social Media are not the Stories we tell in our head about them

Social media users post a picture or video & we as the observers see them & try to make recognizable patterns (stories in our heads) so we can find meaning & make sense of the world & what we see by what we know. Sometimes those stories hinder us from actually seeing the truth and the labels and stigmas attached are endless.

So, today I wanted to share true behind the scenes of this picture and many I post.. My first body painting experience was done by an incredible artist & friend. We met a few years ago and this year we finally worked together to create art.

My daughter after meeting & chatting with him went out bike riding with her dad. I undressed & he tried a few colors on my skin until we found what worked. I stood there maybe an hour or so, until my circulation in my feet disappeared lol. We chatted & he painted my body. Just as we finished I heard my daughter come back up the stairs outside my door. I ran to door & slowly opened it, making sure it was her & her dad & greeted them with my body painted. Laine my daughter loved it so much she asked for face painting.

Whilst Laine & her dad played some Mario Kart & Legends of Zelda their fav games. Fernando & I did the shoot in the lounge room. When it was all done, Laine had her face painted as a butterfly & we all had lunch together and said our farewells.

A few weeks later when the photos came back I was looking at them & Laine sat down & said wow. I love them mom & your body looks wonderful without clothes or with. She also said she wanted to learn draw like this as Fernando is so good at drawing.

I tell you this story because behind our conditioning/stories/shame/judgment of the posts, others, bodies and art, are people that are real like you & me & not those stories. Also I want people to understand we damage ourselves & our children by our unaware conditioning messages & words we use. I have a daughter not damaged by the body but educated by the process to love her body, accept it & others without judgment. She doesn’t see the labels & untruths of society that are damaging so many of us. It’s never been the body or others that’s the issue, it’s the way we talk about things & shame each other that is!